I Love Paris - Coral Records

I Love Paris

Pete Fountain Plays the Sweetest French Melodies

1962 Coral Records CRL 757378 Stereo / CRL 57378 Mono

Side 1
1. I Love Paris
2. Comme Ci, Comme Ca (Clopin, Clopant)
3. Frere Jazz
4. Autumn Leaves (Les Feuilles Mortes)
5. La Vie En Rose
6. April in Paris

Side 2
1. C'est Magnifique
2. Two Loves Have I (J'ai Deux Amours)
3. C'est Ci Bon (Its Been Good)
4. The Song from Moulin Rouge (Where is Your Heart)
5. Tout De Suite
6. My Man (Mon Homme)

Liner Notes:

PETE FOUNTAIN Plays The SWEETEST FRENCH MELODIES
with Charles Bud Dant and His Orchestra

'WAY DOWN UPON THE SEINE RIVER' could easily be the sub-title of this
most beautiful, imaginative and subtly-swinging album of our best-loved French melodies. Pete Fountain, the Pied Piper of the French Quarter in New Orleans, takes you to the heart of France and romance, without ever leaving his beloved Bourbon Street. The exciting combination of Pete's clarinet tone and melodic-jazz style, coupled with his swinging rhythm-section and string orchestra, will make you understand what Pete means when he says "I LOVE PARIS".

Consider for a moment the ingredients that were used to create this most unusual and exciting of all Fountain albums. The basic idea of having Pete record something different from his usual New Orleans jazz tunes led to the choice of these delightful French songs, all of which he loved and felt he would like to play in his own style.

The selection of a foundation, or rhythm section, was no problem. Naturally, the boys who have always sparked Pete's great style on his previous hit records and TV performances were used - Jack Sperling, the swingin'est drummer, Stanley Wrightsman, the last of the two-handed pianists, and Morty Corb, the bass fiddle player who plays the right notes and the right time. This group can do more in the interest of real imaginative musical backgrounds than most large orchestras.

Then came the first big question; should these songs be recorded with just this rhythm section (as in many of Pete's previous hit albums), or should some new and provocative sounds be introduced to add frosting and excitement. Ours being an era of new sounds in recording, it was decided to add French horn (mais oui!), trombones, a large string section, plus another percussionist, namely Pete's own vibe player, Godfrey Hirsch.

The final ingredient was obvious. Since this was now a large orchestra, there was to be a conductor and arranger. The only man for this dual job was Pete's musical and A & R director, Charles Bud Dant, who has been swinging the baton and writing music on all of his big band recordings since Pete left Lawrence Welk.

Now that you know all the elements, it's time for you to sample and enjoy. Beginning with the first lightly-swinging cymbal beat of "I LOVE PARIS" which saucily opens the album, you will hear this boy from the French Quarter, New Orleans-style, weave his tunefully swinging magic through these sweetest of French melodies. Accompanied by this most unusual orchestra which is part Bourbon Street and part Champs Elysees you will be transported to a petite, picturesque cafe, somewhere in Paris - or the French Quarter in Old New Orleans. You might even get carried away and find yourself thinking "Q'umtorte..." Rough Translation, "what matter where I am, the music is so sweet and yet so exciting, Cherie".

A Lawrence Welk Showcase - Coral Records

A Lawrence Welk Showcase

featuring Pete Fountain

1962 Coral Records CRL 757383 Stereo / CRL 57383 Mono

Side One:
1. Whispering - Lawrence Welk
2. When My Baby Smiles At Me - Pete Fountain
3. Londonderry Air - Dick Kesner
4. Yes Sir, That's My Baby - "Big" Tiny Little
5. Over The Waves Waltz - Myron Floren
6. You Always Hurt The One You Love - The Lennon Sisters

Side Two
1. Alexander's Ragtime Band - Lawrence Welk
2. Summertime - Pete Fountain
3. Schubert's Serenade - Dick Kesner
4. What Is This Thing Called Love - Alice Lon
5. Kiss Me Again - Jerry Burke
6. Peg 0' My Heart - "Big" Tiny Little

Liner Notes:

A Lawrence Welk Showcase

Many of today's most outstanding musical talents are members or alumni of the famous Lawrence Welk organization. Through the medium of Welk's popular television shows the American viewing and listening public discovered the artistry of Pete Fountain, today the celebrated "Mr. New Orleans Jazz"; the violin virtuosity of Dick Kesner; the captivating keyboard styling of "Big" Tiny Little.

Here is a glistening showcase of Welk-launched talent, some still part of his organization, others having moved on to unprecedented success and popularity on their own.

In A Lawrence Welk Showcase, we hear Pete Fountain's fabulous clarinet interpretations of When My Baby Smiles At Me and the Gershwin classic Summertime; Dick Kesner and his magic Stradivarius in exciting arrangements of Schubert's Serenade and Londonderry Air ("Danny Boy"); "Big" Tiny Little, master of the honky tonk piano, playing a rousing version of Yes Sir, That's My Baby and Peg 0' My Heart. We hear a lilting rendition of What Is This Thing Called Love, sung by former champagne lady Alice Lon; the lovely Lennon sisters singing You Always Hurt The One You Love; Myron Floren's wonderful accordion interpretation of Over The Waves Waltz; Jerry Burke's organ styling of Kiss Me Again; and the entire Welk orchestra playing Whispering and Alexander's Ragtime Band.

A Lawrence Welk Showcase is not only great entertainment, it represents a colorful cross-section of American popular music today.

Presenting Pete Fountain And Al Hirt Bourbon Street - Coral Records

Presenting Pete Fountain And Al Hirt Bourbon Street

1962 Coral Records CRL 757389 Stereo / CRL 57389 Mono

Side One
1. Farewell Blues With Al Hirt
2. St. James Infirmary
3. March Of The Bob Cats With Al Hirt
4. March Through The Streets Of Their City

Side Two
1. At The Jazz Band Ball With Al Hirt
2. Blues On Bourbon Street
3. Jazz Me Blues With Al Hirt
4. Lazy River

Personnel:
Pete Fountain, clarinet
Al Hirt, trumpet
Eddie Miller, tenor sax
Jack Sperling, drums
Ray Bauduc, drums
Stan Wrightsman, piano
Morty Corb, bass
Bobby Gibbons, guitar

Liner Notes:

Presenting PETE FOUNTAIN and AL HIRT BOURBON STREET

In recalling the story of New Orleans jazz, historians have dwelt endlessly on the legendary facts and figures of the tenderloin. An ordinance sponsored in 1897 by a local alderman named Story, setting topographical limits on the sporting-house district, led to the birth of an area that was to become known internationally as Storyville, and from then until 1917, when the district was shut down, the events took place that were commemorated in songs about Basin Street and Mahogany Hall.

Less celebrated in the annals of the Crescent City's music is French Quarter's Bourbon Street, a thorough-fare that has become, especially in the past two decades, New Orleans' equivalent of the now-fabled 52nd Street in Manhattan. Long after Storyville's coda was sounded, long after the first jazz pioneers had moved on to Chicago and Los Angeles and New York, Bourbon Street with its nest of small clubs provided a pied-a-terre for dozens of small, bristling combos that kept the city's musical tradition alive.

As you walk down this narrow street, if you know any of the history of Bourbon Street you will sense music in the air, before and after as well as during working hours. Passing by the Famous Door, the Dream Room, Antoine's and all the other sites where jazz has been played, you are reminded of the days when the late Irving Fazola blew his last chorus on the street back in the '40s; of Eddie Miller and the other local men who went on to spread the Dixieland word via the Bob Crosby orchestra; of Louis Prima, Sharkey Bonano, Wingy Manone and the many others for whom Bourbon Street was home.

Pete Fountain and Al Hirt are two symbols of Bourbon Street jazz who in the past few years have carried their message into unexpected channels. Today each leads his own group, bringing the jazz tradition to sophisticated night clubs from Las Vegas to New York and to national television shows. Pete has his own club, the highly successful French Quarter Inn at 800 Bourbon Street, while Al, between national tours, can be found at 600 Bourbon Street, at his and Dan Levy's Pier 600 Club, where he was discovered in 1960.

Some of the music in this album was recorded when Pete and Al, not yet known to the general public, were working jointly in an exciting little group. March of the Bobcats is a product of this period. This composition, as the credits indicate, was a product of the Bob Crosby band and lends itself ideally to Al's plunging, no-holds-barred horn. The trombone soloist, Abe Lincoln, though born in Lancaster, Pa., is a son of New Orleans in spirit and has recorded with everyone from Bobby Hackett to Bob Scobey. Eddie Miller's warm tenor sound follows, as personal and persuasive as when he was a key Crosby man (1936-42). Solos by Al and Pete are next, the former showing great finesse without the showmanship that was to come later.

On this and the other tunes featuring AI Hirt and Pete, you will hear the remarkably intense beat of a double rhythm section. Stereo listeners will find drummer Jack Sperling on the left; pianist Stan Wrightsman left and center; drummer Ray Bauduc center; bassist Morty Corb center and right; guitarist Bobby Gibbons right.

Farewell Blues, a tune recorded in 1922 by the Friars Society Orchestra, has some inspired muted trumpet by Al followed by some typically fluent Fountain and a solo spot by Stan. Notice how, in the open horn solo before the final ensemble, AI Hirt hints at the iron lip he was to develop as one of his most commercial assets in the next couple of years.

St. James' Infirmary opens with guitar and bass, leading via an attractive riff into Pete's slow-tempo statement of the venerable theme. This treatment, unlike too many instrumental versions of the song, actually suggests the mournful tale told in the lyrics.

March Through the Streets of Their City is a traditional melody, better known as Red River Valley. Played by Pete's own group with Wrightsman, Corb, Sperling and Gibbons, it develops a down-home gospel feel, with notably eloquent statements by Fountain and Corb.

At The Jazz Band Ball again shows off Al's potent lead and reminds us of Stan's elegant qualifications as a real two-handed pianist. Eddie Miller, Al, Pete and Morty all have solos and the ensemble generates a stimulating eight-beat feeling.

Blues on Bourbon Street was recorded with Pete's regular location unit in New Orleans, featuring Godfrey Hirsch on vibes, Dave West on piano, Paul Guma on guitar, Paul Edwards on drums and Lowell Miller on bass. Dave in-stills his introduction with a fine funky quality and Pete, with vibes adding a pleasant backdrop, shows that the blues brings out the best in him as it does in so many first-rate jazzmen. Notice the pretty harmonic changes in the eight-bar piano interlude.

Jazz Me Blues, by the Pete-and-Al combine, is taken at a relaxed medium trot and swings consistently with the help of Eddie Miller, Abe
Lincoln and Stan Wrightsman.

Lazy River was recorded previously by Pete in the New Orleans album. This new version is strikingly different: there is no tempo change and the opening chorus, instead of introducing the melody, offers a variation by Stan before Pete brings in the theme. Pete's improvisation in the fifth and sixth choruses shows a keen sense of construction as well as his usual resplendent tone and perfect sense of time. Drums, bass and guitar offer a cute, unexpected twist at the end.

As this album attests, you can take the musicians out of Bourbon Street but you can't take the Bourbon Street out of men like Pete and Al. The buoyant, spirited music for which they have become roving ambassadors is a contagiously happy reminder of the street where it lived - and still lives, as often as the Fountains and Hirts have a chance to hurry back home.

- Leonard Feather

Swing Low, Sweet Clarinet - Coral Records

Swing Low, Sweet Clarinet

1962 Coral Records CRL 757394 Stereo / CRL 57394 Mono

Side One
1. Dis Ol' Train
2. Sing You Sinners
3. Nobody Knows The Trouble I've Seen
4. Swing Low, Sweet Chariot
5. Down By The Riverside
6. Let Me Walk Closer To Thee

Side Two
1. Yes Indeed
2. Swing Low, Sweet Clarinet
3. If I Go To The Promised Land
4. I Talk To The King
5. Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child
6. Joshua Fit De Battle Of Jericho

Liner Notes:

Swing Low, Sweet Clarinet
Pete Fountain With The Jubilee Singers And Orchestra
Directed By Charles Bud Dant

Swing Low Sweet Clarinet is a completely new experience in New Orleans Jazz. Through the magic that is Pete Fountain devout disciples of the traditional idiom born in the heart of Crescent City, will discover an excitingly new component with jazz. Production wise this album is different - a new departure among the usual tune anthologies under a single cover. Yet, amazingly enough, here is tradition somehow overlooked until now in the combined use of little band jazz with Jubilee Singers.

Every musical selection is traditional or has deep-rooted melodic form that makes each a valued part of the collection. Even though two are originals by Pete Fountain and Bud Dant, the mood is kept intact, never broken for an instant. The continuity of Bud Dant's arrangements for both singers, large and small bands; and the instrumental combo head tunes, fit into a perfectly balanced and logical presentation.

In addition to himself, Pete works with either a quartet or quintet. In any case, there is an exact fill which provides complete musical satisfaction - never emptiness. Instrumentally. Pete and Bud Dant have built a unified team with such jazz greats as Stanley Wrightsman, Godfrey Hirsch, Morty Corb, Jack Sperling, Dick Cathcart, Bobby Gibbons, Plas Johnson and others. With such combined talents the intended effect of the numbers included in his various albums is precisely what was originally planned. In this album, and included among the big band personnel on important solo passages, Plas Johnson's tenor sax taste and blend is no accident, neither is his ability. He is a native New Orleans musician who came over the same route as other Greats from the Jazz Cradle. Bobby Gibbons can command, run at will, and impart guitar solidarity wherever required. So much has been written of Jack Sperling that further gilding is redundant. Suffice in making comparisons, odious or not, this is true: Jack has the tremendous technical speed and skill of Buddy Rich, the dynamic solidarity of Krupa; the feeling for cymbal work synonymous with Jo Jones; the depth of improvisational acumen of Baduc, the inherent jazz feeling of Nick Fatool. Morty Corb has bridged the difficult chasm between symphonic legitimacy and absolute jazz improvisation. Though he has lectured on string bass technique before music educators, he also stands alone in great stature in a Pete Fountain group. Always associated with the so-called "Jazz Great," from Ben Pollack on, Stan Wrightsman is another of those sensitive souls who finds perfect affinity with Pete Fountain. And, so capable! I've left until last Godfrey Hirsch. the New Orleans team-mate of Pete who is the regular on vibes. Though he was first known to this writer as a theatre and radio percussionist years ago, he was also a highly capable arranger and vibraharp player. He is accredited with considerable invention which translated, means an outstanding knowledge of harmony, tremendous technical skill with the mallets, and a comparable depth of feeling and overall experience. He can counterpart any musician and mood for the occasion, lead out with the power of Lionel Hampton, improvise with Norvo, and modernize slap vibe mallets into an artistic fulfillment.

SIDE ONE
No. 1: DIS OL' TRAIN (Fountain) (Singers with Rhythm Section)

The Pete Fountain rhythm section and the Jubilee Singers open this side with some well adapted vocal effects that quicklyget the train rolling out fast. Pete and Jack Sperling open the throttle with some well paced clarineting and drum work that make for a decidedly happy trip. The clarinet justifiably pre-dominates throughout. Use of dynamics, particularly with an exciting by-play drum break and application of chords ranging to a very soft closing, also diminishes the tempo speed to a slow, sustained ending.

No. 2: SING YOU SINNERS (Instrumental- Pete with Quintet)

Sperling establishes the opening pace as an introduction into a medium tempo with Pete's clarinet leading the group. Godfrey Hirsch embellishes the background with vibe figures. On the chorus Pete and Godfrey divide solos backed by strong rhythm. The device of a string bass and guitar stop-chorus by Morty Corb and Bobby Gibbons provides an exceptional taste contrast. Closing out, the technical artistry of Jack points up a fast following ensemble finish.

No. 3: NOBODY KNOWS (Singers with Rhythm Section)

The intro is highlighted by Pete augmenting the Jubilee voices which sustain until the easy-riding tempo is set. Fountain's low register use with the singers provides a remarkably well balanced effect. Particularly outstanding in the happy mood of the chorus is soprano Gwen Johnson, who with the other Jubilees finds exceptional background blending by the rhythm section. The strong beat leads to interplay between Pete's clarinet and vocalist. The ending, as in the beginning. ritards.

No. 4: SWING LOW, SWEET CHARIOT (Instrumental - Pete with Quintet)

As with all small band instrumentals in this album, this selection is a "head arrangement." Guitarist, Bobby Gibbons, always sensitive and competent, has an opening supported by Hirsch vibes and the ensemble. The use of sub tone clarineting by Pete in the first chorus builds up his inspired taste for this spiritual. There is a remarkable and intense feeling here, which is given deep understanding by Pete Fountain. A final ensemble chorus supports the melody, gradually fading in volume to pre-serve the mood.

No. 5: DOWN BY THE RIVERSIDE (Instrumental - Big Band)

This rather long instrumental has brilliant instrumental facets which have been carefully interwoven by meticulous arranging. Abridgement, too often influenced through AM radio demands, has not been tolerated here. Morty Corb's bass opens to muted brass figures. The tempo is slow and relaxed. Pete takes over the lead in the first chorus and the declamation is loud. Plas Johnson's tenor is featured in a chorus, providing a transitional deep reed complement to Pete's clarinet. Principally. the listener will note the magnitude and exceptional balance, and the feeling that permeates the entire band. In addition, the full band shows remarkable taste and relaxation. It is appropriate to mention at this point, Pete Fountain's stature as an ensemble clarinetist. Too many solo performers fail in attempts to merge into the whole unit. Not so in the case of Pete, who can pace and merge as the need becomes apparent.

No. 6: LET ME WALK CLOSER TO THEE (Fountain) (Jubilee Singers with Big Band)

This number was a highly successful single record from Pete's first album when made with small combo. The changes in this arrangement with large band, became apparent. The captivatingly beautiful melody finds a thrilling performance by the Jubilee Singers. Bringing hack this spiritual with such a blend of voices and big band provides an emotional unforgettable experience in music. The clarinet responsibility taken over by Pete Fountain provides further proof of his ensemble mastery.

SIDE TWO
No. 1: YES INDEED (Jubilee Singers with Rhythm Section)

The fourteen voice choir - eight men and six girls, work with the small band on this Ray Charles number. Pete has a short cadenza that gets it jumping in a spirited mood. The choir answers Pete with the title words while the rhythm section drives on in the background. String bass and guitar take over a chorus dividing the honors; then the first driving chorus repeats. The Fountain clarinet is the emphatic force. There is a uniquely stated ending - very exceptional. A single of this title would be a smash hit!

No. 2: SWING LOW, SWEET CLARINET (Singers with Rhythm Section)

The title song of the album is taken at a slow, relaxed gait, with the introduction pointing up eight male voices and a girl. Pete opens with a broad, low register clarinet which he uses through the first chorus. His melodic improvisations are exceptionally brilliant, giving him full opportunity for sincere expression. This number showcases Fountain's virtuosity, and allows him full freedom of expression and further opportunities for invention.

No. 3: IF I GO TO THE PROMISED LAND (Eddie Miller-Matty Matlock Original) (Instrumental - Big Band)

Coming from the pens of Miller-Matlock, with Matty's arranging, this up tune is a captivating spiritual in mood, typically New Orleans in character. The sixteen piece band is dynamically powerful here, then softens for a muted trumpet chorus by Dick Cathcart with Pete. Never at any time does the Fountain clarinet lose identity, nor does Pete relinquish his masterful work in the ensemble - a mood he established and which is picked up by the band to a finish.

No. 4: I TALK TO THE KING (Fountain)(Instrumental Sextet)

This is a traditional New Orleans spiritual type number opened by Sperling's drums, sending patterns via the great Ben Pollack touch. So typical is the jazz mood here that Godfrey Hirsch takes off on vibes with slap mallets - and the taste is excellent. This is a marcher type of number - typical of the traditional New Orleans street parades. So realistic is the feeling and interpretation that one envisions the marchers. Sperling provides a great, full beat to give the tune virility. Pete becomes exuberant in his chorus, transmitting unbounded excitement to the listener. Keeping the Dixie theme and mood, Jack Sperling applies parade drum licks in the bridge which heighten the excitement. Fountain's final chorus finds him in low register, complemented rhythmically by the group then, to a guitar ending by Bobby Gibbons.

No. 5: SOMETIMES I FEEL LIKE A MOTHERLESS CHILD (Instrumental Big Barid)

There are many tunes recorded today in odd tempi, too many of which remain inconsequential. Here, however, is a vivid, thrilling exception: the tempo is 5/4, patterns of which are established in the intro by Sperling. Pete comes on with his big tone and feeling to emphasize the melody and tricky tempo. The brass section screams a chorus underscored by brilliant percussion and rhythm. The bridge reverts to 4/4 and a chorus in the same tempo in which Pete's clarinet capably leads out. A special kick is in store for the careful listener during a two measure drum break in which Sperling cleverly assumes the original 5/4 tempo. There is no transition to the 5/4 final chorus except the insidious switch-over Jack provides. The final chorus is loud and clear and has no finality except for a chord sustentation to end. This is a very dramatic offering!

No. 6: JOSHUA FIT DE BATTLE OF JERICHO (Instrumental Big Band)

Drums open brilliantly, then Pete takes over and the big band assumes the first chores. This is a highly exciting, up tempo screamer. Full use of dynamics makes this a thrilling experience. There are clarinet contrasts, subdued rhythm, and excellent use of trombone pedal tones against Pete's instrument. Always. there is strong supporting rhythm. An ensemble bridge returns the musical thought to the opening strains, where rhythm again takes over; then, a final chorus where all stops are pulled out without reservation. Sperling rides this one out with technical, driving gusto.

There can be no doubt over the ultimate destiny of this album. The combined use of Jubilee Singers with Pete Fountain and his groups becomes a satisfying musical experience. It is fitting that this first album usage of the vocalists and musicians be in the traditional vein. Certainly, there has been no recorded similarity in this specific age with such outstanding success. This cannot be considered in the light of an experiment, for singing of this happy, exuberant type of music is as old as early jazz
expression in New Orleans.

Sam Rowland

Music from Dixie - Coral Record

Music from Dixie - Coral Records

1962 Coral Records CRL 757401 Stereo / CRL 57401 Mono

Side One
1. Bye Bye Bill Bailey
2. I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate
3. High Society
4. (When It's) Darkness On The Delta
5. Song Of The Wanderer (Where Shall I Go?)
6. Dixie Jubilee

Side Two
1. Struttin' With Some Barbecue
2. Shine
3. Chlo-E (Song Of The Swamp)
4. Milenberg Joys
5. When You're Smiling (The Whole World Smiles With You)
6. Hallelujah

Liner Notes:

Music from Dixie

The magic behind dixieland music lies mainly in the fact that it is quite a bit more than just music. Dixieland is a spirit; an unfettered, wonderfully undisciplined wail of pure happiness. Dixieland - both musically and emotionally - is the embodiment of simplicity.

In essence, dixieland music can neither be contrived or premeditated, for it is from its spontaneity, from its inventive improvisation, that it derives its life.

Pete Fountain, whose clarinet has become one of dixieland music's most eloquent spokes-men, was born to his unique craft and raised on it. Pete has the spirit and imagination built in. This, coupled with his extraordinary mastery of his instrument, has made of him the personification of dixieland jazz.

In this album, Pete's artistry stands out in bold relief against a colorful background provided by top jazz instrumentalists Stan Wrightsman, Morty Corb, Jack Sperling, Eddie Miller, Moe Schneider, Bobby Gibbons and Charles Teagarden.

Let The Good Times Roll - Coral Records

Let The Good Times Roll

1962 Coral Records CRL 757406 Stereo / CRL 57406 Mono

Side 1
1. Talkin' Bout You
2. Let The Good Times Roll
3. Get Happy
4. Georgia On My Mind
5. Blue Clarinet
6. A-EH La Bas

Side 2
1. Corrine Corrina
2. Angel Eyes
3. Down Home
4. And The Angels Sing
5. It's All Right
6. Soft Winds

Liner Notes:

LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL
Pete Fountain With The Jubilee Singers With Chorus And Orchestra Directed By Charles bud Dant

Although there are some jazz buffs who decry popularity as musically corrupting, it is to clarinetist Pete Fountain's considerable credit that he has, with his own unique style and great talent, captured the imagination of one of the vastest and most comprehensive audiences the medium has ever enjoyed.

In this album-generating characteristic musical excitement through his extremely successful amalgamation of his clarinet, a rhythm section, orchestra and vocal chorus - Pete delivers a collection of swinging standards. Among them, the fast-moving title song, Let The Good Times Roll, and such colorful favorites as Talkin' 'bout You, Get Happy, Georgia On My Mind, Corrine Corrina, Angel Eyes, And The Angels Sing, and many others.

As usual, Pete's clarinet provides the vital impetus to the proceedings, supported by some of the most outstanding instrumentalists on the scene today - Stan Wrightsman on piano; Morty Corb, bass; Jack Sperling and Nick Fatool alternating on drums; Bobby Gibbons and Bob Bain, guitar; the Jubilee Singers (Ann Terry, Gene Lanham, Jack Gruberman, Sally Sweetland, Francis Scott, Gwenn Johnson, Bill Lee, William Brown, Sue Allen, Peggy Clark) ; and the orchestra under the able and imaginative direction of Charles "Bud" Dant.

Pete Fountain And Al Hirt The New Orleans Scene - Coral Records

Pete Fountain And Al Hirt The New Orleans Scene

1962 Coral Records CRL 757419 Stereo / CRL 57419 Mono

Side One
1. Panama (Pete Fountain And Al Hirt)
2. St. Louis Blues Pete Fountain
3. All The Wrongs You've Done To Me (They're Bound To Come Back To You) (Pete Fountain And Al Hirt)
4. Lonesome Road (Pete Fountain)

Side Two
1. I Used To Love You (But It's All Over Now) (Pete Fountain And Al Hirt)
2. I've Found A New Baby (Pete Fountain)
3. It's A Long, Long Way To Tipperary (Pete Fountain And Al Hirt)
4. Mighty Like The Blues (Pete Fountain)

Liner Notes:

THE NEW ORLEANS SCENE featuring PETE FOUNTAIN and AL HIRT

Al Hirt and Pete Fountain have more in common than their New Orleans origins. Both are acknowledged representatives of a school of music that grew up in the South, and especially in the Crescent City. Both, significantly, have achieved in the past couple of years a degree of popular success with the public at large that would never have seemed conceivable in the early years of Dixieland jazz. But this in turn is due to another characteristic they have always shared: both are outgoing, personable musicians who are capable of making their performances acceptable to a broad audience; neither finds it necessary to limit himself to any in-group of intellectuals, fellow-musicians or music critics. Both enjoy and encourage a warm audience reaction.

That a great deal of valid music can be accomplished in this manner is made abundantly clear by these sides. Four of the tracks are played by a typical seven-piece Dixieland band in which Al and Pete are both heard. The other members of the combo are familiar to students of present-day New Orleans jazz. Jack Delaney, who completes the front line, studied at Southeastern Louisiana College and played during the 1950s with Sharkey Bonano and Tony Almerico before joining Al Hirt. Three of the four rhythm section men - pianist Roy Zimmerman, guitarist Joe Capraro and bassist Phil Darois--were heard in the album Al Hirt in New Orleans, and the fourth, drummer Arthur (Monk) Hazel, also a Bonano alumnus, is a 59-year-old pioneer whose career goes back to the Emmett Hardy band of 1920.

The other four tracks present Pete Fountain in a more intimate setting, flanked by what is now his regular West Coast rhythm section - Stan Wrightsman, piano; Bobby Gibbons, guitar; Morty Corb, bass and Jack Sperling, drums. The unpretentious routines for the tunes on this date were sketched by Bud Dant.

All eight of the vehicles used by these combos go back many years. Panama, played by the Hirt group, has a history that extends more than three decades and has been recorded by innumerable trumpeter-led groups, from Armstrong and Nichols to Davison and Daily. St. Louis Blues, the 1914 W. C. Handy blues bellwether, undergoes a smoothly-swinging revitalization in the hands of Pete and his rhythm section, with unmistakably modern touches in the solo spots by Sperling and Corb.

All The Wrongs You're Done To Me exhibits several facets of Al Hirt's musical personality that earned him respect among his contemporaries. The strong, assertive sound, the unhurried phrasing, the sometimes Armstrong-like melodic simplicity all are powerfully in evidence. The side ends with Pete's quintet in a revival of the 1928 Lonesome Road. Note the cohesion with which the rhythm section punctuates behind Pete's low-register statement of the theme.

A rousing example of the effective conversion of a popular song into traditional jazz terms is I Used To Love You But It's All Over Now, noteworthy here for excellent contributions by Hirt and Delaney. The song, incidentally, is even older than is generally realized: Albert Von Tilzer wrote the melody in 1920. Fountain's I've Found a New Baby, with a brisk series of four-bar trades by the leader and Sperling, is a Spencer Williams standard long associated with the 1928 version by Muggsy Spanier and the Chicago Rhythm Kings.

Tipperary was one of the big songs of World War I, internationally popular from 1917 on. As so often happens with old pop tunes, the chord pattern turned out to he ideal for jazz improvisation; Al's work here is equally brilliant in solo and ensemble. Mighty Like The Blues, though the youngest song on the set, goes back a long way. I wrote it in London in 1936, and the Duke Ellington version two years later was the first recording of any song of mine in this country. Barney Bigard's chalumeau clarinet was a feature then, and Pete's lower register is similarly showcased here, all the way down to the bottom D concert in the fourth bar of the theme. Gibbons' guitar provides an interesting link in the introduction and interludes; Pete, when not stating the melody, plays some highly attractive ad lib blues.

That Al Hirt and Pete Fountain made a potent team in the late 1950s is as evident as the success both have enjoyed since they branched out separately. The alternation between band performances and the tracks by Pete's present group offer an intriguing study in contrasts, as well as a reassuring reminder of the durability of this free-wheeling, unpretentious music - the kind of jazz with which both musicians, not too long ago, established an international reputation.

- LEONARD FEATHER

Plenty of Pete - Coral Records

Plenty of Pete

1963 Coral CRL 757424 Stereo / CRL 57424 Mono

Side One

1. After You've Gone

2. Medley: a. Stardust b. Is It True What They Say About Dixie c. When The Saints Go Marching In d. Dixie

3. Don't Be That Way

4. On The Sunny Side Of The Street

Side Two

1. Just One Of Those Things

2. Stranger On The Shore

3. Jazz Me Blues

4. Blue Skies

Liner Notes:

PLENTY OF PETE represents an exciting collection of Pete Fountain's all-time most-requested numbers ...performed here by Pete and his fabulous jazz group much as they were performed when they originally triggered thundering ovations in night clubs and concert appearances.

The enormous and universal popularity of Dixie-land clarinetist Pete Fountain is unique in almost all the world of jazz. There is an unprecedented scope of popular appeal in the flexibility of his improvisations and the unusual range and richness of tone he achieves.

At Pete's side on these musical milestones in his colorful career - complementing the freshness and originality of his sound with the vast resources of their own skill and imagination - are drummer Jack Sperling; Morty Corb on bass; Godfrey Hirsch, vibes; Bobbie Gibbons, guitar; and John Propst, piano.

PLENTY OF PETE is precisely what the phrase implies. .. and, if you already know what to expect of the fantastic Mr. Fountain, we need say nothing more. If not, we can only say it's an experience you've been missing quite long enough.

New Orleans at Midnight - Coral Records

New Orleans at Midnight

1963 Coral Records CRL 757429 Stereo / CRL 57429 Mono

Side One
1. Creole Love Call
2. I Want To Be Happy
3. Brahms' Lullaby
4. Ballin' The Jack
5. Moonglow
6. Rockin' Chair

Side Two
1. Midnight Pete
2. Bourbon Street Parade
3. Swing Low
4. Makin' Whoopee
5. Battle Hymn Of The Republic
6. Midnight Boogie

Liner Notes:

Several years ago, in an interview for his first album (Coral 57282, Pete Fountain's New Orleans) Pete Fountain remarked: "There's still quite a bit of jazz in New Orleans, you know. In proportion, we probably have more than you have in New York City...On Bourbon Street alone, there's seven Dixieland bands. Plus me. You know, me and the rhythm. We just swing away."

As far as anyone can tell from the confused mass of evidence that has come to light in the comparatively short time span since the historians began to investigate the subject, musicians have been swinging away on Bourbon Street, or in other sections of the Crescent City, since some-time before the turn of the century. In the early days, according to the veteran guitarist Danny Barker, "there were countless places of enjoyment that employed musicians, not including private affairs, balls, soirees, marriages, banquets, deaths, christenings, Catholic communions, confirmations, picnics at the lake front, country hay rides, and advertisements of business concerns. During the carnival season (Mardi Gras) any little insignificant affair was sure to have some kind of music, and each section would engage their neighborhood favorite." (Quote from "Hear Me Talkin' To Ya" by Shapiro & Hentoff.)

If there was music around the clock, certainly the quantity and quality of the performances was never higher than around midnight, an hour when citizens employed in the less glamorous jobs were free to enjoy the services of those nightlifers who were hired to entertain them.

Though some of the nostalgic glitter of New Orleans in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century may have worn thin, or at least may have abandoned its perpetual motion schedule, the night hours in the 1960s are no less active than they were, say, in 1900, when some say jazz wasborn, or in 1930, when the Fountain family says Pete was born. The music still assumes a variety of forms: at times it has the rowdy, unconfined battle spirit of traditional Dixieland jazz, while in gentler moments it can assume the coloration of the more sophisticated, easily swinging music that grew to maturity during Pete Fountain's childhood.

It is the latter mood that is established on the first band of this album and maintained through-out these two thoroughly musical and consistently listenable sides.

The musicians are all familiar inhabitants of earlier Fountain packages: Bobby Gibbons on guitar, Jack Sperling on drums (replaced on Rockin' Chair and Creole Love Call by Nick Fatool), Morty Corb on bass, and from time to time Pete's perennial sidekick Godfrey Hirsch on vibes. The pianist is John Propst on Brahms' Lullaby and Midnight Pete, Ray Sherman on Moonglow and Midnight Boogie, and Stan Wrightsman on all the other bands.

Duke Ellington's Creole Love Call is not only one of the earliest of his instrumental compositions, but also one of the few never to have enjoyed exposure commensurate with its value. An exquisitely simple theme, it is introduced with great respect for the melody by Pete before he embarks on an improvisation based on the tune's chord pattern, which is that of the traditional 12-bar blues.

The melody, incidentally, dates back to 1927, when Duke first recorded it. Vincent Youmans' I Want To Be Happy was composed and recorded six years before Fountain was born. Like Creole Love Call, it is an essentially simple melody that lends itself as ideally to a bright swinging interpretation as the Ellington theme is suited to the blues. Note Pete's effective use of syncopation, the well-conceived half-chorus solos of Wrightsman and Hirsch, and the ebullient spirit in which Pete rides it out.

Johannes Brahms (1833-97) would probably have approved of this unprecedented treatment of his lullaby, for the melody is caressed affectionately by Fountain's clarinet with an attractive countermelody by Gibbons' guitar. (This idea, like all the arrangements sketched for the album, was the brainchild of Pete's regular musical director, Coral's own Bud Dant.) Pete achieves a beautifully warm tone here, somewhat reminiscent of the sound of a great clarinetist of the 1940s, Joe Marsala.

Ballin' The Jack is exactly a half century old. The Fountain rejuvenation is essentially swing music, with a moderately paced and keenly sustained rhythmic continuity. The impeccable Jack Sperling, in his breaks, never allows the listener to lose track of the beat.

Moonglow, written by bandleader Will Hudson in 1934, shows Pete's superb command of the lower register in the second chorus. Note the delicate, Red Norvo-like approach of Hirsch's vibes solo.

Hoagy Carmichael's Rockin' Chair, one of the Hoosier songwriter's earliest successes (he and Louis Armstrong sang it as a duet on a 1929 record) is outlined with a suggestion of shuffle rhythm. Morty Corb's firmly walking bass behind Stan Wrightsman's solo is a conspicuously valuable component.

Rod McKuen's Midnight Pete is given a contemporary rhythmic touch by the use of a triple rhythm, more correctly described as a 12/8 meter. Pete establishes the theme in the first eight, then plays it an octave higher in the second, his pure sound and sensitive phrasing always in evidence.

Bourbon Street Parade, a song that has achieved belated popularity in recent years, is the work ofthe veteran New Orleans drummer Paul Barbarin, who was one of the sidemen on Pete's South Rampart Street Parade album (CRL 57440). After a martial-style drum roll introduction, the parade feeling is maintained with a lively two-beat interpretation. Later Morty Corb takes an agile solo and Pete plays some of his fastest-moving and most fluent work of the whole LP, leading to the. traditional four-bars-drums-fourbars-clarinet finale.

Swing Low is tastefully handled with a gospel feeling and occasional use of chimes, the latter alternating with piano in the second chorus. According to historian Sigmund Spaeth, this melody was "borrowed" by Dvorak for his New World Symphony.

Makin' Whoopee, a Gus Kahn song of 1928, opens with a Fountain chorus, splits one between piano and vibes, then returns it to Pete, all with a minimum of complexity and often with a touch of the blues.

Battle Hymn of the Republic provides another reminder that John Brown's body, so often disinterred by jazzmen in recent years, will not be allowed to lie a-mouldering in the grave as long as this melody can swing. The treatment here involves a slow opening and closing, with 12/8 rhythm, and a brighter middle passage, with some typically rich lower-register sounds flowing from our Fountain.

The side concludes with an original by Fountain and Bud Dant, Midnight Boogie, in which shuffle-rhythm boogie-woogie alternates with straight-forward swinging ad lib blues.

You will have to do a lot of reconnoitering before you find happier or more relaxed music than this in New Orleans At Midnight.

- LEONARD FEATHER

Cover Photo: Hal Buksbaum

South Rampart Street Parade - Coral Records

South Rampart Street Parade

1963 - Coral Records CRL 757440 Stereo / CRL 57440 Mono

Side 1
1. South Rampart Street Parade
2. Put on Your Old Grey Bonnet
3. The Second Line
4. Basin Street Blues
5. The Darktown Strutters' Ball
6. Marching 'Round the Mountain

Side 2
1. Over The Waves
2. Careless Love
3. Walking Through New Orleans
4. Sugar Bowl Parade
5. Farewell Blues
6. Washington and Lee Swing

Liner Notes:

SOUTH RAMPART STREET PARADE
PETE FOUNTAIN And His Mardi Gras Strutters

Shrovetide, the period before Ash Wednesday, is a gay and active time of year in New Orleans. This pre-Lenten season culminates, there and in other southern cities, with the processions, masquerade balls and other entertainments associated with Mardi Gras, a day sometimes called Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday.

Every Shrove Tuesday morning in recent years, at 9 a.m., a group of musicians and their non-musician friends have gathered at a tavern on St. Charles Street to launch one of the Crescent City's most colorful ceremonies. Pete Fountain, the founder of this marching society, has gone to some lengths to assure its vivid visibility. Special uniforms, brightly sprayed shoes and plumed hats are among the accouterments that draw undivided attention to the strutting members of the Half Fast Walking Club, as it is officially called.

"I was going down there for this year's parade", says Bud Dant, "to take part in it myself - I played mellophone - and to get a first hand view of the club. Pete's followers included a wide variety of personalities from all walks of life. One member of the parade was Cliff Arquette (Charlie Weaver), who brought along an old Civil War cornet. There was no real semblance of order in the parade, though none of us could go very far astray because the crowd kept us hemmed in".

"We marched for about four hours, all the way up St. Charles Street to Canal, and past the reviewing stand, in front of the Mayor and the television cameras. We played a lot of the same tunes you hear in this album, though of course without the organized sound that the music has here."

The most important link between the actual parade as it took place that day and the music as it is heard in this album is the strong, marching-music element of percussion. Taking part in these sessions was a remarkable quartet of drummers. One was Godfrey Hirsch, regularly Pete's vibraharpist. Here he plays a marching drum. Jack Sperling, drummer on most of the Fountain albums, plays snare, cymbal and occasionally a foot bass drum. Nick Fatool plays a field drum, which is a somewhat thicker snare. And Paul Barbarin, who led a ten-piece band in the parade, plays a vertical bass drum, with a little brass-rim of a cymbal on top. He marched into the studio with this drum, the legend "Onward Brass Band Of New Orleans" inscribed on it, and never sat down through the entire recording.

On Careless Love, Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet, Farewell Blues and Marching 'Round the Mountain this percussion team backs up a Dixieland ensemble comprising Jackie Coon on trumpet, Pete on clarinet and Moe Schneider on trombone. On all the other tracks a four-piece trombone team was added, consisting of Lew McCreary, Bill Schaefer, George Roberts (bass trombone) and Dick Nash or Dick Noel.

The rhythm section throughout is composed of Bobby Gibbons, banjo; Phil Stephens, tuba; and Morty Corb, bass.

The tempo accorded to the opening track, the Ray Bauduc-Bob Haggart South Rampart Street Parade, establishes both mood and pace for the entire set. It is neither too slow nor too fast; it just conforms, in fact, to the name of the club. Pete's lower register clarinet hits a fittingly mellow groove on the chorus. The arrangement was written by Don Bagley.

Put On Your Old Grey Bonnet, a head arrangement, has an opening statement by Coon, a beautifully meshed Dixieland ensemble, and solos by Fountain, Schneider and Coon, with the percussion section in command.

Matty Matlock's arrangement of the Paul Barbarin original The Second Line follows, with Pete riding over the ensemble in a buoyant manner recalling the best of the old Bob Crosby band. Heinie Beau's arrangement of Basin Street Blues pits Pete's melodic statements against the trombone section and places the fine ensemble lead of Coon in sharp focus.

The Darktown Strutters' Ball, another Beau score, was composed in 1917 by Shelton Brooks of Some Of These Days fame. Moe Schneider's Teagarden-like facility, Pete's purity of sound and style, and Phil Stephens' tuba break are noteworthy points. Marching 'Round The Mountain, Bud Dant's renovation of the traditional theme, has an interesting passage in which percussion solo work is punctuated by Charles-ton beats from the horns.

Over the Waves, a Heinie Beau arrangement, makes ingenious use of Phil Stephens' tuba for a half chorus of melody (to Pete's obbligato) and an amusing coda.

Careless Love, a head arrangement, with Gibbons' gently strummed banjo figure against the theme, has a relaxed ad lib solo by Pete, toward the end, on this unshopworn 16-bar theme.

Walking Through New Orleans, which with minor variations has had such alternate identities as Maryland My Maryland and March Of The Bob Cats, was skillfully orchestrated by Bud Dant, whose treatment builds a stirring performance out of this simple tonic-dominant theme.

Sugar Bowl Parade was written by Godfrey Hirsch and Pete and arranged by Dant, who reports that the hand played it at the Sugar Bowl and will retain it as a regular fixture in the parade. Note the ingenuity of the drum work after the first chorus, preceding Pete's solo.

Farewell Blues, an informal performance guided by Dant but virtually a head arrangement, offers more traditional-style Dixie, with impressive work by Schneider, Coon and Fountain.

Washington and Lee Swing, arranged by Matty Matlock, bears a resemblance to South Rampart Street Parade in the moderation of its tempo and the generally unhurried manner in which the band swings.

If the music on these sides has the same stimulating effect on you as on this listener, I guess we'll have a date to meet next Mardi Gras morning. Look for those plumed hats, in the vicinity of a tavern on St. Charles Street. And don't forget the struttin' starts at nine - so you'd better be ready about half-
past eight.

Leonard Feather