Artist: Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Del McCoury Band
Album: American Legacies
Label: McCoury Music and Preservation Hall Recordings
Release Date: April 12
Grade: B+
There's something strangely refreshing about hearing New Orleans jazz and southern bluegrass being played earnestly in this day and age. Even more refreshing is hearing the two American musical traditions being played and explored together, on the same album.
The refreshing album in question is American Legacies, the combined effort of New Orleans' own Preservation Hall Jazz Band and the Del McCoury Band. Though the former is a group dedicated to the preservation of traditional jazz and the latter is the personal project of a bluegrass legend with a career spanning four decades, the two have come together to record an album that feels remarkably original and new.
Kicking things off is "The Band's in Town," a lively song that earns its name by amply demonstrating the abilities of every member of both ensembles. Right away, the song firmly establishes many of the album's precedents: the spirited interplay between country twang and Dixie jazz, the snappy instrumentation, and the buoyant tone characterize the rest of the album perfectly.
Following up this strong opening is "One Has My Name," an upbeat cover of a Jimmy Wakely country single from 1948. The cover's cheerful counterpoints and honest fiddle part make it an improvement over the original.
Strange though it may seem, more than half the songs on this refreshing, original album are covers. The two bands do a remarkable job breathing new life into the tired old songs they play, paying homage and exercising creative license at the same time. "Shoeshine Blues," for instance, puts a new spin on the song's lyrics and is a lot more jazzy than bluesy, while "Jambalaya" is a flavorful reimagining of the bland Hank Williams original.
The two gems of the album, though, are the original instrumentals "Banjo Frisco" and "Mullenburg Joys," the latter in particular boasting a great balance between the jazz and bluegrass halves of the ensemble.
With the exception of two or three songs that err slightly on the boring side, American Legacies is a unique record that breathes new life into old legacies.
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