MAGNIFICENT JAZZ
Nikica Gilic | Zagreb, Croatia | 01/31/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The first part of this CD is a beautiful album which gave name to the entire CD; Pee Wee works magnificently with Buck Clayton, Bud Freeman, Vic Dickenson, Eddie Condon... The tunes are written by Pee Wee; although not all are great like "Pee Wee's Blues", the musicians' delivery is impeccable throughout... But Pee Wee is the main reason to be thrilled, he has one of the most distinct sounds in jazz music and might very well be the best clarinet player in the history of jazz...
I like the story from liner notes that, when colleges complemented that the chorus on his first recorded session was beautiful, Pee Wee replied:
"No, it was just unusual!"...
But, the second part of the album is maybe even more magnificent; "The Portrait of Pee Wee", similarly shaped group (with the great Ruby Braff blowing instead of Buck Clayton) plays mostly great standards (plus two Pee Wee's tunes); the interplay is fabulous so you get two great Pee Wee albums on this CD!
The second album on this CD is from 1958, a year before the first one."