Charleston Chasers Vol.2, The

The Charleston Chasers (a ten-piece British group that has no connection to the 1920s group) plays a wide repertoire of music from the mid- to late '20s. This CD is a step up from their previous Stomp Off release Pleasure Mad due to the developing writing talents of pianist Raina Reid. The band's main arranger, Reid also contributed four originals that fit well into the group's style; a highlight is her "I'm on the End of the Phone," which is in the style of McKinney's Cotton Pickers complete with Nik Payton whispering a vocal that sounds like Don Redman. The other vintage tunes generally avoid strict recreations and, even when based on a certain recording, the solos and some of the ensembles are different. The revivals of such rarely heard numbers as "Allah's Holiday," "I Want to Be Bad," "Melancholy Lou" and "Just Another Day Wasted Away" (which has the fine singer Debbie Arthurs accompanied only by Raina Reid's piano) are four additional reasons why classic jazz fans should search for this one. ~ Scott Yanow|