Back in the 1970s, when jazz was mixing with rock and plugging in to fusion, there were a handful of artists that rebelled, going into a few different directions. Some, like Wynton Marsalis and Scott Hamilton, went the “neoconservative” way to revisit vintage mainstream jazz of the 50s and 60s. Another group went “paleoconservative” going back to the days of Coolidge, Al Capone and hot jazz of the 20s and 30s.
Kenny Davern, playing clarinet and soprano sax was one of the 
leaders of the new “avant garde”, looking so far backward that they looked forward. Here are some essential albums to give you a hint of jazz made for dancing shoes.
And, there wasn’t a lack of humor with these gents, as shown by the “Orchestra” album by fellow two stepping pianist Dick Wellstood, teaming with Davern on a pre-beboping album. The two cover tunes like “Original Dixieland One Step” and “Tiger Rag”, but with fresh and surprising interpretations. Drummer Bobby Rosengarden pops in for a fresh coat of old paint for bop pieces like “Blue Monk” and “Joshua”, and it works wondrously. What a hoot!
In the mid 70s, Davern came up the brilliant idea of having a two soprano sax lead, and joined up with Sidney Bechet student Bob Wilbur for a collection of jaw-dropping sessions. The band had a couple reunions. The first one in 1990 has the team searing like a Formula One through “Limehouse Blues” and “Lover, Come Back to Me” while agonizing on “Black And Blue”. Davern brings his warm clarinet on this one, and blends wondrously, while the supporting cast of Bucky Pizzarelli/g, Dick Hyman/p, Milt Hinton/b and Bobby Rosengarden/dr deliver jogger’s pulse to “St. Louis Blues” and “Should I?”.
There was one more get together in 1992, with the same band from the first reunion coming in and bringing in tenor saxist Flip Phillips for a concert on board the S/S Norway during a Floating Jazz Festival. Phillips blows smoke rings on “Lady Be Good” while “Apex Blues’ slowly rises to an agonizingly thrilling crescendo of a climax. All aboard!
Last but not least is a 1972 get together with some of the guys that started it all in Chicago, namely Gene Krupa/dr and Eddie Condon/g. Dick Wellstood/p , Kenny Davern/cl, along with Wild Bill Davison/tp are bright and beautiful on “I Want To Be Happy” and “Tat Da Da Strain” with Krupa hitting hard on “China Boy” and Condon strumming up a storm on “The Mooche”. The originators work well with passing on the baton .