[Dixielandjazz] Pee Wee Russell

[Marek Boym]

> Pee Wee was not playing badly - just being Pee Wee.
> Read his biography and you might then begin to understand where he was
> coming from.
> He was a musical poet - as original as Monk but few understood that until
> later when he recorded on his own and with Jimmy Guiffre.

Anybody would sound good as compared to Giuffre.  And those famous
recordings "on his own" aren't among his best - Brown spoils them.  As
to Russell - he sounds his old great self.  By the way, he made a
record with a big band arranged by Oliver Nelson, "The Spirit of '67"
- much better to my ears.

Again - I love Russell.  But the person who wrote it was there in
those clubs in the 1940's, while I was not.  I posted the query
because I could NOT conceive of Russell playing poorly (perhaps on an
off-night, but not regularly).

Regards
>
>
> Hello folks,
> Listening to some of those excellent mid-forties Commodore recordings
> featuring Pee Wee Russell reminded me of a question that's been
> bothering me for some time:
>
> Long ago someone wrote on the Mississippi Rag Bulletin Board that, in
> the 1940's, Pee Wee played badly, so much so that the listeners
> believed he has still been hired because of personal connections.
>
> I protested, arfuing that I could not conceive of him playing badly,
> but I was not there; the person who made that claim was.
>
> OK, he was not always at the top of his powers, and the Storyville
> sessions might not have been of the same standard as the Commodores,
> but BADLY?
>
> Now there are some people on the list who should remember those days,
> and I would very much like to hear their comments; in the meantime,
> I'll go on believing this to be nonsense.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Marek
>
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