In his brief liner notes to this CD,
Harry Connick, Jr., calls trumpeter
Leroy Jones a genius.
Jones is no genius (certainly there is nothing on his debut disc that would qualify as original) but he is a fine
Lee Morgan-influenced trumpeter and a decent singer. The odd part about this set is that
Jones, due to his New Orleans backround, is misplaced as a Dixieland trumpeter. He certainly does not have much feel for the music, turning "Tin Roof Blues" into burlesque (with some sounds worthy of Clyde McCoy), playing closing ensembles on "Bourbon Street Parade" that practically define corn and switching the music to bop every third song or so. Trombonist
Lucien Barbarin sounds like
J.J. Johnson when he does not feel compelled to growl, leaving drummer Shannon Powell (who often plays enthusiastic parade rhythms) as the only musician on the date who belongs in a traditional New Orleans jazz band. There are some enjoyable selections on this disc but the baggage of having to emulate what
Jones thinks a New Orleans trumpeter should sound like weighs down the performances. ~ Scott Yanow