Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble
Moods Of Old New Orleans
Sweet Willie Singleton Jazz Cornet
Sweet Willie Singleton plays cornet with the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble recording entitled Moods Of Old New Orleans.
Although Sweet Willie Singleton is best known for his exemplary lead trumpet work throughout his 55 year career, see:
https://sweetwilliesingleton.com/about/
and
https://sweetwilliesingleton.com/artist-testimonials/
his remarkable musical versality to perform traditional New Orleans jazz is on display on this fine recording.
Sweet Willie Singleton performed with the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble from 1994-2005
Track List:
00:04 1. Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans
05:40 2. While We Danced At The Mardi Gras
09:44 3. Snag It
13:05 4. Canal Street Blues
15:38 5. Tampeekoe
18:45 6. Sugarfoot Stomp
21:41 7. Mississippi Rag
24:45 8. Sweet Lovin’ Man
27:38 9. Mad
30:22 10. Ophelia
33:58 11. Just A Closer Walk With Thee
37:26 12. Buddy’s Habit
40:25 13. Eccentric
43:27 14. Jackass Blues
46:29 15. Discontented Blues
49:39 16. Mama’s Gone Goodbye
52:31 17. Clarinet Marmalade
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Personnel:
Fred Starr – Leader, Clarinet, Tenor Sax,
Joe Muranyi – Clarinet, Sax
Ray Taranto – Sax, Clarinet
Lou Green – Cornet
Sweet Willie Singleton – Featured Jazz Cornetist
Tom Ebert – Trombone
John Chaffe – Banjo
Terry Waldo – Piano
John Joyce – Drums
Tom Saunders – Bass, Tuba
Carol Leigh – Vocal
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Technical Notes:
Recording location: Fairfield
University Quick Center; Fairfield, Connecticut
Date: June 25, 26, and 27, 1995 Engineer: Wade Bray
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ABOUT THE ‘LOUISIANA REPERTORY JAZZ ENSEMBLE’
New Orleans jazz! Ah, that vibrant, syncopated, lyrical and sometimes naug ht music that captured the world’s imagination the moment it was first recorded in 1971. We love it still, and in that special way we love an old, familiar friend.
But, do we really know New Orleans jazz? A few of the standard tunes, yes. They are familiar. And we instantly recognize the trumpet- clarinet-trombone polyphony — the “Dixieland sound” — offered up by many bands in many lands today. But in most respects the true classic jazz of New Orleans is a stranger to us. Most of the exciting repertoire of the period 1900-1930 is forgotten. The great variety of musical moods that resonated in the Crescent City four score years ago — these too are lost. And the very names of some of the great pioneer bands are al! but unknown today — groups like the New Orleans Owls, Celestin’s Tuxedo Orchestra, the Sam Morgan Jazz Band, or The Halfway House Orchestra.
So ‹I we still love that music, we do so as we sometimes Note old friends: inadvertently neglecting so much that makes them what they are.
This recording by the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble, recorded in 1994, uncovers lost moods of classic New Orleans jazz. With sparking virtuosity and profound respect for the great pioneers, members of this long-established group from the birthplace of jazz reveal forgotten aspects of this beloved music. For thirty one the LRJ E has
performed the full range of that city’s music in original formats and on period instruments. Affiliated with the extraordinary Hogan Jazz Archive at Tulane University in New Orleans, the LRJ E is like a musical archeologist, bringing forth lost treasures that in many cases lay in obscurity for three quarters of a century.
Yet there is nothing dusty about the Ensemble. Its twelve members total more than 400 years’ experience in jazz. They have logged decades on Bourbon Street, Mississippi river boats, concen halls worldwide, and— most important— at the same New Orleans private dances, balls, dance halls, and clubs where the music and ethnic mix, and including also some of the finest classic players from elsewhere in America, they epitomize the diversity that gave early jazz its variety, texture, and depth.
How did the Ensemble come into being? It happened when clarinetist Fred Starr proposed to drummer John Joyce and banjoist John Chaffe, that they assemble the city’s best musicians to perform cIassic ]azz as it was originally played. Starr, who has written several books on the music and culture of New Orleans, set about mining the archives and interviewing surviving New Orleans veterans about the early styles and repertoire. Joyce, who taught the world’s first course on the history of jazz at Tulane, and Chaffe, the student of two legendary player, and the late Sherwood Manigiapane, one of the city’s greatest bassists.
After Manigiapane’s death his shoes were filled by Walter Payton, whose great-grandfather played with jazz pioneer Buddy Bolden, and, on this recording, by jazz expert Tom Saunders. The Midwestern-born Tom Ebbert also appeared regularly on trombone until age prevented him from touring. These players were eventually joined by Lew Green, whose training was with such jazz legends as George Brunies and Lil Hardin Armstrong; Joe Muranyi, whom Louis Armstrong described as “the white Johnnie Dodds;” Eubie Blake’s protégé, pianist Terry Waldo; and by trumpeter “Sweet Willie” Singleton of Baton Rouge, a veteran of the Ellington and Basie bands.
What began as an experiment soon flowered into a highly successful ensemble. Several years at the aromatic old Maple Leaf Bar and a regular radio program on New Orleans’s jazz station WWL, along with annual appearances at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival, brought the Ensemble to public attention. In due course it was invited to give the prestigious Doubleday Concert and the Smithsonian Institute and was invited to appear at the Grammy Awards in Hollywood, the first ever for a jazz band. Tours to Japan, Hong Kong, and Europe, including two trips to Russia, put this “neighborhood band” in the international spotlight.
What are the diverse “moods” of old New Orleans? A poet mipht conjure them up with words like “exuberant,’ “colorful’’ or “joyful,” on the one hand, or “serene,” “eanhy’’ or “brooding” on the other. And for the jazz musician? Old timers spoke of music that is “hot,” “bright’’ or “raucous” And they would also praise pieces that are “pretty’” “lyrical,” or “blue” These are the moods of old New Orleans. The selections in this collection celebrate them all. The musicians
of the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble hope you take all of them to your heart.
About This “Moods Of New Orleans” Recording:
An exceptional example of true concert hall realism, this album was recorded directly to stereo using the “Head Acoustics” Binaural Recording System. In order to preserve the natural ambience and spatial integrity, no dubbing, remixing, echo or artificial enhancement of any kind was employed. The result is a true listening experience that puts you in the “best seat in the house” (to capture all the spatial nuances, headphones are suggested). Whether you choose to listen with headphones or speakers, just sit back and enjoy the very special sound of the Louisiana Repertory Jazz Ensemble.
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