English drummer and bandleader
Joe Daniels is heard leading his lively Dixieland band on this smartly selected Living Era compilation of recordings made between 1951 and 1955. Although parallels have been drawn between
Daniels and studiously eccentric characters like
Raymond Scott, this portion of his career was entirely devoted to old-fashioned Dixieland jazz. The examples that have found their way onto this compilation are strong enough to warrant comparison with the best of
Lu Watters,
Eddie Condon or
Jimmy McPartland.
Daniels was a consummate showman with a sense of humor that manifested itself in memorable ways. He is known to have used a stepladder as a musical instrument, and even constructed a wooden bass drum effigy capable of laying eggs. But there's nothing kooky about this music. It is superbly executed traditional jazz, based in the achievements of
Kid Ory,
Muggsy Spanier,
Irving Fazola,
Bix Beiderbecke, the
New Orleans Rhythm Kings and the
Original Dixieland Jazz Band.
Joe Daniels never had a chance to put out a long-playing album as a leader; Living Era has done the world a favor by compiling no less than 28 recordings previously available only to collectors of 78 rpm British jazz records. And that's pretty doggone exciting.