South - George Webb's Dixielanders (1947)

Описание: Today's artist comes from across the pond and, although not very well known here in the United State, was a HUGE influence for the Jazz revival in Britain. We have George Webb's Dixielanders playing "South", a Jazz standard by Benny Moten and Thamon Hayes dating back to 1924. Webb's version comes to us from a 1947 recording on the British Decca label.

George Horace Webb, born October 8, 1917 to a former music hall artiste father, grew up loving jazz from an early age, with a particular fondness to the New Orleans musicians. With clear inspiration, he taught himself the piano, often trying to emulate the stylings of King Oliver's band.

Webb got a job as a machine gun fitter at the Vickers-Armstrong factory at Crayford. He took it as his personal duty to entertain the workers on lunch breaks, often creating scratch bands from among the workers.

In 1943, Webb formed an early version of his Dixielanders, a British traditional jazz band standing out in an era consisting mostly of big bands playing dance music. There certainly had been Dixieland jam sessions prior to this, but it was certainly not the norm. The group was setup similarly to that of King Oliver, consisting of two cornets, trombone, clarinet, piano, banjo, bass and drums and played regularly at the Red Barn public house at Barnehurst, Kent.

Post war, the group continued to grow their audience, finding more and more places that liked the change of pace in music style. With this also came the inspiring of a whole new group of young musicians disillusioned with big bands, leading to many more jazz revival startups and even wider acceptance until it ballooned into a full on craze.

Although George Webb's Dixielanders only lasted until 1948 before disbanding, their impact on jazz as a genre, especially in Britain, is undeniable, paving the way for more great British jazz bands like those formed by Humphrey Lyttelton and Chris Barber.