CD REVIEW by Bert Thompson
Ted Shafer’s Jelly Roll Jazz Band—TOE-TAPPING DIXIELAND JAZZ & BLUES (Merry Makers Record Company MMRC-CD-13). Playing time: 77m. 25s. Maple Leaf Rag; Over in the Glory Land; Tiger Rag; Wabash Blues; Sweet Baby Doll; Mamie Desdoumes’ Blues*; Big Chief Battle Ax; Sweet Lovin’ Man; Terrible Blues; A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich, and You; Bugle Boy March; Jackass Blues; I’m a Little Blackbird; Muddy Water; Once in a While; Savoy Blues; Melancholy Blues; Messin’ Around.
Ted Shafer’s Jelly Roll Jazz Band—TOE-TAPPING DIXIELAND JAZZ & BLUES Vol. Two (Merry Makers Record Company MMRC-CD-14). Playing time: 72m. 47s. Down Among the Sheltering Palms*†‡; Far Away Blues; Charleston; Burgundy Street Blues; Sweet Sue; How Long Blues*; Blue Bells, Goodbye; At the Christmas Ball; Maple Leaf Rag; Krooked Blues; Mabel’s Dream; Cakewalkin’ Babies from Home*†; My Bucket’s Got a Hole in It; Just a Closer Walk with Thee; Dr. Jazz.
Collective Personnel: Ray Ronnei, cornet, vocal*; Bob Mielke, vocal†, Bill Bissonnette, trombone; Bob Helm, Phil Howe, John Boland, vocal‡, clarinet; Walt Sereth, alto sax; Ray Skjelbred, Bill Gould, Cyril Bennett, piano; Ted Shafer, Charlie Tagawa, banjo; Jim Cumming, Squire Girsback, Walter Roberts, string bass; Vince Hickey, Dennis Rasmussen, Walt Sereth, drums
Recorded live in the late 1960’s at various locations in San Francisco, Berkeley, Oakland, and Santa Rosa, California.
After reviewing MMRC CD-36 (Salty Bubble) for Just Jazz, I was asked to review these two CD’s, which also feature cornetist Ray Ronnei. Now in his 90’s, he is no longer performing, but his playing days are well worth documenting, as Merry Makers Records has attempted. Like MMRC CD-36, the two CD’s under consideration here are well worth a place on in your collection.
Three of the selections on CD-13 are issued here for the first time: Terrible Blues; A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich, and You; and Bugle Boy March. All of the others were first issued on vinyl on the Merry Makers (MMRC-104) and GHB (GHB-165) labels.
All of the selections on CD-14 are issued here for the first time, except Blue Bells, Goodbye and At the Christmas Ball, which first appeared on vinyl on GHB-165.
Both CD’s have a generous playing time of well over an hour each.
The musicians who accompany Ronnei on these two discs are, with a couple of exceptions, a virtual “who’s who” (or “who was who”) of traditional jazz in the San Francisco Bay Area. As far as I know about half are still with us and most of those are still playing, albeit not as frequently as of yore, perhaps. But at the time of these recordings, all were in their prime. (Ted Shafer has always, it seems, had the happy knack of getting some of the best musicians into his bands. Elsewhere in this month’s issue is a review of the current nine-piece Jelly Roll Jazz Band’s latest recording, New Orleans Jazz, MMRC CD-38.)
Ronnei provides his usual fiery lead with that unmistakable style and tone that allows him to be so easily identified. Since there is such a plethora of musicians involved, it would take up too much space to try to comment on each. Suffice it to say that although all play musical chairs, none is out of place. The result is two discs that will be highly satisfying to those who lean toward the New Orleans style jazz.
There is also a bit of lagniappe here and there. Not only do we seldom hear Charleston, but I can’t recall ever hearing the introduction, which is played here. Other tunes are certainly not done to death, such as A Cup of Coffee, a Sandwich, and You or Sweet Baby Doll or Jackass Blues, to name just three. Only two tunes is improvising and with different personnel on each tune.
Further variety is found in the bands with which so many of the tunes are associated. Among others represented are the King Oliver Creole Jazz Band, the King Oliver Dixie Syncopaters, the Clarence Williams Blue Five, Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers, and Louis Armstrong and the Red Onion jazz Babies as well as the Hot Seven. But none of the various Jelly Roll Jazz Band configurations try in the least to imitate any of these classic groups just mentioned.
The recordings were made live, often in that most ubiquitous jazz venue, the pizza parlor, so on a few of the tunes you will hear in the background pizza orders being called out by the number. It all adds up to the ambience that so many of us experienced in our salad days. What could have gone together better than a hot pizza, hot jazz, and a cool beer or two? These discs could certainly be enjoyed as accompaniment even now to such comestibles and libations, should one order some in.
Speaking of ordering, these CD’s are obtainable from Ted Shafer at his Jelly Roll Jazz Band gigs or by writing him at Merry Makers Record Company, 926 Beechwood Circle, Suisun City, CA 94585 or by calling him toll-free at 1-866-563- 4433. They should also be obtainable from mail order sources that carry Merry Makers label CD’s.
Note: contrary to the usual practice of Merry Makers lately, these CD’s do not have adhesive labels.
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