·J 7-9, 1968, :liust a little more than a month bined and unsuspected powers of the dance music of the period, there is an before Mo~tgomery'~ death at th~ age of phonograph, press agentry arid a "strange" enormous difference. 45. They tj!present1 his final recordmgs and new music catapulted the band ..to fame. , That difference is chiefly based in the like everydhing the guitarist put his hand Though the sobriquet "Inventor$· of Jazz" rhythm-two-beat, yes; jerky, yes, but to, are marked11 wit h taste, restramt,. a fi ne- was hyperbole, they were the first popu­ much more lively. and rousing than the ly honed f elodicism and rhythmic sense, larizers of the music and of the term, stiff, metronomic · beat of · one-steps and · and of col~irse the distinctive touch of the initially speHed "jass." most ragtime-but also in the exuberance master sty ist that Montgomery so patently After nearly 52 years, what does their and energy generated by the five-piece en­ was. It's a.Ithoroughly ingratiating program music sound like? Though the primitive semble with its prototypical cornet-trom­ of what lu(s come to be called "mood jazz", acoustic recording process does not fully bone-clarinet front line. an idiom!i/to which ·the guitarist was· in­ convey what the band must have been like La Rocca, trombonist Edwards and clar­ creasingly . drawn in his· later years af!d in person, · a fairly accurate portrait in inetist Shields were all well versed in the through t e mastery of ·which he attained sound does emerge, especially since this collective ensemble ·style that already was phenome al, deserved popular acceptance. LP brings 1 out all there is to get from the a tradition in their native New Orleans, This al 1 um is very much on a· par with ancient records. To the unschooled ear, and pianist Ragas and drummer Sbarbaro earlier 6ntgomery efforts in the genre, the musici sounds jerky, shrill, crude and (later Spargo) knew exactly how to back starting '1th his recordings on the Verve perhaps closer to marching .music than to them properly. The routines were well label an I continuing with the previous anything ,now thought of as jazz. Yet, if .worked out. These young men were not, . A&M col · borations with orchestrator Don one is at all •familiar with other popular as their publicity had it, some new species Sebesky ; ho did the charts for this al­ ,,,,,,,,,.,.,, bum as ell), A Day in the Life (3006) ' 'I ' , \ I \ I \ \ \ f I f ' I

I and Dow Here on t/ze Ground (3001). It pro-duce (pr -doos', pr -dus'); produere; pro-, forward+ ducere, is not, st1 ctly speaking, a jazz al!¥1m,, but the pulse and the flavor of jazz color it to lead, to draw. 1. to bring to view. 2. to bear; bring forth; I distinctiv y. With Montgomery as ·soloist ,,- creflte; yield. 3. to cause; give rise to. 4 to get ready and present. -even ;pe largely restricted to simple melodic ftatements and variations that 5. ip. geometry to extend ( a line or p_lane). 6. to bring forth and

1 ' never st · y very far from them-they ~- . extend, lead forward (as an ESP artist). '- would h e to, of course: the man was a zman. He couldn't play uninter­ . he wanted to. Time and time :ughout this collection his supple sense of '.hythm, his choice and placement of notes ; his touch and tone raise what might ·h, , e been in lesser hands merely mundan to the plane of something special, distinctiv , masterful. Sebesk 's ·arrangements are g·enerally ex­ cellent, · aming Montgomery's contribu­ tions ha somely, and moving easily from the stand rd lush kind of backdrop one ex­ pects of i his idiom to .the baroqueish or­ chestra~i9 s that enhance Greensleeves, Yesterda-y, aiia\}.Scarborough Fair. Sebesky is facile I nougli to 0ring them off fairly well, tho gh he occasionally veers uncom­ fortably ,I ose to bathos. 1 While ontgomery's place m Jazz his- ESP I ARTISTS are domposers performing their own works,, arned through his early record­ jazz recordings-his talent was and I every ESP ARTIST has ful I control of his recording, ing enough to enable him to take and I he ,alone deddes whether 'his rec_ord is suitable for irements of "commercial" music cute it '«ith-utter elan, unerring relebse. Write for FREE catalogue to ESP-DISK',LTD., taste, m icianship, cfndtrue distinction. 156 -j5th Avenue, New York, N .Y. 10010, Dept. DB This albu is a model of its type. All hail I Wes Mori gomery. We'll not see his like again. \ · -Welding ~«~- 1--·fl,r--

Summer Jazz Clinics Doc Severinsen: "Don't miss the chance to work ..with Original '~ixieland Jazz B-and the best jazz faculty I've seen. An exciting week." THE OR GINA DIXIELAND JAZZ BAND -RCA Vi ~tor L}V-547: Livery Stable Blues; I .. - Dixie ]dss ~and One Ste/1; Tiger Rag,· Sensation Rag; Clarinet Marmalade-· Blues: Lazy Daddy,· 111th Great Season ... Home Aga1), Blues; Margie; Palesteena: Broad­ Now on 5 Campuses! Mail Today! way .Rose; ~_;arnyard Blues; Oritdnal Dixielancl I r- .------_--7 One Ste/1; 'iKer Rag; Skeleton Jangle; Clarinet MILLIKEN UNIV~ (Decatur, ILL.) National Stage Band Camps, Inc. · 1 I Marmalade/; Bluin' the Blues. * I August 10-16, 1969 I Box 221, South Bend, Indiana 46624 I'ersonnelj 1 Tracks 1.-6 (1917-18): Nick [a Rocca, cornet; Jfrldie Edwards, trombone; -Larry * SACRAMENTO STATE COLLEGE (Cal.) I Please rush application form and free bro- I Shidds, clar,jnet: Henry Ragas, piano; Tony Sbar­ I August 10-16, 1969 baro, drurtls, Tracks 7-10 0920-21) : Dennie j chur~ on the 1969 SUMMER JAZZ CLINICS. I Krueger, al#o saxophone added; J. Russell Rob­ * UNIV. OF CONNECTICUT (Storrs) j D Also send Music Educators pr_ogram. I inmn rcpl;icts Hag;rn. Tracks 12-16 (1936): Krue­ ; August 17-23, · 1969 ger out; unknown bass added. I Name------'------I * UNIV. OF UTAH (Sait Lake City) I Street ______I '': Rating: * * * * August 17-23, 1969 The OI))JB, as every student of jazz I City ______Stale ___ Zip -- I knows, m~de the first jazz records in early * UNIV. OF WASHINGTON (Seattle) i August 24-30, 1969 I Age ___ Instrument ------J l 91.7 and ii bGcame a sensation. The com- ~------~------January 9 D 25 of/ musical primitives, but rather, by the no bassist has been listed. in any discog­ standards of the day, accomplished pro­ raphy, nor is his presence hinted at in the fe~sionals-several cuts above the imita­ notes to this album. He was probably tors that almost instantly. sprang up· in Harry Barth, who worked with the band their wake. in public. This confirms my long-standing In contemporary terms, none of the men suspicion that traditional jazz discographers except Shields ahd Spargo were really im­ have tin ears.) . provisers. They followed a fairly rigid for- Oveq)faised and ballyhooed at first, then •mula, and (heir music was 'an ensemble neglected and underestimated, the ODJB's music with no solo excursions, as a rule, pioneering records, viewed objectively, except short . breaks. Most of the latter contain enough of musical value to be as­ w~re handled by Shields. sured of a meritorious place in jazz his­ La Rocca played a steady, syncopated tory. They are more than curiosities, and lead, usually sticking close to the melody. it wasn't the ODJB's fault that no authen­ Edwards played a bass line, and did it tic black New Orleans jazz was recorded expertly. His "tailgating" (with its broad until 1921. (Victor tested and rejected the smears and glissandi) may at times sound Original Creole Band in 1918; according clumsy to the modern ear, but his notes· to legend, cornetist Freddie Keppard didn't were perfectly placed. Shields embellished want the band to record because others freely with agility and a liquid tone, pierc­ might "steal their stuff," but an informed ing but not shrill. Ragas, underrecorded, contemporary source denies this, stating supplied a steady vamp and occasional that Keppard merely wanted more money fills, and Spargo used woodblock, cowbelt than Victor was prepared to pay.) cymbals and snare (bass drum did not Be that as it may, the fact remains that record well in those days, but I cqn't agree such Negro dance bands as James Reese that it wasn't used at all, qS. it see~1s clear­ Europe's, Wilbur Sweatman's, and W.C. ly audible at times) to create an intricate Handy's recorded during, after ( and in but steadily propulsive beat, using swinging some cases, befqre) the reign of the ODJB, patterns that still sound fresh. but produced little, if anything;· that can Most of the band's early repertoire was be called· jazz. It was not until King Oliver of their own making, though much of it recorded in 19~3 that jazz substantially certainly was pieced together from tradi­ superior to the' ODJB found its way to tional New Orleans materials, which earli­ wax, Kid Ory's 1921 Sunshine records not­ er jazzmen in turn had borrowed from withstanding. diverse sources (marches, polkas, quad­ Generally, hi$torians have been kindest rilles, etc.). But they put it together well, to Shields, perhaps because his role in the and no doubt Shields and La Rocca also ensemble allowed for the lion's share of had a flair for· original melodies. The first improvisation (he's fine on Lazy Daddy). five pieces on this album have remained Spargo's sterling contribution has been neg­ staples iri the traditional jazz repertoire to lected (he is the band's sole surviving this day, with such other ODJB originals member, by the way). Edwards was great­ as Fidgety Fer;t, At the Jazz Band Ball, ly admired by as fine a musician as the ·ostrich Walk and Satanic Blues. · late Brad Gowans, and with good reason. The ODJB, in the first phase of its his­ La Rocca, finally, claimed so much cr:edit tory, recorded until 1923, and disbanded for himself in later years that it became in 1925. Ragas had died in the influenza absurd. The fact, that he was Bix Beiderr epidemic of 19f9, arid was replaced by J. becke's admitted idol is generally writter,, Russell Robin~on (composer of Margie). off as merely due to the fact that Bix taught · In 1'920, a superfluous saxophone was himself to play jazz from ODJB records. added. Tbe ODJB, which h_ad been such a But listen to him, in the opening and clos­ A most highly medicated lip balm. QUick heal­ ing choruses of Margie, and you'll 'hear ing combats infection. Keeps lips smooth, soft, great influence, was in turn influ_enced by moist in wind, cold or sun. In plastic case. new fashions. The once-fresh repertoire that there was more to it than that. BLISTEX-BLISTIK was (at, least on record) largely replaced y a combination of luck, proper· tim­ ·by pop tunes of the day. (Does this se­ ing and brashness, the ODJB changed mu-· quence of events sound familiar? It's the . sic I history. Perhaps the ODJB were not "Hear the most modern baritone saxophone the ideal candidate.s for bringing the jazz player in the world of JAZZ today!'' archetypical jazz success story, isn't it?) ~ THIS IS IT! Four examples of this decadent stage of message to the masses, but they got there an album by the ODJB are included here. One would first. All things c~msidered, they didn't do NICK BRIGNOLA a bad 'ijob. 1 -Morgenstern "He was a revelation at the Antibes have sufficed, and it is odd. thaf Ostrich Jazz Festival" - Jazz Hot, French mag. Walk, to my mind the best of all ODJB "The solos Nick poured out were displays­ . 1mmy us 1ng ""'"' of sheer, hair raising virtuosity" - NY Times records because of its fine tempo and re­ J. \ R h' ------Available now for laxed performance, or the swinging Jazz GEE, ,BABY, AIN'T I GOOD TO YOU­ Master Jazz Recording MJR 8104: Gee, Baby, $3.98 Band Ball were not selected instead. Ain't I Good to You; MIR Blues; St. James Make check or money order payable to: Infirmary; JJ7ho's Sprry Now; These Foolisb PRIAM RECORDS · The last six tracks stem from the 1936 Things; Good Mornmg Blues. . . P.O. Box 997 Troy, New York 12181 rediscovery, re-formation and brief return · Personnel: Buck Clayton, trumpet; D1ck1e Wells trombone· Julian Dash, tenor saxophone; to the spotlight of the ODJB. Som!:!·of the Sir Charles Thodipson, piano; Gene Ramey, bass; men came out of semi-retirement, and it Jo Jones, drums; Rushing, vocals. shows, though the revived Tiger Rag still Rating:****½ with a SpecialMembership Plan ... has plenty of punch, and Bluin' the Blues The co~temporary power of the vintage FeaturingJAZZ is an excellent performance. Though there Basie tradition is illuminated in this pack­ Also,Popular, Folk, Classical, etc. was, now considerable solo work, the music age, and those to whom that tradition has No purchase obligations-No list of the ODJB had become an anachronism, meaning will find this session to be stirring pricepurchases. Virtually all labels and the reunion was a premature prelude and virile testimony to its ongoing po-. and artists available.Choose from to the New Orleans revival of the '40s, tency. There is alsd something of the John ' catalog of over 25,000 albums. which, ironically, would spurn the legacy Hammond tradition evident here, as nearly Writefor free details ..• of the ODJB-because it was white. all the musicians participated· in the jazz (Discographical note:, The 1936 record­ sessions he supervised for Columbia and ings obviously include a string bass. Yet Vanguard in the 'SOs. In fact, if memory 26 0 DOWN BEAT I