Album Notes

Louis Armstrong used to say that were two kinds of music that he played and each required a different approach. On the one hand, Tin Pan Alley music. Tin Pan Alley was the name given to the collection of New York City-centered music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century. Songs like "Bill Baily Won't You Come Home", "It's Only A Paper Moon", "I'm Confessin' (That I Love You)" are some of the most popular tunes from this genre. Louis Armstrong also played the Blues. An earthier, growlier, funkier style. Tin Pan exists at the same cultural intersection.

Tin Pan's influences are manifold and come from the roots of the jazz tradition: Louis Armstrong, Bunk Johnson, Bessie Smith, Jelly Roll Morton, George Lewis, Fats Waller, Irving Berlin, and Hoagy Carmichael. Their music is also informed by other great folk traditions: The fiddle and country traditions as represented by Bob Wills and Hank Williams and the gypsy traditions as represented by Django Reinhardt.

Tin Pan aspires to take traditional music and reinvigorate it by making it their own; honest and soulful. This is not museum music best preserved under a glass, it is a living artform that they renew everytime they play. The music is light and fun with tinges of the blues. It get's people dancing and smiling.