BLP 1206

 George Lewis And His New Orleans Stompers Volume 2

Released - 1955

Recording and Session Information

New Orleans, LA, May 15, 1943
Jim Robinson, trombone; George Lewis, clarinet, flute; Lawrence Marrero, banjo; Jim Little, tuba; Edgar Mosley, drums.

CD103 Don't Go 'Way Nobody (rehearsal)
CD104 Two Jim Blues

New Orleans, LA, May 16, 1943
Avery "Kid" Howard, trumpet, vocals; Jim Robinson, trombone; George Lewis, clarinet; Lawrence Marrero, banjo; Chester Zardis, bass; Edgar Mosley, drums.

CD105 Climax Rag
CD107 Just A Closer Walk With Thee
CD113 Dauphine St. Blues
CD114 Just A Little While To Stay Here
CD118 Milenberg Joys
CD119 Fidgety Feet
CD120 Fidgety Feet (alternate take)
CD123 Deep Bayou Blues

Track Listing

Side One
Title	Author	Recording Date
Climax Rag	James Scott	May 16 1943
Dauphine Street Blues		May 16 1943
Just A Closer Walk With Thee		May 16 1943
Two Jim Blues	Jim Robinson	May 15 1943
Fidgety Feet	Shields-La Rocca	May 16 1943
Side Two
Milenberg Joys	Jelly Roll Morton	May 16 1943
Deep Bayou Blues	Lewis-Marrero	May 16 1943
Fidgety Feet	Shields-La Rocca	May 16 1943
Don't Go 'Way Nobody	Bolden	May 15 1943
Just A Little While To Stay Here		May 16 1943

Liner Notes

This remarkable set of records testifies anew to the eternal vitality of New Orleans music. A living and dynamic art, ifs secret never reduced to a formula, Now Orleans style has eluded definition. The style of GEORGE LEWIS STOMPERS differs from that of any other band, yet in many respects this music is most typical of New Orleans style, and already has been hailed as the very incarnation of the spirit of the "Crescent City." Those records possess in unusual degree the energetic rhythmic drive, the vibrant expressiveness and warmth of tone, the ruggedness of ensemble, and the exuberant, unaffected grandeur so characteristic of New Orleans jazz. Prominent also are "off-the-beat" swing. lack of mechanical precision in attack and phrasing, and the ability to throw caution to the winds — musical qualities of men conditioned by years of nothing-to-lose living.

Although New Orleans dance bands have varied widely in size and instrumentation, the particular line-up used by the STOMPERS has been one of the most commonly favored. The use of the three most effective melodic instruments of the brass band long ago became standard. Rhythm sections have had few restrictions, but the absence of piano from marching bands and advertising wagons, and the fact that few halls owned one, discouraged its use in dance orchestras.

The unique New Orleans ensemble style requires musicians not only of exceptional individual improvising skill but of long and close association, capable of actually feeling music together. That The NEW ORLEANS STOMPERS possess rare ability in this most effective and intricate instrumental style has been amply demonstrated. These records should definitely establish GEORGE LEWIS as one of the greatest clarinetists of all time. Master of a fluent technique, he commands a biting attack and a forceful, driving style as well as a sensitive, highly emotional one, and on occasion can soar to triumphant heights. KID HOWARD, youngest of the group, proves he is well equipped to carry on the tradition of {he long line of celebrated New Orleans trumpeters. If the world's jazziest trombonist isn't JIM ROBINSON that person surely remains undiscovered. Jim does not specialize in subtlety or polished facility but "blows it out" with the finesse of a steam riveter. The 3-piece rhythm section is unusually powerful and has abundant drive to balance the zestful horns, who themselves constitute a rhythm section.

Although the phenomenon of New Orleans style depends more upon the treatment accorded a composition than the tune itself, there exists a distinctive New Orleans repertoire conducive to this unique improvisatory jazz style. The music of these records, consisting of marches, blues, rags. spirituals and stomps, is representative of that time-proven repertoire and indicative of the broad range of musical interests and the vital role played by music in New Orleans life.

Climax Rag not only is most thrilling music but an excellent demonstration of how the New Orleans improvisors were able to remold the St. Louis piano rags in their own orchestral style. When the original piano version came out in 1914, the St. Louis publishers called James Scott "The King of Rag Writers" and stated: "Now we need adjectives in fifteen degrees with a rising inflection. We need letters a foot high and a few exclamation-points the size of Cleopatra's Needle...Furious as a cat fight and will add materially to the gaiety of nations...Scott's name on a rag is like Rockefeller's on a check. It is legal tender...Climax Rag is Scott's latest, but no person will look for the date on a Scott rag. They will go echoing down the corridors of time when the season's hits have a long time been forgotten."

This orchestral adaptation closely follows the formal design and harmonic scheme of the Stark publication except that the trio is greatly extended as the band drives on and on with terrific heat and power. Melodically some of the piano passage work when applied to the various orchestral instruments has been skillfully reduced to more idiomatic and playable phrases. Effective orchestral performances of rags are extremely difficult, hence not every New Orleans band has been able to cut them. The astounding virtuosity with which The GEORGE LEWIS' STOMPERS perform this brilliant rag is unexcelled.

Deep Bayou Blues, an unusually somber and expressive improvisation, evolves entirely from a simple and appealing motive which is constantly elaborated on with increasing intensity. Several ensemble choruses of great breadth are followed by individual variations in which the theme is ably treated by Kid Howard's serious plunger style and Lewis' plaintive and ardent clarinet. In his second solo Lewis presents a unique and more remote development of the basic motive, as he uses blue 9th chords against simple tonic harmony.

A final solemn ensemble, led by Robinson's impassioned trombone, brings the Blues to a dissonant close.

To describe festivities at the historic pleasure resort Milneburg, with its beach, dance pavilion, and Lakeshore Hall one must go back to the memories of the oldest musicians. However, Jelly Roll Morton's masterpiece Milenberg Joys still tells the story musically. Judging by this performance, some gay, wild and noisy times were had at the old Lake Ponfchartrain resort. Ensemble throughout, this piece starts off immediately in exhilarating stomp style. Jim Robinson, who is really wound up, turns loose some of the most hilarious circus tromboning ever recorded. The lead, long a favorite vehicle for trumpet virtuosity, is performed excitingly by Kid Howard. After some of the most terrific breaks ever heard, the piece drives on to close in a frenzied orgy of joyful sound.

Two Jim Blues is surely one of the most extraordinary of all blues. Distinguished by its low-down instrumentation and its melancholic mood, it is one of the finest after-midnight, feet-shuffling slow blues on record. This meanest kind of blues was improvised on some ideas of Jim Robinson, and features his own magnificent trombone, together with the tuba playing of his nephew, Jim Little. Two Jim Blues also contains some of +he most imaginative clarinet playing of George Lewis whose fervent and eloquent blues style is unsurpassed.

The influence of spirituals on New Orleans jazz perhaps has been exaggerated. Certainly African dance and secular music wore brought to the New World as early as religious chants and probably remained less corrupted by European and Puritan influences. Often sacred and secular songs were similar expressions of identical emotions, and cases exist of both religious and "sinful" lyrics written to the same melody. Although real spirituals have plenty of swing in their own right, the actual swinging of spirituals for march or dance purposes is a comparatively recent development. Just a Closer Walk with Thee is one of New Orleans' most popular hymns, and quite understandably, for it is a beautiful melody which lends itself not only to fervent singing but to irresistible swinging. Throughout thirteen choruses the melody is preserved, yet infinite variety is achieved by skillful development and imaginative playing of this great band.

Just a Little While to Stay Here has been used both as a funeral hymn and as a homecoming march after burial. Bunk Johnson, the "father of New Orleans trumpeters," has described such an occasion: "The lodge would come out of the graveyard after the member were put away and they called roll—call in line — and then we'd march away from the cemetery by the drum only until we got about a block from the cemetery; then we'd go right on info ragtime. We would play DIDN'T HE RAMBLE or we'd take all these spiritual hymns and turn them info ragtime...We would have a second line there that was most equivalent to King Rex parade — Mardi Gras Carnival parade. Immense crowds would follow the funeral up to the cemetery just to get this ragtime music comin' back...There would be dancin' in the street, even the police horses would prance. Music done them all the good in the world."

Fidgety Feet, from the standard New Orleans repertoire, also attests to the notable influence of brass-band marches on jazz. The first part sparkles with clarinet fireworks, then leads to a lyrical trio section which is a prime example of a peculiarly New Orleans instrumental style. Trumpet, clarinet, and trombone all play concurrently different versions of the same melody, rather than countermelodies or accompanying figures. Each is saying exactly the same thing, but in a different manner, in his own characteristic instrumental language. The trumpet plays in decisive, full-toned, driving style; the trombone more brusquely accented. smeary, and with greater economy as befits a heavier horn, while the clarinet embellishes the tune more elaborately but nonetheless still sings the theme. To confirm the latter fact, compare Lewis' ensemble parts with his solos and note the identical melodic style. Thus New Orleans ensemble often consists of several instruments playing solos simultaneously, and the result, rather than a polyphony, is a heterophony more related to certain Oriental musics than to European. This system of allowing every musician the freedom and abandon of the soloist contributes no little to the enormous vitality of New Orleans jazz and utilizes maximum instrumental resources. Undoubtedly New Orleans is the most logical and inspired orchestral style ever created.

Dauphine Street Blues imaginatively develops two related traditional New Orleans themes. With uncommon fervor and seriousness, even for the blues, every man contributes his full share in the creation of this beautiful and moving composition. George Lewis' solo variation, evolving directly from his preceding ensemble part, is unusually florid. Here one sees virtuosity not for its own sake, but a facility released under stress of intense emotion, yet under perfect control. Throughout is the relentless beat of a rhythm section not to be denied as it drives on to a triumphant climax.

Of Buddy Bolden's fabulous dances the book JAZZMEN relates: "At night Tin Type Hall trembled with life and activity...High class people didn't go to such low-down affairs, and at about twelve o'clock when the ball was getting right, the more respectable of those who did attend went home. Then Bolden played a number called Don't Go 'Way Nobody, Let's Stay and Have a Good Time, and the dancing got rough. When the orchestra settled down to slow blues, the music was mean and dirty as Tin Type roared full blast." This performance is no staged attempt to re-create the old New Orleans spirit, for these men have never stopped playing jazz. This example of the New Orleans after-midnight style surely must be as rough, wild, and discordantly noisy as King Bolden's music ever got. The freest sort of free-for-all, it recalls the remark of Bolden's Willie Cornish, "When we goin' good, we'd cross three tunes once." The knocked-out performance of this "break" number abounds in typical New Orleans humor. Not even the celebrated King Oliver 2-cornet breaks pack the wallop of some of these ludicrous ensemble ejaculations, and unlike the Olivers these were all unrehearsed.

WILLIAM RUSSELL

Cover Design by REID K. MILES
Remastering by RUDY VAN GELDER