Maiden Voyage
| Many of our finest traditional jazz bands have retired and abandoned
their horns. Festival executives eager to attract a wider audience have
added highly amplified rock music–even zydeco–to the mix. The times indeed
“they are a-changin’.”
Despite such a troubling trend, the Titanic Jazz Band has remained true to its roots and its convictions. As a relatively new band playing the old anthems, it has become a favorite at several of North America’s finest festivals, from San Diego to Spokane to Vancouver and points east and in between. The truth is, Titanic lifts jazz fans off their chairs with powerful sounds and pure musicianship. No amplifiers need apply! The band took shape in 1993, the product of discussions between reed man John Isaksen and cornetist Dan Comins. Keith Elliott’s sturdy trombone was in place from early on, as were the burly tuba of Ray Cadd and the precise, understated percussion of Lloyd Byassee. Robbie Rhodes’ ragtime-tinged piano added a further dimension. Though several names and faces have changed, Titanic has never wavered in its determination to present the authentic music of a vibrant, long-ago America. From banjoist John Reynolds to Steve Resnick to the irrepressible Vince Saunders, from the reeds of Isaksen to Larry Wright to Michael Baird, ensemble jazz has been the objective–and certainly the result. |
| Isaksen eventually surrendered his chair to the demands of his Beverly
Hills printing business, though he still joins in on occasion. He performed
much of the early organizing work of the band, even clearing the word Titanic
and its image with the company that holds the copyright of the name of
that notorious ship. Thus the album’s title represents a Titanic
Maiden Voyage in more ways than one.
These musicians have certainly earned their stripes. Comins has played cornet with jazz groups from Boston to Los Angeles, including a stretch at the Stolen Base in Pittsburgh owned by baseball’s Maury Wills. Elliott, a French horn player by training, was the trombone man for Rosy McHargue as that late nonagenarian bewitched audiences with his songs and memories of a time when America was young and Bix Beiderbecke was a contemporary. Baird’s reeds continue to decorate the work of several admiring jazz bands–he is as versatile as he is musical, and he is always ready to play. The tasteful Byassee percussion is likewise in demand; Rhodes and Saunders have been centerpieces of the South Frisco Jazz Band, now semiretired, for four decades. So ease back in your chair and absorb these marvelous, familiar tunes with the certain knowledge that almost nobody these days can play them so well. Click on the title to hear a sample (MP3, about 1 minute, 135 kb). 2. Something for Annie (Turk Murphy) 3. Froggie Moore (Jelly Roll Morton-John C. Spikes-Benjamin F. Spikes) 4. Skid-Dat-De-Dat (Lil Hardin) 5. Dallas Blues† (Hart A. Wand-Uoyd Garrett) 6. Sugar Foot Strut (Billy Pierce-HenryMyers-Charles M. Schwab) 7. Mamie's Blues [2:19 Blues]† (Mamie Desdume) 8. St.Louis Gal (J. Russel Robinson) 9. Chimes Blues (Joe Oliver) 10. Atlanta Blues [Make Me a Pallet on the Floor]‡ (W. C. Handy-Dave Elman) 11. Oriental Man (Jimmie Blythe) 12. St. James Infirmary† (Joe Primrose [lrving Mills]) 13. Perdido Street Blues (Lil Hardin) 14. Old Fashioned Love (James P. Johnson-Cecil Mack) 15. Savoy Blues (Kid Ory) 16. Clementine (from New 0rleans)†† (Harry Warren-Henry Creamer) Total time: 64:15 The musicians:
Recorded 25 February 2003 at Digital Brothers, Costa Mesa,
CA. Recorded, mixed and mastered by Bryan Shaw,
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