Four different New Orleans jazz bands are heard from on three or four selections apiece on this CD, a straight reissue of the original LP; none of the music is available elsewhere. Clarinetist
George Lewis and his 1950 group (with Elmer Talbert on trumpet and the reliable trombonist
Jim Robinson),
Turk Murphy's 1947 band (recorded shortly after he left Lu Watters and featuring trumpeter
Bob Scobey), trombonist
Kid Ory's 1951
Creole Jazz Band (with trumpeter Teddy Buckner and clarinetist
Joe Darensbourg) and the 1947 edition of trumpeter
Pete Daily's Rhythm Kings are all in excellent form. This set offers listeners a good sampling of their work and, considering that
Lewis,
Murphy and
Ory led three of the most popular traditional jazz bands of the 1950s (although each sounded quite different from each other), this CD is well worth picking up. ~ Scott Yanow