Kid Ory This Kid's The Greatest! CD

Personnel: Teddy Buckner, Pud Brown, Lloyd Glenn, Julian Davidson, Ed Garland, Minor Hall, Bob McCracken, Don Ewell, Morty Corb, Alvin Alcorn, George Probert, Barney Kessel, Phil Gomez, Cedric Haywood, Wellman Braud.

Recorded from 1953-1956.
These lively and spirited sessions from 1953, 1954, and 1956 show that Ory still had plenty of gas left in the tank and could play tailgate 'bone in the New Orleans style better than anyone. Bouncy and lively, Ory leads three different configurations, pulling in players from all different musical strata (modern jazzers like Barney Kessel and jump blues pianist Lloyd Glenn work comfortably with old-timers like Minor Hall and Wellman Braud), making it all work seamlessly. Highlights include nice takes on old warhorses like "South Rampart Street Parade," "Bill Bailey," "Creole Love Call," "Milenberg Joys," "Ballin' the Jack," and "Four or Five Times," but the real treat is the Kid's vocal on his own "The Girls Go Crazy." Highly recommended. ~ Cub Koda
New Orleans trombone man Kid Ory had already made a sizeable contribution to musical history before he dropped out of the game in the 1930s. Although he basically wrote the rulebook on the use of trombone in a jazz context, he might have slipped off the radar of history if he hadn't made a stunning comeback in the '40s. Thankfully, Ory recorded prolifically throughout the '40s and '50s, and these mid-'50s sessions find him in excellent form. The fare is sprightly old-school New Orleans jazz, sprinkled with ragtime and Dixieland flavors, with Ory's tailgate trombone leading the way.
Interestingly, the personnel here comes from all over the map, and includes Ory contemporaries (drummer Minor Hall), as well as modern bop players (guitarist Barney Kessel). Traditional standbys "Bill Bailey" and "St. James Infirmary" show that Ory hasn't abandoned his classic songbook, while originals such as "Creole Song" and "The Girls Go Crazy" (featuring a vocal from Ory) fit into the set list perfectly. This is fun, high-spirited music that captures the essence of jazz as it was conceived in the beginning.