Maria Muldaur With Tuba Skinny - Let's Get Happy Together

Maria Muldaur With Tuba Skinny - Let's Get Happy Together -Stony Plain Records

Maria Muldaur's career spans some 57 years since she was part of the Jim Kweskin Jug Band, which played old-time blues, country, and hokum songs. Her latest recording, with the popular New Orleans traditional-swing jazz street band Tuba Skinny. Tuba Skinny consists of Shaye Cohn – cornet; Todd Burdick – tuba; Barnabus Jones – trombone; Jason Lawrence – banjo; Craig Flory – clarinet; Greg Sherman – guitar; Max Bien-Kahn – guitar; and Robin Rapuzzi – washboard. Muldaur first heard Tuba Skinny while shopping and their music was played over the store's speakers. About Tuba Skinny, Muldaur says, "They were not just playing a marvelous repertoire of cool tunes with great skill and authenticity, but somehow channeling the very atmosphere and vibration of that bygone era."  

Before the COVID Pandemic in January 2020, Maria asked Tuba Skinny to collaborate for a showcase performance at the International Folk Alliance Conference in New Orleans. The performance was so well-received, and this album was immediately conceived and recorded. Overall, the album (her 43rd album) is her latest excursion into vintage jazz and blues sounds of the 1920s/'30s. It is a fascinating mix of songs ranging from songs associated with the Goofus Five, Lil Hardin Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, Valaida Snow, and Sweet Pea Spivey (Victoria's sister).

There is plenty of fun to be had listening, starting with the opening rendition of the Goofus Five's "I Like You Best of All." Played at a nice relaxed tempo, this listener is especially impressed by the solos here by Craig Flory on clarinet and Shaye Cohn on cornet. I note that Muldaur's vocals do sound a slight bit weathered. Still, her phrasing, timing, and her ability to deliver lyrics remain intact. Lil Hardin Armstrong wrote the bouncy title tune with nice interplay in the opening between trombonist Barnabus Jones and Cohn on cornet. Muldaur has an ear for relatively obscure songs, including a delightful rendition of Frankie' Half-Pint' Jaxon's "Be You Natural Self," with Jones contributing the first solo chorus followed by Cohn's bright brass play. There is also a reflective rendition of another Jaxon number, "Some Sweet Day," a theme that would be echoed in a variety of pre-World War II recordings.

There is a dreamily played treatment of Duke Ellington's recording of "Delta Bound," with a lovely clarinet solo. Another peppy performance is the vivacious rendition of Valaida Snow's "Swing You Sinners." Cohn's cornet and Flory's clarinet evoke Buck Clayton and Lester Young as Muldaur models her performance of "He Ain't Got Rhythm" on Billie Holiday's classic recording. Then Muldaur revives a Boswell Sisters recording, "Got The South In My Soul," followed by a revival of an amusing 'Dorothy Lamour" recording, "I Go For That." 

A revival of Sweet Pea Spivey's late twenties blues, "Road of Stone," solidly closes this recording. The musical meeting between Muldaur and Tuba Skinny has resulted in memorable, straightforward, and easy swinging jazz vocals and backing.

I received my review copy from a publicist. Here is the title track from this CD.

Evergreen Class Jazz Band Plays Early Tunes

Delmark's latest releases include a re-release of Jump Records Early Tunes 1915-1932 by The Evergreen Classic Jazz Band. Originally issued in 1995, this CD has them rendering  interpretations of songs from the mid-nineteen teens until the early thirties. This Seattle ensemble is led by Tom Jacobus who plays brass bass (tuba) and string bass; and includes Craig Flory and Jake Powel on reeds; David Holo on cornet; David Loomis on trombones, kazoo and vocals; Dan Grinstead on piano; Al LaTourette on banjo; and Dale Roach on drums.

The brief notes on the back cover note that many of these performances were originally done by larger ensembles, but the Evergreen Classic Jazz Band (particularly Jacobus) have arrangements of these for the octet. This is a nicely performed traditional jazz album with an effort to evoke the sound and feel of such bands as Jimmy Noone, Erskine Tate, King Oliver and His Dixie Serenaders and Tiny Parham. There is plenty of spirit to be heard in the classicist approach they have starting with the exuberance of the opening Stomp Off, Let’s Go, to the swinging rendition of an early Bennie Moten recording Ding Ding Blues.

There is the twenties Oriental exoticism of Tiny Parham’s On the Bay of Old Bombay, with nice cornet from Holo, who may be overall the most consistent, and least dated sounding solicit here. The reeds of Flory and Powel are displayed to good effect on the lovely rendition of Jimmy Noone’s Apex Blues. The vocals on a King Oliver recording Got Everything are pretty corny (think about Rudy Vallee on a megaphone) but the plunger mute playing is solid. Loomis’ gutbucket trombone is a counterpoint to Powel’s soprano sax on Sidney Bechet’s Blues in the Air, which is followed by a lively performance of Fats Waller’s Minor Drag.

The rendition of the Joplin/Marshall Swipesy Cake Walk is in a classic ragtime orchestra vein (think about Joplin’s “Red Back Book’), while  Grinstead does a solo rendition of the Joe Jordan rag Nappy Lee. The novelty  Play Me a Frigid Air, has a dead pan vocal of the somewhat inane lyrics and followed by a strutting rendition of Stock Yards Strut. This was perhaps trumpeter Freddie Keppard’s most famous recording. It is played with stop time effects and a nice clarinet solo. Folks will know She’s Funny That Way from the classic Billie Holiday recording (He’s Funny …). The rendition here employs Jimmie Noone’s arrangement with  lovely playing although a forgettable vocal.

Other remakes include a lesser known Louis Armstrong Hot Five recording Put ‘Em Down Blues and a solid rendition of Duke Ellington’s Ring Dem Blues, although Powel’s bass sax solo sounds a bit awkward. This a pleasant traditional jazz recording with a number of vibrant performances. Those who enjoy this should check out the Delmark recordings of the youthful contemporary Chicago ensemble, The Fat Babies.

I received my review copy from Delmark. Here is a 2014 performance of Stomp Off, Let’s Go.