Trumpeter
Kenny Ball was at the height of his popularity in the early 1960s, when he had a big hit in "Midnight in Moscow" and was an active participant in England's trad boom. He has managed to continue working since then, despite the change in musical trends, and this 1990 recording (reissued on a 1998 Jazzology CD) finds
Ball playing Dixieland in prime form. Heading a fine septet which also includes trombonist
John Bennett, clarinetist
Andy Cooper,
John Fenner on banjo, and guitar, pianist Hugh Ledigo, bassist
John Benson, and drummer
Ron Bowden,
Ball takes many fine solos and shares occasional vocals with
Cooper and
Benson. Highlights of the superior set include "At the Jazz Band Ball," "Muskrat Ramble," "Ory's Creole Trombone," and "I Shall Not Be Moved."