Although the name of Pam Pameijer's New Jazz Wizards' CD is
Remember Johnny Dodds, Vol. 2, and most of the repertoire on this project was played by the great clarinetist in the 1920s, oddly enough clarinetist Matthias Seuffert does not particularly sound like
Dodds. In addition, the band generally does not try to emulate
Dodds' recordings too closely, and three numbers ("You Do Something to Me" and a pair of Seuffert originals) were never recorded by
Dodds. With the exception of "Mr. Jelly Lord" and "You Do Something to Me," most of the material is quite obscure (this is a different "Ballin' the Jack" than the well-known Dixieland standard) and would have been forgotten were it not for
Dodds' early recording. Seuffert plays well in his own style and cornetist
Jon-Erik Kellso is a major asset throughout the project. There is no shortage of spirit on this happy set. ~ Scott Yanow