NEW ORLEANS JAZZ ACETATES & HOME RECORDINGS Volume 2

First of all, I'd like to thank all of you who
purchased Volume One of this series, and
the many kind words and reviews that this
CD received. It makes the endless hours
spent trying to restore these one-of-a-kind
recordings worth the effort. Falling asleep
with the headphones on while listening to
this great New Orleans jazz left me with the
kind of headaches one would feel on a
Sunday morning after spending Saturday
night on Bourbon Street! But none of the
music heard on Bourbon St. today can
compare with sounds made by Johnny
Wiggs, Johnny Bayersdorffer, Raymond
Burke, Snoozer Quinn, Sharkey Bonano, Doc
Souchon and many others back in the
1940's. The outstanding impression you get
from these recordings is the spirit of
ensemble, along with the pure joy and fun
they had. And not just at the jam session
held in Raymond Burke's home, but in night
clubs and radio broadcasts, all of which are
represented on this CD. As before, not all
songs are complete due to the size of the
blank disks they used, but what's there is
just some of the best jazz you've ever heard!

Of course the biggest find would be the sides
with the one and only SNOOZER QUINN. How
and why this man wasn't recorded more
than a few times is just a major loss to the
jazz world. His playing is beyond the word
"Great", he was a total Master of the guitar!
After hearing the couple of solos that could
be salvaged from only one side of an
acetate, I then knew what Frank Trumbauer
meant when he noted in his diary after
meeting Snoozer in New Orleans when the
Paul Whiteman Orchestra played there in
October, 1928. He wrote "I met Quinn, the
only boy alive who has it on Eddie Lang, I
believe." And that's one helluva statement to
make! Ask any guitar player worth his salt,
what it would take to make a statement like
that! His solos flow with the skill, ease and
imagination that could only be matched by
someone on the level of a Bix Beiderbecke.
And how many musicians with talent like
that have there been?
I'm 99% certain this was recorded in 1948,
because the only other Philco recording
blanks they used had the year 1948 written
on them, and this looks to be from the same
package of blank disks that were used.

The real shocker is the solo Snoozer gets off
on the other selection. It sounds like a basic
Blues affair. Then Snoozer comes in with a
solo that would have made Robert Johnson,
Lonnie Johnson or anyone else in their class
run for the hills! It's that great! What few
recordings there are of the Mighty Quinn,
don't even hint at the possibility that he was
also a Master of the Delta Blues style as
well. AND, it's better recorded than the
"After You've Gone" presented here. There's
only about a minute an a half of each tune
that could be salvaged. But, as Spencer
Tracy said of Katherine Hepburn, "Not much
meat on her, but what's there is choice."
Snoozer, along with Raymond Burke,
Sherwood Mangiapane (both on most of
these selections) George Girard and a few
other unsung heroes never seemed to have
the desire to leave New Orleans and try their
luck in the "Big City". And when you consider
the wonderful talent they had at home, who
could blame them? As the old saying goes
"Why go out for a hamburger when you have
steak at home?"     Snoozer did leave for a
few months in late 1928 to join Paul
Whiteman's Orchestra. Even though he
impressed all who heard him, it just wasn't
his calling. New Orleans was home, and
Snoozer was homesick. Speaking of
Sherwood Mangiapane, this man was one of
the finest, most swinging players to ever pick
up a Bass. He ranks right up there with the
two most well known Bass pioneers from
New Orleans, Steve Brown and Pops Foster.
After Sherwood, Pops And Steve were gone
from the scene, the rhythm of Dixieland Jazz
seemed to revolve around the sound of a
constant ride cymbal. The spirit of ensemble
then gave way to an "Every Man For Himself"
approach from the intro to the end of a
song. And the music hasn't been the same
since.

You can see the condition of the recording
on the cover of this CD. The other side had
almost no acetate coating left, just the
aluminum base. But it did have, at one time,
a couple fragments of the label that had
Snoozer's name on it. All I could save was
about two choruses from each song. As luck
would have it, Snoozer's solos on each song
were saved. Out of this collection there were
a few like this one as well with Snoozer
mentioned on the label. Over 60 years of
sitting in a box in New Orleans caused most
of the labels to fall off and did damage to
the recordings that can't be believed. So I'm
still doing my best to save what I can. There
may still be more Snoozer coming up. In fact
I JUST found another folder of these
treasures that were misplaced during
moving! I haven't even had the chance to
play them yet! So there's enough for at least
a couple more volumes in this series! STAY
TUNED!

The other selections on this CD are worth
their weight in praise as well. Sharkey
Bonano is one trumpet player whose drive
really comes to life in the selections here
recorded off the radio in 1949. This boy just
blew HOT, no if's or and's about it! The
sample given here is from the end of the
broadcast. It's Sharkey's own tune, "I'M
SATISFIED WITH MY GAL." OK, perhaps the
first strain sounds quite a bit like "That
Certain Party" and the bridge sounds like the
bridge from "Five Foot Two, Eyes Of Blue",
but Sharkey drives through this like a
Minnesota snowplow. Anybody that couldn't
keep up with him would have to be scraped
off the side of the road. But with Ray,
Sherwood and the other boys, there's not a
chance of that happening here. And it's that
way it is on all of Sharkey's numbers on this
CD.

The 1950 recording of Billie Pierce was a
tough one. It was horribly over-recorded and
had a hum that was louder than anything on
the record. Across the label in big block
letters were the words NO GOOD.
On top of that, a pencil was used to scratch
about a dozen huge XXX's across the
grooves. You can imagine the fun had taking
on the restoration of this one. But after
countless hours, during which I increased my
vocabulary of words to swear with, the music
came through. It's a bit on the thin side, but
Billie's powerful voice makes up for the
defects.

Johnny Wiggs comes through with yet
another version of "Congo Square."
This one is a personal favorite. Johnny nails
this one with a tight vibrato and trill that
brings back the days of King Oliver. A
powerful performance from another unsung
hero of New Orleans Jazz, and one of the
best!

And there's a few sides with Raymond Burke
and piano. Raymond is just pure joy to listen
to. Always. To these ears, this was the peak
of the New Orleans Dixieland Jazz era. This
was a time when Bourbon Street had more
Jazz than strippers. This is the sound of a
bunch of gifted musicians who grew up and
old together and they brought us a sound
that was Jazz at it's very best. The way it
should be. And they took it with them when
they left.

             KL-6
New Orleans
Jazz acetates
           &
home recordings
   Volume 2

1. CONGO SQUARE - JOHNNY
WIGGS - 4:16 - Yet another version of this
Wiggs classic. Also my favorite. Wiggs playing his
best blues. – 1950

2. MARIE - THE DIXIE RAMBLERS
- 3:06 - No info but a very fine relaxed version.

4. PIZZA PIE BOOGIE - 3:37
Sharkey's biggest hit and he bounces all over this
one!

3. OLDTIME BLUES - 2:59 - Raymond
Burke is right in the pocket on this. No listing of
musicians, wonderful sax!

5. ST. LOUIS BLUES - 3:27
This was one hell of a live broadcast! Sharkey was
just amazing!

6. BUGLE CALL RAG & I'M
SATISFIED WITH MY GAL - 4:004
Starts in after intro of Bugle Call and goes to
the end of the broadcast with announcer.

7. AFTER YOU'VE GONE - 1:31
8. BLUES - 1:29 SNOOZER QUINN
ONE DOWNLOAD! I wish I could have saved more
from this record, but glad to get this!

9. FAREWELL BLUES - 3:09
No info other than it's Raymond Burke. That's
enough!

10. BILLIES BLUES - 3:28 BILLIE
PIERCE - The condition of these two sides were
horrible. Burke scratched NO GOOD on the label, then
made a series of X's all over the grooves. But Billie
Pierce sounds wonderful.

11. YOU CAN DEPEND ON ME - 2:37
BILLIE PIERCE. Mostly instrumental, but
Billie comes back in on the bridge. There must
have been a Part 1 at one time. Still great!

12.THIS IS JUST A COUPLE OF
MINUTES OF TALKING. THE
LABEL SAYS PHIL. ANY IDEAS?

13. GOLDEN LEAF STRUT -
JOHNNY BAYERSDORFFER - 2:36
- This tune is the third strain of Milenberg Joys.

14. SINGING THE BLUES -
RAYMOND BURKE. This was recorded live ca.
1945 in a Night Club. I left some of the nightclub noise in
at the beginning for flavor. Ray had spliced three
different versions together. Probably from different
nights. Not easy with an old record cutting machine! His
clarinet playing here should put him in the Hall Of Fame!
Perfect!

15. SHINE - JOHNNY WIGGS - 2:47
Over recorded, but not to the point that you
can't enjoy this great session. From 1950.

16. WHAT IS THIS THING CALLED
LOVE - 3:01 Again, no info other than
Raymond. Amazing to hear how ray & his boys
can switch gears from N.O. Trad to Swing!

17. ST. LOUIS BLUES - THE DIXIE
RAMBLERS - 2:58 No info but just fine!

18. TIN ROOF BLUES - JOHNNY
WIGGS - 3:13 It only says 1950 on the
label. Johnny is right in the pocket on this one!

19. SISTER KATE - 2:33 Here is a rare
item! The label says it was recorded from a
1953 Televsion Show in New Orleans!

20. SAVOY BLUES - JOHNNY
WIGGS - 3:20 This was in pretty rough
shape, but a very fine rendition. New Orleans
Jazz at it's best.

21. WHEN THE SAINTS GO
MARCHING IN. - JOHNNY WIGGS -
2:29 The only way to end a CD like this. New
Orleans all the way, and as good as it gets!

DOWNLOAD NOW
$.99 Per TRACK!!

SAMPLES
BELOW

Note: Not all performances are complete, though
most are. Due to the length of the home recording
some went over the allotted time. A couple of
recordings like the Snoozer Quinn sides were
salvaged as much as possible because of the
historical importance of the music.

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