This legendary ensemble was born in 1910 when ‘Papa’ Oscar Celestin took over the band at the Tuxedo Dance Hall in Storyville, New Orleans’ notorious Red Light district. After Celestin’s death in 1954, banjo/guitarist Albert French took over. (Albert’s grandson, drummer Gerald French runs the current addition of the world’s longest continually functioning jazz band.) The music is classic New Orleans jazz, carrying on a tradition that went back over a half century at the time of this 1964 recording. The World Is Waiting For The Sunrise showcases French’s banjo and a mix of solos and ensemble play. A New Orleans Funeral portrays a typical New Orleans funeral march, as the band plays Just A Closer Walk With Thee on the mournful march to the cemetery, and the exuberant Didn’t He Ramble on the return to town, exclaiming the joys of life. All the musicians strut their stuff on Dixieland One-Step, and clarinetist ‘Cornbread’ Thomas leads the infectious singing on the familiar Creole folk song El-A-Bas. The beautifully played Tin Roof Blues takes a leisurely stroll, and the band majestically swings its way home on Panama. Jazz commentator Joachim Berendt called the band “a prolongation of a live tradition”, a tradition that strides the New Orleans streets to this day.
