Trombonist Albert Wynne and his Creole Jazz Band recorded this wonderful jazz stomp in 1928 and I would say it’s a New Orleans classic, but it was recorded in Chicago! Wynne and the band were based in Chicago for their whole career, although they toured all of America and Europe. But no matter, this is indeed a very NOLA sound, for all time probably, and especially back then.

Features the little-known New Orleans hero, Punch Miller, on trumpet and scat singing solo. Although little-known in the wider world of jazz, he is a cult favorite of jazz 78s collectors. R. Crumb the comic artist and famous 78rpm record collector adored Miller’s many sides and even paid tribute to him by painting his portrait for one of his 36 Early Jazz Greats, a set of trading cards.

 

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Big Bill Broonzy (1893-1958), American blues legend.

Born in Mississippi, he played guitar, piano and bass, and went on to pen many blues standards, and copyrighted over 300 of them. Also, he was one of the founding faculty of Chicago’s Old Town School of Folk Music , in 1953.

His sides on Paramount and Vocalion (where he is sometimes called “Willie Broomzy”) are typically hard to find, they’re expensive, and are almost always pretty beat up from the jukebox joints etc. “I’ll Start Cutting On You”, a 1938 country blues on Vocalion #04095 is no exception – it is roughed-up and scratchy; but I love this tune and it still comes up wonderfully from under the hiss, promise (you could also very easily adjust the treble settings on your EQ for a less lived-in sound, and you would still enjoy the bouncy beauty of this rare pre-war gem)! Happiness.

 

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