Wilber de Paris & His New New Orleans Jazz Hot Mustard - His 38 Finest - RTS4259

Another superb jazz release from Retrospective! Trombonist Wilbur De Paris (1900-1973) had a long apprenticeship, with Duke Ellington among others, before he was able to express his own ideas with his own band, but his golden years of the 50s, enshrined on these two Retrospective CDs, genuinely extended the boundaries of traditional jazz. For him, jazz was never history; it was a living art and as hot as mustard. His New Orleans Jazz was always “New”. From his series of highly acclaimed original LPs we have selected the 38 finest tracks – 2 hours 38 minutes of the most invigorating jazz. Magnificent trombonist though he was, the great strengths of De Paris’ “New” New Orleans Jazz lay in the coming together of a supremely talented group of musicians. These included two remarkable trumpeters, his brother Sidney De Paris and Doc Cheatham. Then there was the superlative clarinet of Omer Simeon (late of Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers), replaced after his death by the almost-as-good Garvin Bushell. Wilbur De Paris’ declared aim was “to play as the early New Orleans masters would if they were alive today”. His choice of repertoire goes beyond imaginative renditions of the jazz standards to encompass an enormous range of material. Certainly the music itself is “alive today” – here is the most exuberant, happy jazz that still sounds “New”.