George Lewis and his Jazz Band "Doctor Jazz"

The Royal Telephone (V): Into Each Life Some Rain Must Fall: Chant Of The Tuxedos (V): The Old Spinning Wheel/Bugle Boy March: 2.19 Blues (V): Doctor Jazz (V): Oh, Mary, Don't You Weep (V) H.M.V. Q CLP1413: 0 CSD1337 (12 in., 25s. ltd. plus 8s. 41d. P.T.).

Sometimes I cannot, for the life of me, understand why LPs are given certain titles. In the case of this new George Lewis record, however, it is fairly obvious to me why it is called "Doctor Jazz". The politeness, the almost antiseptic way in which each of the eight tunes is presented, surely derive from Dr. Jazz's best bedside manner I'm not suggesting there is anything unhygienic about the average modern "trad" band's approach, but I do like my .iazz music to have a little more of the virile atmosphere of the dance-hall and a lot less of the cheerlessness of the surgery. We all know what George Lewis sounds like, and he still sounds like it here. Bob Nlielke's trombone tries hard to liven up the proceedings, but his efforts are anaesthetised by the bloodless trumpet-playing of Andrew Anderson. Dr. Jazz may have a good bedside manner, but he doesn't cure my reviewer's blues. Next patient, please.

O.K.