[Dixielandjazz] Reimer von Essen

[Marek Boym]

How short good records are!
I just heard the first side of "25 Jahre Barrelhouse Jazzband", and
couldn't believe it was over almost immediately after it started (actually,
it played 21 minutes).
The liner notes only give year of recording, and the first number on the
double album is "Too Late" recorded back in 1959 the band was established
in 1953).
Reimer von Essen wrote the eloquent (I believe - while I can read German
with a more-or-less proper pronunciation, I do not understand it) liner
notes, which must have been the reason his name was not munitioned.
Nevertheless, as well exemplified by the double album in question, it was
his arrival which transformed the band from another - albeit very good -
traditional band into something of seldom equalled excellence.
There were changes in the band's style - in mid-seventies it was more of a
small swing band than a trad band, but later its style reverted to more
traditional - but the standard of excellence remained the same over all
those years.
The band, sans the pianist and the double bass player (then labelled "The
Barrelhouse Brass Band, since it was a part of a brass band get together in
Tel-Aviv) visited Israel in 1984 .  My late friend Hymie Shles, a great
jazz fan and an expert on traditional jazz, said ot its performance in the
old Jaffa "Ha'Simta" ( the alley) show that "it was the best jazz concert
he had ever attended).  While I am not sure it was the best I had ever
attended, I loved it a lot, and still remember it pretty well, it was SO
impressive!
Mr von Essen played (or perhaps still does) with other groups, mainly drawn
from the Barrelhouse.  One of those was The Jazz Classics, a fantastic
little group concentrating on the Chicago South Side style (for lack of
better description).
As you can infer by now, I rate Reimer von Essen as one or the best
clarinet and alto sax players around.
A, yes, the music went very well with a bottle of Pauvel Kwak.
Cheers