Zutty Singleton Last Recording - 1969 Johnny Wiggs, Danny Barker, Bob Greene

Описание: The Fourth Annual Manassas Jazz Festival was held on 7 December 1969. It was an afternoon concert in the auditorium of Osbourn High School. There was a formidable All Star line up with the two eldest members being New Orleans veterans, drummer Zutty Singleton at age 71 and cornetist Johnny Wiggs at age 70. I was in attendance that day when they performed two sets together during the program and the audience responded enthusiastically.
The next day found both of them together again in a Washington, DC recording studio. They were asked by the United States Information Agency (USIA) to make a recording of New Orleans styled Jazz. The primary objective of the USIA at that time was to promote American public diplomacy. In this instance they were promoting the culture of New Orleans Jazz, an original American art form. The selected band members were all drawn from the previous day Manassas Festival roster. The seven piece ensemble consisted of Johnny Wiggs (cornet), Ernie Carson (2nd cornet), Bobby Gordon (clarinet), Bob Greene (piano), Danny Barker (guitar), Van Perry (bass) and Zutty Singleton (drums). Basically this was a hybrid band of youth and legends and was a swinging and cohesive unit. A total of six classic New Orleans tunes were recorded for eventual issue.
One of the modes that USIA employed to spread American culture was their publishing of Topic Magazine which was printed in English and French and mainly targeted sub-Saharan African population. Thus this recording session was drawing a clear link between African roots and New Orleans Jazz. The recording was released as an insert to a 1970 issue of Topic Magazine. It was a 331/3 rpm flimsy plastic disc that was eight inches in diameter and contained three titles per side and in surprisingly good fidelity. For this post, I have selected a well-known traditional New Orleans tune, “Bourbon Street Parade.” It features excellent solos by Bobby Gordon, Ernie Carson and a full drum chorus by Zutty. Notice how Zutty adroitly plays the melody with press rolls on the snare drum. Johnny Wiggs is the ensemble cornetist and the 4 man rhythm section provides a motivating pulse. On a somber note, this was Zutty Singleton’s final recording session. Early in 1970 he suffered a severe stoke and never performed again. He eventually died in 1975 at age 77.
I hope you enjoy this rarity.