Famed American jazz historian and former New York Post writer, Chip Deffaa, described the High Society New Orleans Jazz Band as "essentially Woody Allen's band, without Woody Allen" and indeed Zambian born, Mexico and England raised Grammy winning pianist Conal Fowkes and Australian trumpet player Wettenhall were part of the band that the clarinet playing actor also played in at Café Carlyle from 1997 to 2020.
Recorded live at Birdland, after a brief spoken introduction, the band dig way back to the early days in New Orleans for that hoary old funeral march Oh Didn't he Ramble/Flee as a Bird complete with the traditional internment send-off: "Ashes to ashes, dust to dust, if the women don't get you, the whiskey must". They sure knew how to bury their dead in New Orleans.
Fowkes takes the vocal on Here Comes the Hot Tamale Man, a stomping potpourri of solos all round including one by the b***o.
Wettenhall sings Dallas Blues, the oldest known published blues. Dunn reverts to guitar and I nod approvingly. More solos from Mr Tibbs on the 'bone, Nalepka on bass, Fowkes, piano and Abbott on clarinet - all preceded by Wettenhall's mournful trumpet.
Ace in the Hole has another vocal from Wettenhall with the rest of the gang dealing their aces instrumentally.
A Jelly Roll classic, Shreveport Stomp successfully merges solos, ensembles and several drum breaks over a period of almost seven minutes - and not a minute too long.
Despite the band's name, the music tends to lean more to the Dixieland/Chicago styles. Even the Latin-tinged Say Si Si sounds closer to the Canadian border than the Mason-Dixon Line. Vocal by Fowkes.
High Society. Sacrilege! Abbot doesn't play the original Picou solo that every jazz clarinet player has embedded in his DNA but opts instead for his own version (and about time too!).
When I Leave the World Behind. Nalepka sings the old Irving Berlin number. In his excellent and informative booklet notes, Ricky Riccardi surmises that this is probably the first time the tune has ever been played at Birdland. I would add that, most likely, it hasn't been played very often anywhere at this devil take the hindmost tempo either.
All jolly good fun. Available Thursday Sept. 18. Lance
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