King's Jazz Review - British Internet Jazz Magazine
The Marcel Joly three paged liner notes lets us know inter alia that Jack McLaughlin lives in Australia, that Kjeld Brandt in Demark, giving details of the types of metal clarinets that they both own and play, that having been inspired by the clarinet playing of New Orleansian clarinettist George Lewes, and that they first met at a Bude jazz festival in England is perhaps inevitable that the seeds of staging an "Of A Sunday Morn In Olde New Orleans" concert were first planted.
It was to be four-fifths of a decade later that the two metal clarinet players, whilst attending the 2004 French Quarter Festival in New Orleans arranged to meet at 10.20am at Fritzel's Bar in Bourbon Street to record an album, this one, of hymns and spirituals, which happened to have been attended by a small enthusiastic crowd that got wind in the air of it happening so went along there to listen to them.
As I listened to Just A Little While To Stay Here, Bye & Bye, Down By The Riverside, Lord, Lord, Lord (You've Been Good to Me), four tunes on the 'Morn' CD as I recall were also on my "Jazz At Vespers" George Lewis and his Ragtime Band LP that was recorded at Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, Oxford, Ohio, USA on the 21st of February 1954, issued by arrangement with David Jones and Empirical Records, when at the time, the Reverend Alvin Kershaw was rector of the church. I could not recall how over a particular two-bars passage on the Saints, that the George Lewis clarinet was so awe-inspiring.
I was enthralled by the Kjeld Brandt playing on the Jazz Crusade double album "The French Preservation New Orleans Jazz Band" so was looking forward to hearing him again on this JCCD-3102 Bissonnette CD, and his playing beautifully exampled on Nearer My God To Thee low register featuring and through other selected tunes.
Making a recording with a lead metal clarinet duo in informality settings would have been a daunting feat for anyone to undertake, yet, due to their professionalism and excellent performance shown, in the main, on this their "Of A Sunday Morn In Olde New Orleans" album, there was nothing to foresee in such an adventure, by their opinion undoubtedly, that would fash them one bit in so doing.
The banjoist is the central controlling focus in the recordings with some lovely piano pieces throughout prominently notable on Does Jesus Care? and In The Garden but it is the lead instruments that command greatly, but sadly they lack a well needed bass sound for warming tonality, and compensatory acoustic imperfections, fundamentals warranted for a propensity for setting very high standards.
It must be universally difficult out of the 18 grace and beauty tracks to pick out a favourite. It is memories of years ago since I last heard this very loveable His Eye Is On The Sparrow tune played, but with sorrow the overstretching exuberance made the joy of hearing it here - less so. The eighteen tracks are all very special, turning this "Of A Sunday Morn In Olde New Orleans" album of hymns and spirituals into an historic creation of evolutionary scope, novel of reeds instrumentation, furthering the concept much beyond the current boundaries of traditional jazz music.
- Ian King
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