A really good jazz CD; great musicianship; cool!
author: John Pappas
This is a great CD. It is not just a compilation of the most common Dixie tunes, but has a nice variety of many jazzy songs. The arrangements and playing are great. Expert musicians and nice solos. I enjoyed listening to the music of the famous Barbone Street Jazz Band on this recording.
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Why this band is so popular? Just listen to the music.
author: The Jazz Gazette - by jempi de donder
BARBONE STREET LIVE AT THE WEST CHESTER UNIVERSITY JAZZ FESTIVAL
Is this traditional jazz? Dixieland? New Orleans jazz? Eddie Condon? Yes, no!? Years ago Barry Martyn toured with a show called 'A Thousand Years Of Jazz'. Steve and his men do not arrive at these thousand years in jazz, but Steve has 50 years of playing in jazz, trumpet player, Paul Grant, 36, trombone player, Glenn Dodson, 55, bass player, Ace Tessone, 54, Sonny Troy, who plays guitar, 46 years and drummer, Joe Mongillo has 45 years in playing jazz. In his sleeve notes, Steve calls the style the Barbone Street is playing, 'evolutionary Dixieland', old time music with a present day twist. When they were young, all of these musicians followed their heros around and soaked up their music and their ideas. Over the years they formed their own style and their own interpretation of how this music should sound. The result is the music the Barbone Street is playing today.
In the February/March 2002 edition of The Jazzgazette, Steve tells the story of meeting Bechet and listening and jamming with Bechet. Steve does not limit himself in listening to Bechet, he listened to Charlie Parker, Coltrane and other 'modern' jazz musicians. Just for his own benefit, for his own musical pleasure and musical background. His side men played with different bands, different styles of music and all this matured into the Barbone Street jazz music, a swinging, attractive style of Dixieland jazz which appeals to a lot of people in the area they are playing. Like I said before, this band should be given a chance to perform on the major jazz festivals on both sides of the ocean.
Singer, Connie Rainis, adds a special and very spicy flavour to the sound of the Barbone Street. And she has certainly a great part in the success of the performance of the band at the West Chester University Jazz Festival and of this CD.
The music on this CD confirms my first opinion I made after I heard their first CD some time ago, there is no secret why this band is so popular, just listen to the music on this CD.
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