Pete Fountain's 82nd Birthday - News

Happy 82nd Birthday Pete!

Pete Fountain, Jazz Clarinetist, was born on July 3, 1930 in New Orleans. He has entertained us for decades and we all wish him the best.

We wish Pete a happy 82nd birthday, and may he continue to "toot" and make music for many more years.

Pete's Baby Photo

Pete Fountain at New Orleans Jazz Fest - News

Jazz Legend Pete Fountain Pleases Fans with the Standards

By Katie Van Syckle NOLA.com

Pete Fountain took the stage at New Orleans Jazz Fest on Sunday afternoon as any legend should - supported by a bevy of talented musicians, there to let the 81-year-old shine. Fountain, a.k.a "Mr. New Orleans," is considered by many to be the ambassador of Dixieland Jazz. Also a fixture during Carnival season, Fountain's "Half-Fast Walking Club" has been leading the downtown parade route on Mardi Gras since 1960.

Photo By Katie Van Syckle

Pete Fountain plays during New Orleans Jazz Fest accompanied

by his great-granddaughter Isabella singing, "What a Wonderful World."

Fans were pouring out the sides of the tent as the crowd chanted, "Let's go, Pete!" to greet the artist with a standing ovation. Smart phones lined the stage to snap his image.

"Mr. Music, Mr. Pete Fountain," his emcee said.

"Yeah Pete!" The crowd responded. In the middle of "Lazy River" the legend leaned on a stool to his right for support, but his smile did not fade. He enraptured the crowd during "Basin Street Blues." The air smelled like the recognizable Jazz Fest triumvirate of trampled grass, sweat and beer. A seated patron shushed chatter in the back row.

To the left of the stage, couples embraced in dance on a wooden surface reserved for the purpose. Fountain invited his great-granddaughter, Isabella, to the stage for an adorable rendition of "It's a Wonderful World." After a rousing response from fans, and a kiss for her great-grandfather, like any good diva, Isabella was wisked off stage and into the crowd.

The second line, led by three enthusiastic umbrella carriers, picked up steam. A man with a thick white beard, high socks and a tag that read "free hugs" did a robot dance across the tent. As Fountain served his trademark "A Walk with Thee," the second line still was in full swing, but the majority of the crowd sat calmly and respectfully.

For a moment, the reserved tent seemed like the polar opposite of any Springsteen-rock induced mayhem transpiring across the Fair Grounds at the Acura Stage. Then, a breeze of smoke blew by, and it was clear that although vibes may be diverse, some Fest fans are on the same party page.

News: Al Hirt and Pete Fountain

Al Hirt and Pete Fountain
The Times-Picayune Covers 175 Years of New Orleans History

Trumpeter Al Hirt and clarinetist Pete Fountain, one bearded, the other bald, personified good-time New Orleans jazz for decades. Friends and frequent collaborators, they released popular recordings, appeared on national TV and presided over Bourbon Street nightclubs bearing their names.

Nicknamed "Jumbo," Hirt embodied the city’s rollicking spirit in his performances and voracious appetites. From 1962 to 1983, he operated the Al Hirt Club on Bourbon. He recorded more than 50 albums. He won a Grammy Award in 1964 for his recording of the Allen Toussaint-penned instrumental "Java," which ascended to No. 4 on the pop charts. Other hits included "Sugar Lips" and "Cotton Candy."

He briefly hosted his own TV show on CBS. He performed for six presidents, for Princess Grace in Monaco, and for Pope John Paul II at the University of New Orleans in 1987.

His artistic success contrasted with turbulence in other areas of his life. Three of his four marriages failed, and unsuccessful business deals in the 1970s and ’80s led to lawsuits. He died of liver failure in 1999 at age 76.

The son of a Dixie beer truck driver, Fountain emerged as the most famous ambassador of traditional Dixieland jazz. In the late 1950s, two years as the featured soloist on "The Lawrence Welk Show" made him a star. The 1959 album "Pete Fountain’s New Orleans" contains what is arguably the definitive "A Closer Walk," marked by his impeccably rich clarinet tone. His 59 appearances on "The Tonight Show" during the Johnny Carson era fueled six-figure sales of his albums.

Indicative of his unofficial status as "Mr. New Orleans," Fountain has navigated the downtown parade route at the head of his Half-Fast Walking Club on nearly every Mardi Gras morning since 1960.

Also in 1960, he opened his first Bourbon Street nightclub. From 1977 to 2003, he was the featured act at another club in the Hilton Riverside. After closing it, he accepted a regular gig at a casino near his 10,000-square-foot weekend home in Bay St. Louis, Miss.

Hurricane Katrina’s tidal surge obliterated that home and its collection of memorabilia. Two strokes suffered since the storm have made speaking difficult for him. But Fountain can still "toot" on the clarinet, and, at 81, plans to continue as long as he is able.

By Keith Spera, The Times-Picayune The Times-Picayune

Dixieland Essentials - Stardust Records

Dixieland Essentials

2011 - Stardust Records

01. Jazz Me Blues
02. Basin Street Blues
03. Struttin' With Some Barbecue
04. Muskrat Ramble
05. When The Saints Go Marching In
06. St. James Infirmary
07. Bourbon Street Parade
08. Farewell Blues
09. At The Jazz Band Ball
10. Tin Roof Blues
11. South Rampart Street Parade
12. Milenberg Joys
13. Washboard Blues
14. Wabash Blues
15. Someday Sweetheart
16. When It's Sleepy Time Down South
17. Beale Street Blues
18. Ballin' The Jack
19. I've Got A Right To Sing The Blues
20. I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate
21. That's A Plenty
22. Dipper Mouth Blues
23. Just A Closer Walk With Thee
24. St. Louis Blues
25. I've Found A New Baby
26. Panama
27. Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans
28. Black And Blue
29. Careless Love
30. Wang Wang Blues

Liner Notes:

Dixieland from New Orleans: Naturally that's where it all started, back before the turn of the century. New Orleans - where the old time marching jazz came into being: Where Ragtime: Barrel House, old and present day Dixieland all originated: And the best Dixieland is still coming from this famous bend in the Mississippi.

This is yet another MP3 only download compilation from various times in Pete's long career. 30 tracks, great sound quality .

Crazy - Classic Records

Crazy

2011 - Classic Records

01. Muskrat Ramble
02. Paradise
03. Running Wild
04. Wolverine Blues
05. Your Cheatin' Heart
06. Amazing Grace
07. Basin Street Blues
08. Crazy
09. Georgia
10. I Can't Stop Loving You
11. It Had to Be You
12. Jazz Me Blues
13. Just A Closer Walk With Thee
14. Lazy River
15. Marie

Liner Notes:

Dixieland from New Orleans: Naturally that's where it all started, back before the turn of the century. New Orleans - where the old time marching jazz came into being: Where Ragtime: Barrel House, old and present day Dixieland all originated: And the best Dixieland is still coming from this famous bend in the Mississippi.

This is yet another MP3 only download compilation from various times in Pete's long career. Great sound quality .

Pete Fountain at Jazz Fest 2011 - News

Pete Fountain fires up a second-line
at New Orleans Jazz Fest

New Orleans legend Pete Fountain plays with his granddaughter,
Danielle Scheib on the washboard at the Economy Hall Tent during his set Sunday at Jazz Fest.

Twenty minutes before Pete Fountain's Sunday afternoon set at the New Orleans Jazz Fest, Melissa Ensley of Slidell settled into a second-row seat, and turned to me with a question?

"So are you a big Pete Fountain fan?"

As I was about to reply, she pulled from her bag a vintage copy of Fountain's 1964 LP "Licorice Stick," showing off the fresh autograph on the cover. "My earliest musical memory was listening to this with my dad," she said. "We come to see Pete Fountain every year. We can't miss him."

Clearly that was the collective feeling in the Economy Hall tent, where people packed the aisles 10 deep. When the 80-year-old great-granddad of New Orleans traditional jazz climbed onto the stage, surrounded by his seven-piece band, the crowd roared up, clapping and whistling, cell phone cameras held aloft.

A standing ovation before he played his first note. It would be one of four he'd receive during the hour-long set. Hurricanes and health problems may have taken a toll on Fountain, slowing him down a bit, but he still knows how to grab the audience and force them out of their chairs. With Tim Laughlin accompanying on clarinet, he pumped out the old favorites - "Clarinet Marmalade," "Up the Lazy River," and "Basin Street Blues," - his feet tapping to the music.

For "St. Louis Blues," his granddaughter, Danielle Scheib, 32, joined him on washboard, her spoons zipping over the metal surface adding a Zydeco beat. At the end of the song she gave gramps a hug, prompting another roar from the audience.

Dressed in an untucked blue and white button down and white pants, Fountain shared the microphone with Laughlin, tag teaming it through "A Closer Walk With Thee," and "Struttin' with Some BBQ," backed up by Mark Mullins on trombone, Connie Jones on coronet, Tom Maggiore on sax, Olivier "Sticks" Felix on bass, Allyn Young on guitar and John Royen on piano. As he wound into "When the Saints Go Marching In," with Scheib back on the washboard, a second line snaked through the aisles, umbrellas in the air, handkerchiefs waving.

At the end of the song, Fountain bowed to the roaring applause, put his flat cap on his head and exited stage right. A crowd gathered by the barricades, calling out for autographs and photos.

In the second row, Ensley packed up her LP. "With that, we're going home for the day," she said. "Nothing can beat it."

Credits: Published: Sunday, May 01, 2011, 7:30 PM
By Susan Langenhennig, The Times-Picayune NOLA.com

News - Pete Fountain, Mardi Gras 2011 and the Half-Fast Walkng Club

Pete Fountain Celebrates Another Year on the Avenue
Report by WWL TV

He's usually the first attraction of the day on the Uptown parade route for Mardi Gras and today was no exception. New Orleans treasure Pete Fountain lead his Half-Fast Walking Club right down the St. Charles route, making this year 51.

Pete Fountain talks to WWL's Chris Miller about the 51st year with the Half-Fast Walking Club:



''It's my day, it's my day, I enjoy being around the guys and the musicians, just everything,'' Fountain explained.

Watch Pete Fountain as the Half-Fast Walking Club begins its trek down St. Charles:

Fountain will be 81 years old in July and said he has no intention of quitting,

hoping next Mardi Gras will be another good one.

''Have a good day and see you on the road. On the route? On the road.''

He is a world famous clarinetist, but most locals just know him as Pete,

and as a wonderfully nice guy.

Video courtesy of WWL TV.

Memorabilia - Pete Fountain & Tami Curtis Ellis 2011 French Quarter Festival Poster

2011 French Quarter Festival Poster

By Louisiana Artist, Tami Curtis Ellis

The 2011 French Quarter Festival Poster highlights New Orleans'
own Pete Fountain, Connie Jones, and Tim Laughlin...

The French Quarter Festival All Stars!
Artist Tami Curtis Ellis placed them as the treasured center piece
among many iconic images that represent the music, architecture, culture,
and food that makes New Orleans what it is and what we love!

Tim Laughlin, Pete Fountain, and Connie Jones perform
as theFrench Quarter Festival All Stars at the French
Quarter Festival Press Conference in Jackson Square.



Pete Fountain signs his image in the original artwork for the poster.


Connie Jones signs his image in the original poster artwork
as Pete Fountain and Tami Curtis Ellis look on.

Photo op time with Louisiana artist, Tami Curtis Ellis and
the French Quarter Festival All Stars, Tim Laughlin, Pete
Fountain, and Connie Jones. The three legendary musicians
were the inspiration and the center piece on the 2011 French
Quarter Festival poster artwork this year.

Pete Fountain, Tim Laughlin, and Connie Jones each signed
their own image in the original painting.

It just doesn't get any cooler than that!!!

The posters are signed, numbered and printed in a rich colored silk screen process. To order yours, visit the official French Quarter Festival website at www.fqfi.org.

To see more of Tami's art, visit her website at www.tamicurtisellis.com

Vacation Photo in French Quarter - Memorabilia

Statue of Pete Fountain

Statue of Pete Fountain in Edison Park / Legends Park,
Bourbon Street, French Quarter, New Orleans with
yours truly on a recent visit to New Orleans Memorial Day!

Pete Fountain and Tim Laughlin: The Fat Sound - News

Pete Fountain and Tim Laughlin: The Fat Sound
01 May 2010 - by David Kunian of OffBEAT

Once away from the strip malls and family businesses that alternate on Highway 90, the road to the Hollywood Casino in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi winds through the swampy woods until it rises at the back of a parking lot. For a casino, it is a modest one with a hotel on one side and ceilings against which a basketball player might knock his head above the constant "ching-ching" of the slot machines. Past the entrance, there is a clear spot with several cocktail tables facing a stage with a bar directly in front. The audience sits, drinks and listens. The music, although not out of place in this part of the world, seems a little out of place at the Hollywood. This is not where you would think to hear music 50 years old in the 21st Century. Yet, on the first Tuesday and Wednesday of each month, this stage is the only place fans get to hear the twin tandem clarinets of the world famous Pete Fountain and the soon-to-be world famous Tim Laughlin.

Fountain and Laughlin do many of the New Orleans traditional jazz standards, sometimes trading choruses, sometimes playing melodies in unison. There is something special going on here. It is easy to see when Laughlin the Earnest Acolyte and Fountain the Hip Wizard exchange glances and smiles, and when they don’t. Either way, the music weaves in and out almost as if each of them knows what the other is about to do. It goes beyond telepathy and borders on instinct.

The story of Pete Fountain might be well known to the generations that came up when he played in the Dukes of Dixieland or was the featured soloist on The Lawrence Welk Show in the 1960s. Maybe they bought his records "Walking Through New Orleans" or "South Rampart Street Parade." Maybe they remember hearing him on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, or going by his club in the French Quarter in the 1960s and 1970s, or the Hilton in the 1980s and 1990s. Some paraded with his infamous Half-Fast Walking Club on Mardi Gras.

Over lunch with Fountain at the Hotel Monteleone, Tim Laughlin confesses, "It was my 17th birthday. My family and I were having dinner at the Hilton. I snuck up to his club and started listening. Actually I talked to his son Jeff, and I said, ‘Do you think I can meet Pete?’ He says, ‘Yeah, come by after the show.’ I ran back down to tell my family, ‘I’m going to meet Pete Fountain.’" Laughlin ran back upstairs and by the time his family followed, he was in Fountain’s office.

Laughlin had grown up listening to his father’s Pete Fountain records, and they had a great effect on him. "That sound," he says. "That’s Pete Fountain. His Mardi Gras record was a great album to play along to. I wore that out." As Laughlin tells this story, Fountain sits to his left and smiles.

"For an entire year, I was too young to get into the club, so they would have a chair outside for me," Laughlin continues. "I would make a reservation like, ‘This is Tim. I’m coming in tonight.’ They’d have a chair outside, and I’d sit and hear the music. The funny thing is that Wimpy, the doorman, would say, ‘Hey, kid, you want something to drink?’ He was thinking I was going to have a coke and..." Pete interrupts, laughing. "He didn’t want a coke. He wanted a beer!" They both laugh. "So he would bring me a beer," Laughlin says. "I used to haunt him every couple weeks. I could have been some loon. Pete always treated me great."

By the time Laughlin met Fountain, he had already been playing clarinet since the age of nine. He’s played with many of the New Orleans greats, including Fountain, the Dukes of Dixieland and Jack Maheu. Recently, his records have been marked with a number of original songs, putting him in the company of Matt Perrine, Rick Trolsen, Evan Christopher and Tom McDermott as people who are adding to the repertoire of New Orleans traditional jazz instead of playing the standards. He is the latest in a long line of white clarinet players that reaches back to Leon Rappolo and moves to Irving Fazola and then to Fountain. Laughlin has been influenced by all those players as well as Benny Goodman, Jack Maheu and cornetist Connie Jones. But the main person that Tim patterns his playing off of is Fountain.

But it’s not just the playing; they share several traits. According to Tom McDermott, who has done gigs and sessions with both, "Tim’s a real people person and Pete is a down-to-earth, regular guy. He’s a regular guy who happens to be world famous."

Connie Jones, who has played with both and has known Fountain since 1950, agrees that both are "very self-effacing and very gracious." Both of them also have a great sense of humor. When talking about what makes Laughlin a good player, Fountain jokes, "He has a wife who likes clarinet players. Like mine." When asked whether he is passing down anything to Tim, Fountain says, laughing, "I hope so. I gave him one of my clarinets."

At the Hollywood Casino, it is evident to the audience that this is not simply another casino act. The band looks like a caricature of a bored Vegas act, but everyone performs like the music matters. Fountain and Laughlin play with a tone that can only come from years of searching and practicing. Fountain’s is a little reedy at times, but still beautiful. Laughlin’s is gorgeous, like a warm shower on a sunny day. It is obvious to band members and observers that Fountain is passing the proverbial torch to Laughlin, but what exactly does that mean? That cliché does not by itself illuminate what is being exchanged between these two musicians. When asked later about it, Fountain says of Laughlin, "He can do it. He can play with anybody. He doesn’t need me."

Laughlin says, "I think the most important thing Pete passed down is the fat sound. That’s the New Orleans sound. Fazola had it. Johnny Dodds had it. Jimmie Noone. That’s what I got from Pete was the fat sound to fill up the horn, the big sound." Fountain adds, "I got it from Fazola. It’s gone from one end to the other."

But, according to Fountain, there is another element to the clarinet besides getting that New Orleans sound. Laughlin says, "He would tell me to get my own sound and listen to other guys." The idea of developing a unique, recognizable sound seems to be the most important piece of wisdom that has passed between the two, and that is something that is discounted in the music world these days. Developing that sound is not easy, though. "It takes a while because the sound pretty much comes from your head," Laughlin says. "You have to hear it before, and it’s kind of a unique thing when you find it."

"He knows it," Fountain says. "He has the sound. No problem there. He’s got that locked up. I don’t have to teach him that." Laughlin agrees. Other than encouraging him to develop a signature sound, "Pete never once gave me advice," Laughlin says. "Never had to," Fountain chimes in. "Nobody gave him advice. I just tell him ‘Don’t drink too much.’" Quickly, Tim replies, laughing, "That’s the only thing where I didn’t listen to him."

Tim also says that he learned from Fountain’s professionalism onstage. "The way he treats the musicians and how he treats the audience," Laughlin says. "I’ll never forget: One time I was at the Hilton, and there was a guy who was talking real loud. Pete did the coolest thing. He took two steps back, and all you heard was this guy talking, ‘Yar yar yar...’ and suddenly everybody is like, ‘Sssshhhhh.’ Then Pete came back to the microphone and everyone applauded. I was like, "Okay, I want to do that some day."

Connie Jones says that Fountain has taught Laughlin "sounds and notes and knowing your role. You know your role and how to play your role. There’s a difference between jazz choruses and playing ensemble choruses. You have a certain role to play in an ensemble and a different role to play in your solos. It’s knowing that, and learning how to do that is the most important part of being a good, successful jazz musician. Tim has learned that very well."

Jones also thinks that Fountain’s support has helped Laughlin. "Tim was able to play at an early age," says Jones, "and I think the thing that Pete gave him was the encouragement to keep going. It’s been a continual learning process, and a good learning process for Tim. Now it’s almost the other way around. Tim is right there when Pete needs him. If Pete needs Tim to take over at a certain place, Tim is available and jumps right in. There is no visible loss of quality."

Even though neither one will say it, there is a small amount of the jazz mystique that passes between the two of them. Tom McDermott puts it like this: "I think there is something more than the notes. Just to talk to people with the experience that guys like Pete or Connie Jones have had, to have been on the stage with Louis Armstrong or to have met Duke Ellington and hear about all the people that these guys have consorted with. The stories-it’s great. It’s like the people you’ve read about come alive when you hear them talk. Pete, he’s been a star for 50 years. And he’s still a rock star around New Orleans."

And he’s still a rock star at the Hollywood Casino. The audience applauds as they recognize the first notes of Fountain’s hit version of "Just a Closer Walk with Thee." At a certain point in time, this was the hippest thing going, and then it wasn’t, and now that doesn’t matter. It’s simply great music, and Laughlin and Fountain are giving it their all. Fountain still has that cool swankiness to him that is a great contrast to Laughlin’s earnest enthusiasm. Fountain moves haltingly back to his stool when he finishes his solo, but he’s still solid. And there is something still absolutely hip about him. He knows what’s good and what’s cool and is confident about it without any ego.

"Just a Closer Walk with Thee" finishes up and the band begins the last song of the set, "When the Saints Go Marching In," of course. Fountain and Laughlin play the chorus, then Fountain steps back, snapping his fingers and smiling. He has played this song a million times and he’s still enjoying it. He’s here, in the moment, and there is nothing phony about this performance at the Hollywood Casino off a back road on the Gulf Coast in Bay St. Louis. He’s enjoying himself, and why not? He’s still here despite a heart attack, a mild stroke and advancing age. He’s still got the music, that fat sound, and a great musician in Tim Laughlin who will make sure that the sound will continue.

"It’s a cool thing to make a living standing next to a legend and playing with him," Laughlin says. "A guy I first heard and didn’t know who he was, but it was that sound. It wasn’t because he was famous. It was because he could play."

Reprint courtesy of OffBEAT Louisiana Music and Culture article by by David Kunian
Pete Fountain and Tim Laughlin photo by Elsa Hahne.

Monk Hazel And His New Orleans Jazz Kings - GHB Records

Monk Hazel And His New Orleans Jazz Kings
featuring Pete Fountain

2009 GHB Records BDC-117

Drummer Monk Hazel is joined on these two sessions, recorded in 1955 and 1957, by the then unknown trumpeter Al Hirt and clarinetist Pete Fountain. The 13 tracks here represent Hazel's full recorded output as a leader and include 5 songs unreleased before.

CD Listing:
1. Panama
2. Of All the Wrongs
3. I Used to Love You
4. Long Way to Tipperary
5. Gypsy Love Song [#] unreleased

Personnel on tracks 1 -5:
Al Hirt - Trumpet
Jack Delaney - Trombone
Pete Fountain - Clarinet
Joe Capraro- Guitar
Roy Zimmerman- Piano
Phil Darois - String Bass
Monk Hazel - Drums - Mellophone
Rita St Claire - Vocal

6. Angry
7. Basin Street Blues
8. Let Me Call You Sweetheart
9. When You're Smiling
10. Ja Da #1 [#] unreleased
11. Ja Da #2 [#] unreleased
12. Kiss Me Again [#] unreleased
13. Sin to Tell a Lie [#] unreleased

Personnel on tracks 6 -13:
Dutch Andrus - Trumpet
Jack Delaney - Trombone
Harry Shields - Clarinet
Roy Zimmerman - Piano
Chink Martin - Bass - Tuba
Monk Hazel - Drums
Jackie Blaine - Vocal

Liner Notes:

Certain types of musicians are born to be legends. People like Buddy Bolden, Bix Beiderbecke, Paul Mares, Leon Roppolo, Larry Shields and Monk Hazel are the stuff that jazz dreams are made of. But of the quintet names above, Little Monk is the only one left on this sphere, still sparking great jazz combinations. Always insufficiently recorded in years gone by in fact his last recording session fronting his own band dates back to December 1928 when he waxed four sides under the name of "Monk Hazel and his Bienville Roof Garden". Monk's work is mainly remembered by those fortunate enough to see him in person here or on his occasional sensational forays into New York, Chicago, or Hollywood.

If you're one of those unfortunates who have been told so many times, "You should have been here last night! Monk Hazel was on the stand" you'll welcome these nine sides, because they're just the way he played the night you missed him. Principally famed as the greatest of Dixieland drummers, Monk is also celebrated for his work on cornet and e-flat valve trombone plus his great mellophone solo's one which you will hear on the tune "It's A Long Way To Tipperary."

You'll be knocked out, nevertheless, by the unique Hazel beat as present herein, occupying the spotlight in the rhythm section that includes not only the tuba work on side two by Chink Martin, Sr. but the string bass of Phil Darois with that fabulous beat which has become identified with music generating in this Crescent City.

On both sessions you hear Roy Zimmerman the veteran New Orleans piano man stressing sustained improvisation in middle and upper register and extracting rich tones from the piano bass. On clarinet side two fresh from the critical acclaim heaped on his melodious horn in all of the jazz periodical, following his first Southland appearance with the Johnny Wiggs Group (S-LP 200), you'll hear Harry Shields even more carefully recorded, and full of the quiet fire that made for him an overnight world-wide reputation. You'll never get his solo on the verse to "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" out of your mind.

On Side One the big tone of Pete Fountain clarinet who reminds one of the late and great Irving Fazola, and it is a rare privilege to be able to present him now surrounded by men of his own caliber in his finest recorded performance. Jack Delaney's fluent trombone (heard on both sides) which has in the past year captured the fancies and hearts of all of New Orleans, alternates flexibly between "Tailgate" and "High Register" in a manner that confounds so many of the older heads here and then tosses in solos full of freshness and facility rivalling Brunis and Teagarden.

The driving trumpet you'll hear on Side One is a rare treat. Al Hirt has been a outstanding "job" musician around New Orleans for many a year. Obviously for no good reason, he's never been recorded with a Dixieland band before. You'll be shocked, when you hear this wonderful horn to realize that a jazzman of this caliber can get lost in any city. Southland apologizes for the whole record industry, but offers Al Hirt here in his highly successful disc debut. On Side Two you hear Dutch Andrus on trumpet, a current start in his own right carries this session along in masterly fashion. Dutch has established himself already as one of New Orleans outstanding jazzmen. He sat regularly with the town's finest, and they love to play with his typically New Orleans lead horn. On Side One you hear the top man in his field today on guitar "Joe Capraro" with his big full tone and stimulated rhythm.

Southland was so impressed with the fine singing of Rita St Claire that we took this opportunity to offer her to you. On Side One you will hear Rita St Claire backed by this exciting Dixieland ensemble in "All The Wrongs You Done To Me" and "It's A Long Way To Tipperary" - you hear this gorgeous voice. She is a natural, her singing is effortless, her pitch true, her tone full and thrilling.

On Side Two you hear the great blues singer Jackie Blaine giving Spencer Williams great blues "Basin Street Blues" a grand treatment.

Joe Mares, Jr.

The Very Best of Pete Fountain - Unlimited Media

The Very Best of Pete Fountain
Unlimited Media

The Very Best of Pete Fountain
Record Label: Unlimited Media
Originally released: 12-08-2008

1. Dobro Moon
2. Margie
3. Going Home
4. Jazz Me Blues
5. South Rampart Street Parade
6. That's a Plenty
7. The World Is Waiting for the Sunrise
8. The Lazy River
9. Bugle Call Rag
10. Farewell Blues
11. High Society
12. When the Saints Go Marching in

Live Performance In New Orleans - Setco Records

Live Performance In New Orleans
Setco Records

Live Performance In New Orleans
Record Label: Setco
Originally released: 01-FEB-2009

Reissue of 1962 Camden Records CAS-727(e) Stereo / CA-727

1. When the Saints Go Marching In
2. High Society
3. Farewell Blues
4. Darktown Strutter's Ball
5. Ballin' the Jack
6. Way Down Yonder In New Orleans
7. Muskrat Ramble
8. 12th Street Rag
9. Tin Roof Blues
10. Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey

Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey - Setco Records

Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey
Setco Records

Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey
Record Label: Setco
Originally released: 01-FEB-2009

Reissue of 1962 Camden Records CAS-727(e) Stereo / CA-727

1. Won't You Come Home, Bill Bailey
2. High Society
3. 12th Street Rag
4. Ballin' the Jack
5. When the Saints Go Marching In
6. Farewell Blues
7. Darktown Strutter's Ball
8. Muskrat Ramble
9. Tin Roof Blues
10. Way Down Yonder In New Orleans

Pete's Beat - CEMA Special Markets

Pete's Beat
CEMA Special Markets

2008 EMI reissue of 1992 CEMA Special Markets S21-56649

CD Listing
1. When You're Smiling
2. Oh, Lady Be Good
3. 'way Down Yonder In New Orleans
4. Someday Sweetheart
5. Avalon
6. Honeysuckle Rose
7. Rosetta
8. Shine
9. The One I Love (Belongs To Somebody Else)
10. You Can Depend On Me
11. Do You Know What It Means (To Miss New Orleans)
12. Deep Purple

Liner Notes:

A showcase for Pete's clarinet, these recordings should appeal more to fans of the mellow, softer Pete than of his driving New Orleans dixieland style music. No credits listed or liner notes here, pretty much a budget release. It's Pete with a small group of unidentified musicians on the xylophone, guitar, bass and drums. The accompaniment is swinging, crisp, and rather lean, thanks in some measure to the absence of a piano, but none of the supporting musicians measures up to the capabilities of the leader during the solos. Except for two obvious selections , there is nothing to identify this with New Orleans but this is still a very enjoyable small group swing set.

Tradition Runs Deep: Blues, Folk & Jazz - Tradition Records

Tradition Runs Deep: Blues, Folk & Jazz
Various Artists Featuring Pete Fountain

Tradition Runs Deep: Blues, Folk & Jazz
Record Label: Tradition
Originally released: 14-JUL-1998

1. You Got To Move Artist: Mississippi Fred McDowell
2. John Henry Artist: Etta Baker
3. In New Orleans (House Of The Rising Sun) Artist: Leadbelly
4. More Pretty Girls Than One Artist: Woody Guthrie
5. Treat Everybody Right Artist: Big Bill Broonzy
6. Jack O' Diamonds Artist: Odetta
7. Down In The Willow Garden Artist: Kossoy Sisters, Eric Darling
8. Walk On Artist: Sonny Terry, Brownie McGhee
9. See See Rider Artist: Lightnin' Hopkins
10. Balky Mule Blues Artist: Blind Lemon Jefferson
11. I'm Not Rough Artist: Louis Armstrong
12. Oop Bop Sh-Bam Artist: Dizzy Gillespie
13. Cherokee Artist: Charlie Barnet & His Orchestra
14. Bayou Blues Artist: Pete Fountain
15. Bamba Samba Artist: Woody Herman, Charlie Byrd

Dixieland Jazz Fever - X5 Music Group

Dixieland Jazz Fever
Various Artists Featuring Pete Fountain

Dixieland Jazz Fever
Record Label: X5 Music Group
Originally released: 29-04-2008

1. Cherry Pink And Apple Blossom White Artist: Al Hirt
2. Moon Over Dixie Artist: Duke Ellington
3. Shine Artist: Al Hirt
4. Rock a Bye Your Baby With a Dixie Melody Artist: Al Jolson
5. Dixie Jamboree Artist: Nat King Cole
6. Margie Artist: Pete Fountain
7. Dixie Artist: Al Caiola
8. High Society Artist: Pete Fountain
9. I Wanna Be Like You (Live) Artist: Kenny Ball
10. Alexanders Rag Time Band Medley Artist: The Beverley Sisters
11. Bugle Call Rag Artist: Benny Goodman
12. High Society Artist: Sidney Bechet
13. King Porter Stomp Artist: Glenn Miller
14. Maple Leaf Rag Artist: Sidney Bechet
15. Savoy Blues Artist: Acker Bilk
16. That's a Plenty Artist: Tommy Dorsey
17. Tiger Rag Artist: Alvino Rey
18. When the Saints Go Marchin´ in Artist: Louis Armstrong
19. Way Down Yonder In New Orleans Artist: Bill Coleman
20. South Rampart Street Parade Artist: Bob Crosby
21. Muskrat Ramble Artist: Dean Martin
22. Careless Love Artist: The American Patrol Orchestra
23. Beale Street Mama Artist: Cab Calloway
24. Chinatown My Chinatown Artist: Chet Atkins
25. Weary Blues Artist: Tommy Dorsey

It Might As Well Be Swing - Ranwood Records

It Might As Well Be Swing
Various Artists Featuring Pete Fountain

It Might As Well Be Swing
Record Label: Ranwood
Originally released: 24-AUG-1999

Artist: Glenn Miller
1. Tuxedo Junction
2. Chattanooga Choo Choo
3. Pennsylvania 6-5000
4. Sun Valley Jump
5. Bugle Call Rag
6. I've Got A Gal In Kalamazoo
7. Perfidia
8. Runnin' Wild

Artist: Lawrence Welk
9. Take The "A" Train
10. One O'clock Jump
11. Christopher Columbus
12. King Porter Stomp
13. Caravan
14. That Old Black Magic
15. Organ Grinder's Swing
16. Tangerine

Artist: Pete Fountain
17. Cheek To Cheek
18. Alice Blue Gown
19. Runnin' Wild

Artist: Myron Floren
20. Pennsylvania Polka
21. The Thunder Polka
22. Jolly Polka

Legends Of Jazz Vol. One - Synergy Records

Legends Of Jazz Vol. One
Various Artists Featuring Pete Fountain

Legends Of Jazz Vol. One - Synergy Records
Record Label: Synergy Records
Originally released: 1999

1. April In Paris Artist: Count Basie
2. Don’T Blame Me Artist: Charlie Parker, Miles Davis
3. Ain't Nobody's Business Artist: Billie Holiday
4. Jazz Is His Old Lady Artist: Earl "Fatha" Hines
5. Eubie's Boogie Artist: Lionel Hampton
6. Sensation Rag Artist: Pete Fountain
7. Birth Of The Blues Artist: Cab Calloway
8. Tain't What You Do Artist: Ella Fitzgerald
9. Love Me Or Leave Me Artist: Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan
10. Riff Raff Artist: Charlie Parker
11. Diga Diga Do Artist: Lena Horne
12. Accentuate The Positive Artist: Lionel Hampton

Big Band Swing Volume 1 - Synergy Records

Big Band Swing Volume 1
Various Artists Featuring Pete Fountain

Big Band Swing Volume 1
Record Label: Synergy Records
Originally released: 1999

1. April In Paris Artist: Count Basie
2. The Jumpin' Jive Artist: Glenn Miller
3. Frankie and Johnny Artist: Benny Goodman
4. You Are My Everything Artist: Tommy Dorsey
5. I Ain't Got Nobody Artist: Louis Armstrong
6. Dark Eyes Artist: Stan Kenton
7. Pennsylvania 6-5000 Artist: Glenn Miller
8. Sunset In Paradise Artist: Pete Fountain
9. Stompin' At The Savoy Artist: Benny Goodman
10. I Got It Bad (And That Ain't Good) Artist: Lena Horne
11. Little Girl Artist: Tommy Dorsey
12. Chatanooga Choo Choo Artist: Glenn Miller
13. It Might As Well Be Spring Artist: Stan Kenton
14. Won't You Come Home Bill Bailey Artist: Louis Armstrong
15. I Can't Get Started Artist: Artie Shaw
16. Moonlight in Vermont Artist: Tommy Dorsey