Posted by Joe Sellmansberger on June 18, 1999 at 22:08:23:
In Reply to: Lookin' for New Orleans Dixieband CD's posted by Santos on June 18, 1999 at 13:22:22:
I will give you your website info at the end of this post, but one of the best tuba-dixieland records of all time was recorded on the (OLD!)Audio Fidelity label (the first record company to put out stereophonic recordings, commercially). This was recorded toward the end (early mid. '60's) of the ORIGINAL Dukes of Dixieland's (Assunto brothers on trpt.>[Frank] & tbn.>[(Fred] and "Papa" Jac Assunto on banjo and tbn. with Jerry Fuller on clarinet and my friend, Red Hawley [later, after Dukes, did the Jackie Gleason T.V. show] on drums. All of them were virtuosos.) very prolific recording career, and featured RICH MATTESON (!!!) as their helicon player and special guest artist LOUIS ARMSTRONG (!!!!!). This album was _ _ _ _ _ _' AWESOME, and I think that it was simply called "Louis Armstrong and the Dukes of Dixieland". Maybe some of their stuff has been re-issued on cd format.(??) This band really swung, and if you obtain this recording, you will become addicted and will try to find all of the other Assunto's Dukes stuff.
If your tastes run to a "rockier" or "choppier" Dixieland feel (some people call this style "traditional" or "authentic") you might locate recordings of the New Black Eagles Jazz Band from the Boston Area. Their very fine tuba player is Dr. Eli Newberger. He has a powerful sound, plays an ancient 4/4+ Holton four piston CC, and does a lot of solos in their performances and on their recordings. He and I did a "two-tubas-front-line with bass/piano/drums rhythm section" set in the George Hotel at the Edinburgh Jazz Festival back in the summer of 1984. That was a lot of fun.
To the more obscure, one of two records that I did (when just a babe back in '85) on George H. Buck's JAZZOLOGY or GHB label (New Orleans jazz record label) with the Hot Cotton Jazz Band was just reissued last year as a cd. It is called "TAKE YOUR TOMORROW". Unfortunately, I played about 70% string bass on that record and about 30% tuba. On the other album, "RIVERBOAT SHUFFLE", I played about 70% tuba and about 30% string bass. I had a lot of tuba solos on the "RIVERBOAT SHUFFLE" record, but, unfortunately, that one has not been reissued as a cd. (I would not have known about the reissue, were it not for a friend sending it to me in the mail.)
Obscure, yes, but actually, Hot Cotton was a REALLY smooth, tight, and swinging band, and never read or memorized music (I can always tell those bands -- B-O-R-I-N-G). Marcus Arnold (Jack Daniels Silver Cornet Band) actually offered to trade me some of their records for some Hot Cotton ones. I took that as a great complement. HEY! Those of you who don't like me can buy the "Take Your Tomorrow" thing from George Buck and post criticisms of my playing all you want! :-)
I am going to subpost in just a minute, and give you the website of "Let ME Find That Band", which DOES offer links to MANY dixieland bands across the U.S. and the world. Some of them have recordings offered for sale, and a few of them have audio samples on their websites.