When
Bob Koester
founded
Delmark Records
in St. Louis in 1953 (before
Koester
moved his label to Chicago), one of his main areas of interest was
Dixieland
.
was not interested in
exclusively --
Delmark
has always been as much of a
blues
label as it is a
jazz
label -- but documenting the
Dixieland revival
in the Midwest in the '50s is certainly among his big accomplishments. So it was quite appropriate that
himself wrote the liner notes for
the Dixie Stompers
'
Jazz at Westminster College
, which was originally released as a vinyl LP and reissued on CD (with several bonus tracks) in March 2007. Most of this
-oriented album focuses on an April 6, 1957, appearance at
Westminster College
in Fulton, MO, where the lineup includes
Bill Mason
on cornet,
Norman Mason
on clarinet,
Jim Haislip
on trombone,
Glenn Tintera
and
John Chapman
on piano,
Pete Patterson
on banjo, and
Bob Kornacher
on drums.
The Stompers
are in very good form at
Westminster
, bringing a lot of passion and energy to familiar
standards
such as
"Fulton Missouri Blues,"
"Heebie Jeebies,"
"At a Georgia Camp Meeting,"
King Oliver
's
"Dippermouth Blues."
The previously unreleased bonus material, meanwhile, ranges from two live performances at a fraternity house that same night (
"I Wished I Was in Peoria"
"That's A-Plenty"
) to an informal session in the home of
/
supporter
John Phillips
(where
the Stompers
perform
"Some of These Days"
Fats Waller
"Ain't Misbehavin'"
).
is a pleasing CD that fans of the '40s and '50s
will be glad to have in their collections. ~ Alex Henderson