Jammin' at Condon's

AMG Review of Jammin' at Condon's

Bruce Eder
All Music Guide

Eddie Condon's second LP for Columbia (and his first not to be shared with another band) is a side of Columbia's jazz output that's appreciated too little today -- the label may not always have recorded enough, or enough of its artists the right way doing the right repertory, but with Condon they got it right. The goal here was to capture Condon and his band jamming as they might at his club, with various friends joining in, working in the optimized setting of Columbia's 30th Street Studio in Manhattan. Peanuts Hucko (clarinet), Lou McGarity (trombone), Bud Freeman (tenor sax), Dick Cary (alto horn), and Billy Butterfield (trumpet) were the guests on the two sets of sessions held one week apart. Of the five resulting numbers, the 13-minute "How Come You Do Me Like You Do" is the highlight, with a killer horn solo by Cary and beautiful solos by Cutty Cutshall, McGarity, and Freeman as well. The emphasis here is more on lues and rhythm than on balladry, with the highlight being a fast-tempo medley ("When My Sugar Walks Down the Street"/"I Can't Believe That You're in Love with Me"), and the revival of the New Orleans Rhythm Kings standard "Tin Roof Blues." The moments captured on these two days of sessions are priceless, and it's sad that Sony-Legacy has never seen fit to reissue this or the earlier Jam Session: Coast to Coast on CD, but it's gratifying that Mosaic licensed them for the Eddie Condon box.