[Dixielandjazz] George Webb

[Bill Haesler]

My mate Pat 'the Ladd' wrote in part:
> any one interested in the British Jazz Revival in the `40`s may be  
> interested in this.
> In the Red Barn in Barnehurst there is a plaque recording that  
> `George Webb and his Dixielanders came together here to play an  
> almost forgotten form of Jazz¬.
> George  will be 90 this month.

Thanks for the update Pat,
It is great to hear that pioneer jazzman George Webb is still active.
Like his 94-year-old Australian friend and jazz colleague Graeme Bell.
For those who may not know, Lake Records in the UK released (in 1999)  
a fine CD of the George Webb Dixielanders. 1943-1947 on
Lake LACD 128 [21 tracks 55 min]. Herewith the details.
____________________________________________
   "Dippermouth Blues, Riverside Blues, New Orleans Hop Scop Blues,  
Come Back Sweet Papa, Bluin' The Blues, Hesitating Blues, Willie The  
Weeper, Original Dixieland One Step, Royal Garden Blues, Weary Blues,  
South, London Blues, Jenny's Ball, Muskrat Ramble, I Ain't Gonna Give  
Nobody None Of Mt Jelly Roll, West End Blues, The Soldier's Lament,  
Tin Roof Blues, If You See Me Coming, Mahogany Hall Stomp, Get Out of  
Here And Go On Home

Anyone who has had anything to do with British traditional jazz will  
know of George Webb's Dixielanders, even if they have never actually  
heard them. The band saw its foundation at the Vickers Armstrong  
Armaments factory in Crayford, Kent during Wolrd War Two. Through a  
twisting series of coincidences the band was formed from a collection  
of jazz fans who learnt their music from records, and decided to try  
and play jazz for their own amusement. Soon their playing became well  
known and many young people were drawn to hear them and not a few,  
such as Monty Sunshine, went away to buy instruments and to start  
playing traditional jazz themselves. Their base was the Red Barn at  
Barnehurst, Kent. Today there is a plaque outside that proclaims that  
in 1941 George Webb's Dixielanders was the first band in England to  
play New Orleans jazz. Whilst some may dispute the claim, none will  
deny the influence that the band had in its short life from 1941 to  
1948.

The tracks on the CD are from sessions in 1943, '45, '46, and '47.  
Having heard the band for yourself, you realise why they were such a  
key to the British jazz revival. The band changes from a 2 cornet lead  
a-la-king Oliver, to single cornet played by a young and vibrant  
Humphrey Lyttleton from 'West End Blues'; both styles are very  
attractive and true to the style of the jazz masters they were  
following. The sound quality varies from crude to reasonable. The  
first four tracks are from a small non-commercial run recorded in very  
primitive conditions that included someone have to lie in front of the  
drums to stop them 'walking' across the lino floor. The recording  
conditions for the remaining tracks improve, but all the tracks on the  
CD come from records rather than master tapes. If top gun sound  
engineer Paul Adams says this is the best he can get from the source  
material, I hate to think what the originals sounded like.

But this CD is not about sound quality; it is about a slice of  
history; it is about a band that was the prime mover, if not the  
source of the British revivalist jazz movement. To know British jazz  
you need to have and to listen to this CD. The sleeve notes are by  
George Webb himself. These extensive notes give an outline of the  
band's history and an idea of the British traditional jazz scene at  
the time. It can easily be argued that the notes alone are worth the  
cost of the CD!"
____________________________________________________

I have had this fine CD for many years, so do not know if it is still  
available.
Lurking DJMLer, Jazz Jerry, will certainly know.
Last month NewMarket Music in Australia released a new compilation 2CD  
set  of all Graeme Bell's compositions 1947-2007 (NewMarket NEW325.2).  
This 46 track CD set contains newly recorded (2007) and historic  
recordings of all Graeme's 42 original tunes.
Although I highly recommend the George Webb Lake CD, I have no  
affiliation with Lake, other than having quite a lot of their  
excellent LPs and CDs in my collection.
I can't make the same disclaimer for the Graeme Bell NewMarket CD set  
as I was, with Graeme, its co-producer.
Kind regards,
Bill.