Preservation Hall Jazz Band, New Orleans, Vol. 2

Like its predecessor, this 1981 recording is as true as possible to the spirit, and even the letter, of the music that found form in New Orleans in the first decades of this century, music that had changed rapidly in the move to Chicago in the 1920s. The band brings a relaxed flow to the music whether it's a religious tune or a raucous rag, a feeling encouraged by the extended times permitted by later recording. The style is classic polyphony, with Frank Demond's trombone and Willie Humphrey's clarinet developing elaborate patterns around Percy Humphrey's stately and burnished trumpet leads; the music is propelled along by the rhythm section, including Josiah Frazier on drums and James Miller on piano. Willie Humphrey's speechlike clarinet playing stands out, especially on his solo on "Shake It and Break It." --Stuart Broomer