Cornetist
Scott Black leads a septet (which also includes trumpeter
Duke Heitger, trombonist Tom Ebbert, clarinetist Tom Fisher, pianist Buck Evans, Tom Saunders on bass and tuba, and drummer Charlie Fardella) for a variety of good-time standards, performed in a style not that different from Lu Watters's Yerba Buena Band of the 1940s. There are a few tolerable musician vocals, some unique trading off on two bass saxes (played by Fisher and
Saunders) and plenty of heated and frequently exciting ensembles. Other than the completely unknown "Hindoo Man," all of the songs had classic recordings cut in the mid-to-late '20s but these new treatments (which hint strongly at New Orleans jazz,
Bix Beiderbecke and Chicago jazz in addition to Watters) are fresh and enthusiastic. Dixieland fans are advised to check this CD out. ~ Scott Yanow