by Ken Dryden
Jimmy McPartland and several old friends are clearly having the time of their lives during this pair of 1959 studio sessions made for RCA. Dick Cary's swinging arrangements are imaginative yet leave room for plenty of spirited solos by everyone. &High Society& features not one but two clarinets, played by Bob Wilber and Ernie Caceres (the former doubles on tenor sax, the latter on baritone sax). McPartland plays hot cornet throughout the disc, complemented by trumpeter Charlie Shavers; both men share the vocals during the inevitable rendition of &When the Saints Go Marching In.& The band also includes Cary (on piano, alto horn, and trumpet), trombonist Cutty Cutshall, guitarist George Barnes, tuba player Harvey Phillips, and bassist Joe Burriesce. This very well-recorded date still sounds great decades later, and will satisfy anyone who enjoys the Chicago style of Dixieland jazz.