Dixieland Jazz - Pete Fountain Discography: The Basin Street Six - River Boat

Monday, October 12, 2009

The Basin Street Six - River Boat - Mercury Records

The Basin Street Six
River Boat
featuring Pete Fountain

1951 Mercury Records EP-1-3238 Mono 7" EP

Side A:
1. Lazy River
2. I Can't Give You Anything But Love

Side B:
1. Sunday
2. Panama

Liner Notes:

Personnel:
George Girard (trumpet,vocals)
Joe Rotis (trombone)
Pete Fountain (clarinet)
Roy Zimmerman (piano)
Bunny Franks (bass)
Charlie Duke (drums)

Recording Date: Chicago September 19, 1951

In this Extended Playing album Mercury presents a genuine treat for jazz lovers in a sampling of the Dixieland which has brought quick fame to the Basin Street Six, a group of young musicians which Mercury believes is destined to become a legend in the jazz field. Jazz connoisseurs of long standing aver that this brand of music has not been heard since the days of the fabulous New Orleans Rhythm Kings. who remain, after many years, the criterion for excellence.

It is not by accident that the Basin Street Six has been compared to the New
Orleans Rhythm Kings. Like their great predecessors, the Basin Street Six came from New Orleans to Chicago and immediately created a sensation at such spots as Jazz Ltd. and the Blue Note. Their youth, vigor and obvious joy and talent in the music they play has brought them a fanatical following. In 21 year old George Girard on trumpet they have one of the most promising jass musicians to come along since the immortal Biz. The others, Pete Fountain on clarinet, Joe Rotis on trombone, Roy Zimmerman on piano, Charlie Duke on drums and Bunny Frank on bass, form a combination with Gerard that is the talk of the jazz world.

The four selections offered here are among the choicest in the Basin Street Six's rapidly expanding repertoire. You'll enjoy "Lazy River," played as we doubt you've ever heard it played before. Then there's "I Can't Give You Anything But Love," played tenderly yet with amazing variations which will leave you breathless with awe at their musicianship. "Sunday" is a gay romp, played with all the buoyancy and bounce this jazz standard calls for. "Panama" is a delight to anyone who appreciates authentic Dixieland.

Here, then. is the Basin Street Six, a young but musically mature group which has been called "the reincarnation of one of the first great jazz bands, the New Orleans Rhythm Kings."

2 comments:

Douglas Duke said...: Do you know where I can get old Basin Street 6 albums? My grandfather was Charlie Duke who played drums in the band. The only album I found online is the Circle Recordings.; March 31, 2011 at 12:54 PM
David Mekalian said...: Let me know what you need and I'll put them together for you. I have all the original LP and EPs made.; May 31, 2015 at 3:06 PM

Post a Comment

Pete's Bio

Peter Dewey Fountain, Jr. was born July 3, 1930 in New Orleans, the cradle of American music, Jazz. He was a skinny kid who spent too much time hanging around the front stoop of the Top Hat Dance Hall near his home. The Top Hat was a stronghold of Dixieland Jazz and Jazz already had a strong hold on Pete Fountain. But, oh the sounds! This was music straight from the soul. Sounds that would never be written in stone, that would always be brand new because they were purely personal. Pete heard all the greats in New Orleans and he knew he wanted to play Jazz.

After endless hours of practicing and listening to the recordings of Benny Goodman and Irving Fazola, the personal sound of Pete Fountain began to emerge and it was "Fat." By the time Pete was 16, he had already gained a reputation on the street, Bourbon Street.

Through these formative years of his musical training, Pete performed with several sensational bands. One such band was the Junior Dixieland Band which performed in the famous Parisian Room-often performing for legendary jazz men. It was a heady time of life and Pete Fountain was savoring every moment.

A few years later Pete joined Phil Zito's International Dixieland Express. They were playing the El Morocco on the street. It was there he met Beverly. She had decided very young to marry a musician and Pete had decided very young to be a musician.

Pete was performing with some of the best known jazz bands in the country--The Basin Street Six, The Dukes of Dixieland, Al Hirt--and it was great.

Until 1956...Be-Bop and Rock & Roll were the hot new sounds, and the music that Pete loved could not provide him or anybody else with a living. Jazz, in its own birthplace New Orleans, was definitely asleep. He gave up music. He had no choice. With a wife and three small children to support, music was a luxury he could not afford.

All he really wanted to do was play music. All he needed was a band, a bandstand and a place to play.

In 1957, Lawrence Welk, host of the nation's most popular television program, wanted Pete on the show, and that kind of opportunity only comes once in a lifetime. For two years, Pete was the most famous Jazz musician on television. Pete Fountain became a household name and New Orleans Jazz made a comeback that has never faded.

After two years in California, Pete came home to New Orleans. He had learned what every New Orleanian has to accept as a fact of life. you can leave New Orleans, but it never leaves you. The cuisine, the sights and the sounds.

Pete immediately opened his own jazz club in the heart of the French Quarter. His national fame and fans followed him to New Orleans which allowed Pete's club to expand, through the past 34 years, into the largest jazz club in the city.

Pete has always been considered an ambassador of New Orleans Jazz as he performs his music on guest appearances on network television and specials. Some of the highlights have been such classics as the Ed Sullivan, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Andy Williams specials. More recently his credits include A Close up of Pete Fountain, Super Bowl Saturday Night and the National Memorial Day Concert. He also performed 59 times on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show."

Pete has performed at four U.S. State Dinners by command performance for four Presidents of the United States. He has also performed for Pope John Paul II at the New Orleans Papal Mass with an attendance of over 400,000 people.

During Pete's career, he has recorded 56 albums and has been a featured performer on 44 additional albums for a total of 100 recordings. Three of Pete's albums have gone gold, "Pete Fountain's New Orleans," "The Blues," and "Mr. New Orleans." He also received a gold record for his hit single "Just A Closer Walk With Thee."

Through Pete's career he has received numerous awards and honors including a Doctorate of Music from the College of Santa Fe; he was voted the #1 Jazz Clarinetist for 13 consecutive years in the Playboy Readers Poll; he was King of Bacchus; he received an Emmy for the 1990 Super Bowl Pre-Game Music; and he was awarded the 1993 Louisiana Legends Award.

Pete has performed with music legends ranging from Louis Armstrong and Harry James to Harry Connick, Jr. Yet to this day his greatest thrill is taking the stage and performing the music he loves, watching as it works its irresistible magic on the audience. Straight to the soul.

Pete Fountain and his wife, Beverly, have three children and five grandchildren. He divides his DAYS between his family, various charitable organizations and his favorite fishing hole.

Monday, October 12, 2009

The Basin Street Six - River Boat - Mercury Records

2 comments:

The Pete Fountain Musical Timeline

View By Record Label

Pete's Bio

Blog Archive

About Me