AMG Review of Timeless: New Orleans' Own the Dukes of Dixieland

Paula Edelstein
All Music Guide

Timeless offers fans of New Orleans' own brand of music the ultimate adventure -- an adventure that emanates from the recording studios of New York City, television show themes, Nashville, to Bourbon Street and the decks of the Steamboat Natchez as it sails up and down the Mississippi River to the miracle CD that survived Hurricane Katrina. The music on this four-disc set is compiled from the repertoire of the Dukes of Dixieland's 32 years of recorded works. The accompanying discography booklet samples from 16 albums beginning in 1975. The traditional New Orleans style of jazz, rags, swing, boogie-woogie, stomps, marches, blues and gospel -- it's all here for your enjoyment. With leader Conrad Jones on cornet and drummer Richard Taylor offering his resilient licks, the Dukes of Dixieland continue to carry on the tradition of New Orleans despite the ravages of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 when the band was forced to seek shelter on higher ground. Top picks: "Creole Gumbo," "When the Saints Go Marching In," "Black Bottom Stomp" and "Do You Know What It Means to Miss New Orleans."