King Joe Oliver and his Creole Jazz Band were the first to really break out to gain a national audience with this recording. In listening to this, I was struck by how effortless it sounds. The good ones always make it sound that way! The sweet clarinet part soaring above the rest of the ensemble is particularly enjoyable. king Oliver's masterful use of the plunger for wah-wah effects here is also fantastic to listen to.
I was also pleasantly surprised to learn that a young Louis Armstrong was playing second cornet in this band during its heyday, before going on to become the living legend that he later was. While we know that famous people had to start somewhere, it is often interesting to come across them in some of the stops they made on the way up to the top.
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