Search - Oscar "Papa" Celestin And His Tuxedo Jazz Band :: 1950's Radio Broadcasts

Come Back, Sweet Papa

Michael D. Robbins | San Antonio, Texas United States | 10/13/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Prior to about 1970, jazz developed so rapidly that a new generation of musicians emerged every decade or so. Buddy Bolden and his band were the first generation. Trumpet stars of the second generation included King Oliver, Bunk Johnson, Freddy Keppard, and Oscar "Papa" Celestin.More a journeyman than a brilliant soloist, Celestin never left New Orleans. He led a popular territory band until the Great Depression, spent some time away from music, and then organized his most popular band during the New Orleans revival. This CD contains nineteen air checks and four studio tracks from 1950 and 1951. The six-piece band generally sticks to the standard New Orleans repertoire.This sounds like a very happy band. They swing, and it is a joy to listen to "Papa" Celestin sing and verbally urge his muscians on. Alphone Picou created the classic clarinet chorus on "High Society," and he plays it here. The two recordings of "Eh, La Bas" feature bassist Ricard Alexis singing in his best Creole French. And this disk contains the most joyous rendition of "When The Saints Go Marching In" that I know. On the down side, it is impossible to ignore all the wrong notes and fluffs. By the early 1950s, these musicians were getting on in years. Listen to the mangled introduction to "Dippermouth Blues," for example. However, this is authentic New Orleans jazz played by surviving second generation jazzmen. It is honest music, worth hearing today, despite the flaws."