Dewey Jackson featuring Don Ewell - Live At The Barrel 1952 (review)
Dewey Jackson featuring Don Ewell - Live At The Barrel 1952 (Delmark; DE 246)
reviewed by Michael Macomber
Trumpeter Dewey Jackson is one of the great lost treasures of traditional jazz. Born in St. Louis at the turn of the last century, Jackson laid down some impressive sounds during his 66 years. Sadly, not many of them were recorded. This new release by Delmark triples Jackson’s discography.
Recorded by none other than Delmark founder Bob Koester, using a Bell tape recorder and microphone borrowed from St. Louis University, Dewey Jackson Live At The Barrel 1952 is an historic document indeed. Jackson’s fellow players include Frank Chace on clarinet, Sid Dawson on trombone, Don Ewell on piano, and Booker T. Washington on drums.
The combination is a magic one, apparent from the opening track on this disc, Ray Gilbert and Lew Pollack’s “That’s A Plenty.” Jackson’s trumpet and Chace’s clarinet are hand in hand, dancing across the floor. The interplay between the two is an immense kick. All the while, there’s Ewell’s wonderful Fats Waller inspired piano, embracing the sheer joy of Gilbert and Pollack’s engaging composition.
“Bugle Call Rag” is a true showcase for Jackson’s thrilling style. He tears it up with a fury, practically ripping the roof off the place. This is a player who put his entire heart and soul into his instrument. Chace also has some nice moments here, and the band in general is right on it.
The ever so familiar “St. James Infirmary” is given an appropriately melancholy treatment, with some unbelievably passionate playing from Jackson. Dawson’s trombone cries gently in the night, while Ewell tells the tragic tale delicately with his piano.
The equally familiar “Tiger Rag” has a special quality here too, alive in a way that is rarely seen or heard. The band is practically bouncing as they step the tempo up to lightning speed in the latter half. Stomping like madmen, it’s easy to picture them busting straight through the floorboards.
What really makes this recording, however, is the crowd. Raucous and rowdy, they respond to every killer moment with applause, cries, laughter, and absolute delight. Live At The Barrel 1952 is a living, breathing example of the soul lifting power of jazz. When played by masters such as Dewey, Ewell, Chace, Dawson, and Washington, jazz is more than music. Jazz is life.
