AMG Review of Club Hangover 1954

Scott Yanow
All Music Guide

In the summer of 1954, clarinetist Edmond Hall, pianist Ralph Sutton, bassist Walter Page and drummer Charlie Lodice had a regular gig at San Francisco's Club Hangover, and a weekly radio broadcast from which this material is drawn. In the 1970s, the quartet was featured on a Storyville LP and the same group, with Clyde Hurley added on trumpet was showcased on a Jazz Archives album. This 1998 CD has all of the music from the former date and seven of the nine selections (leaving out "I Found a New Baby" and "St. Louis Blues," both of which were also performed by the quartet) from the quintet outing. The immediately distinctive Hall (whose clarinet tone could easily cut through a huge big band) and the hyper stride pianist Sutton made for a perfect match. Hurley, a hot Dixieland player whose claim to fame was taking the trumpet solo on Glenn Miller's "In the Mood," succeeds in raising the temperature even more during some particularly explosive ensembles. Listeners who think of Dixieland as polite and predictable are advised to check out this rather exciting disc!