Jazz / Dixieland, New Orleans Jazz Revival
Pete Fountain - Sequencing, Clarinet, Liner Notes, Selection
Armand Hug Piano
Basin Street Six Performer
Bill Schaeffer Trombone
Bobby Gibbons Banjo, Guitar
Buddy Franks Bass
Carlos Kase Research
Charles Bud Dant Conductor, Arranger, Original Recording Producer
Charlie Teagarden Trumpet
Dick Noel Trombone
Don Bagley Arranger
Eddie Miller Sax (Tenor)
Eddie Miller & His Orchestra Sax (Tenor)
Edward Odowd Design
George Girard Trumpet
George Roberts Trombone (Bass)
Godfrey Hirsch Drums, Percussion
Heine Beau Arranger
Hollis King Art Direction
Jack Sperling Drums (Snare), Percussion, Drums, Cymbals
Jackie Coon Trumpet
Joe Rotis Trombone
John Propst Piano
Ken Druker Supervisor
Lew McCreary Trombone
Matty Matlock Arranger
Moe Schneider Trombone
Morty Corb Bass
Nick Fatool Percussion, Drums
Norman Granz Original Recording Producer
Paul Barbarin Percussion, Drums
Peter Keepnews Notes Editing
Phil Stephens Tuba
Roy Zimmerman Piano
Samantha White Restoration, Research
Santo Pecora Trombone, Drums
Stanley Wrightsman Piano
Will Friedwald Sequencing, Liner Notes, Selection
There are relatively few of Pete Fountain's early-'60s Coral recordings available on CD, which is a pity because those rank with the finest work of the New Orleans clarinetist's career. This sampler in a series presented by Fountain has 20 selections in all. A dozen cuts comprise the complete reissue of the 1963 album South Rampart Street Parade, an unusual date in which Fountain, trumpeter Jackie Coon, trombonist Moe Schneider, tuba, banjo, and bass are joined by four drummers who each focus on specific parts of a drum set in order to sound like a New Orleans parade band. The results are naturally quite rhythmic and fun. In addition, Fountain is featured on seven earlier tracks, including three numbers with trumpeter George Girard and four in an octet with trumpeter Charlie Teagarden and tenor saxophonist Eddie Miller. The only weak number is the final selection, a 1968 version of "Walking Through New Orleans," in which Fountain is backed by insipid background singers, but that is the only minus to this rewarding set of high-quality dixieland. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Pete Fountain
Active Decades: '40s, '50s, '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s and '00s
Born: Jul 03, 1930 in New Orleans, LA
Genre: Jazz
Styles: Dixieland, Dixieland Revival
One of the most famous of all New Orleans jazz clarinetists, Pete Fountain has the ability to play songs that he has performed a countless number of times (such as "Basin Street Blues") with so much enthusiasm that one would swear he had just discovered them. His style and most of his repertoire have remained unchanged since the late '50s, yet he never sounds bored. In 1948, Fountain (who is heavily influenced by Benny Goodman and Irving Fazola) was a member of the Junior Dixieland Band and this was followed by a stint with Phil Zito and an important association with the Basin Street Six (1950-1954), with whom the clarinetist made his first recordings. In 1955, Fountain was a member of the Dukes of Dixieland, but his big breakthrough came when he was featured playing a featured Dixieland number or two on each episode of The Lawrence Welk Show during 1957-1959. After he left, he moved back to New Orleans, opened his own club, and has played there regularly up until retiring from the nightclub business in early 2003. Fountain's finest recordings were a lengthy string for Coral during 1959-1965 (they turned commercial for a period after that).
---Scott Yanow, All Music Guide |
