[Dixielandjazz] Dr. John reviewed - Buffalo News, August 17, 2014

[Robert Ringwald]

Dr. John: Ske-Dat-De-Dat: The Spirit of Satch (Concord)
by Jeff Miers
Buffalo News, August 17, 2014
Well, if anyone seems well-suited to tackling a tribute to Louis Armstrong, it's
Dr. John, one of the funkiest white men to ever emerge from New Orleans. This is
not the first time the good doctor has paid "Props to Pops" -- he presented concerts
beneath that moniker in New York in 2012 and Hollywood in 2013 -- but for the "Ske-Dat-De-Dat"
sessions, "the Night Tripper" attempted to channel the Armstrong vibe through his
own decidedly funk-inflected take on New Orleans music. He got a lot of help here,
from the likes of trumpeters Nicholas Payton and Terence Blanchard, the Dirty Dozen
Brass Band and a ridiculously abundant list of virtuoso blues, soul, R&B and gospel
singers, among them Bonnie Raitt, the Blind Boys of Alabama, Ledisi, Anthony Hamilton
and Shemikia Copeland. Most of the time, it works. The doctor's vocal phrasing and
sly, snaky Professor Longhair-inspired piano comping is a natural fit for the Armstrong-associated
material, and many of the guest vocal spots are close to transcendent, particularly
Raitt's take on "I've Got the World on a String" and the Blind Boys of Alabama's
church-soaked "What a Wonderful World" and "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams." Of course,
Armstrong's greatest gift to the world was his trumpet playing, which laid the template
for what we now understand as jazz, and paved the way for bebop. So this album needed
some trumpet muscle, and it got some from Payton (a fiery "Gut Bucket Blues") and
Blanchard (a bold and brassy "Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams"). Dr. John has said that
the inspiration for the creation of "Ske-Dat-De-Dat" came to him from a dream in
which he was visited by Armstrong, who "told me, 'Take my music and do it your way.'"
That's exactly what ended up going down, and with the possible exception of "Mack
the Knife" -- this one could've done with a more strict reading of the melody --
Dr. John has crafted a collection that both captures and celebrates "The Spirit of
Satch."
-30

-Bob Ringwald K6YBV
www.ringwald.com
916/ 806-9551

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- Winston Churchill