The Thomas Band At Moose Hall 1968
JCCD-3044 - 55 Minutes
PERSONEL
Kid Thomas Valentine (tpt); Manny Paul (tenor); Louis Nelson (tmb); Charlie Hamilton (pno) Joseph “Twat” Butler (bs) Sammy Penn (drms).
TRACKS
Walk Through the Streets of the City – Introduction Blues – Algiers Strut – Blueberry Hill – Eh! La Bas – Sweet Sue – Four Leaf Clover – Just A Closer Walk with Thee – The Object of My Affection – Kid Thomas Boogie Woogie.
The Penny Farthing, the
Model T, and nearer to me, the Baby Austin Seven, all three spindly wheeled of
yesteryear.
It would not be uncharacteristic today in 2001 for the young mini skirted spindly-legged, prancing filly seen in the flashing lights, London clubs, to shriek out nervous giggle, giggles on first coming across the sound of this Vol 1 Moose Hall album.
One can picture a colourful painting on the front-face of the big cigar, big smiling, Sammy Penn bass drum, toe-peddled designed timekeeper, leather or burlap covered beater, creator of a prominent sound on these recordings.
The CD was produced on the 13th of October 2000 from tapes found in the vaults of the Connecticut Traditional Jazz Club, where, since 1968 they had lain waiting to be brought out to see the light of day. A shift from the Sammy Penn bass drum peddle, towards the – piano keys of Charlie Hamilton would have been rewarding with regards to the sound quality. However, I’m sure that the fillies, given the chance would take more to the animate Penn beat, rather than the monotonous mechanical one, that they are so much indoctrinated to flip to, today.
At the time, Big Bill Bissonnette was away in California and J.P.”Pete” Campbell then directing the club is recorded announcing the line-up of the group to an appreciative audience, listening to the intro of Red River Valley which opens with sharp, perfectly clipped annotated sounding notes coming from the horn of Kid Thomas Valentine, leading his Algiers Stompers for the presumably evening gig.
Born 47 months before 1900, Kid Thomas came to New Orleans when he was 26 years old, and much has been written about him since with words pouring from the pens of scribblers to this day. This Moose Hall concert gives countenance for the reason why that is happening. There are interesting liner notes by buff critic Marcel Joly on New Orleans music.
Early violinist, banjoist and here on tenor, Emanuel “Manny" Paul, I predict from these recordings, that come a score or within years after his death in 1988, his style of saxophone playing will be influencing the aforementioned panties popping fillies, who will be screaming out to hear more of the same, making the Manny Paul saxophone style, the “In 2010’s” jazz sound of the future.
The father of many recordings, one in principle, Kid Thomas at Moulin Rouge, the leader of the Louis Nelson Big Four, Louis Nelson plays a beautiful trombone - euphonium style. The nearly eight minutes Blueberry Hill is bliss. It opens with trombone, following with tenor, piano, ensemble, and finally trumpet - a Thomas formula, which leads to a subconscious, hypnotic, craving, making one, to want to listen to his Moose Hall jazz music for evermore. Just a Closer Walk With Thee divinely sums it up.
Jazz artists nearer to home, Chris Barber, Sammy Rimington and others will have much to reminiscence over Louis Nelson and his trombone style.
You can hear the vocals of Kid on Eh! La Bas. The cheerful bassist, Joe Butler comes to the fore on the sprightly number, Four Leaf Clover. I’ll now close my appreciation on - The Object Of My Affection - which sure is catching – it’s a Garnet Clark/Django Reinhardt, Scottish/French popular of the time dance tune, recorded in Paris four years before the outbreak of WWII, and which one could have listened to then in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland.
Thanks to Jazz Crusade, now, you can also do so on Moose Hall.
Ian King
Kings Jazz Review
Friday 27 July 2001