Search - Jim Kweskin & Neo-Passe Jazz Band :: Jump for Joy

A terrific album, but maybe not for everybody

WitchGrrl | Boston, MA | 03/15/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I'll admit it right now - I'm biased. I had regular doses of this album along with my milk and cookies, it's pretty much sunk into my bones at this point.
However, unlike many other things I liked as a child, this album has stood the test of time. Not only is it in my bones, but I appreciate it just as much as an adult as I did when I was a child.
So what is it? It's skiffle. It's a kind of jug band revival music, somewhere in between the mournful slow rhythms of the old-style jug band and the flashiness of big band. This music is just plain fun. It's happy, peppy, dance around the living room in your pajamas kind of music. Which is ironic, since [destruction], mayhem, and [chemical] addiction are among the lyric subjects.
My personal favorites are the whimsical "You're Not the Only Oyster in the Stew," and the truly exuberant "Louisiana," but there's not a piece on here I don't enjoy. I'm completely delighted that this album was released on CD. The only reason that I didn't give it five stars is that friends and acquaintances of mine have been occaisionally overwhelmed by its relentless cheerfulness and begged me to turn it off.
A special note - making the CD jacket look like the old vinyl cover was a stroke of genius! It's so original and cute!"

Trad meets Jug

Robert | 04/26/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a terrific album that superimposes Kweskin's jug band sensibilities onto 20s jazz and blues tunes. You would expect it to work because these musics are cousins, and it sure does. Dave Von Ronk, among others, has crossed these genres but Kweskin's record has more polish, yet maintains the ebullient good time feel of his the Jug Band. Of course nothing with Kweskin's vocals in there could ever get too slick. Maybe it's the superior studio players Kweskin's assembled. Special note goes to Johnny Frigo's violin solos in the way uptempo "She's in the Jailhouse Now." Some of the tunes were obscure when this was released but really stick in your head once you hear them here. This isn't deep stuff, but it's enjoyable over and over again."