To put this band into proper perspective…
Back in the mid 1970s EVERYONE was going electric or atonal. Fusion was ruling the world with bands like Return to Forever, Headhunters and Weather Report, or the acoustic guys were looked down upon for playing anything that hinted at a melody.
So, up come Kenny Davern and Bob Wilbur, vets of the “trad school” of jazz, and they come up with the idea of returning to the sound of Jimmy Noone’s Apex Club bands with twin reed instruments. Together, they formed Soprano Summit, usually with two sopranos, two clarinets or one of each, with an occasional C melody or alto sax thrown in with the support of George Duvivier/b, Marty Grosz/g-banj and Bobby Rosengarden-Fred Stoll/dr for the first two albums (and a live gig) represented here.
The results are revolutionary.
Forget detailing which reed is which on the solos, together the sopranos (one curved, one straight) glide in and out ecstatically on pieces like “Nagasaki”, brood exotically on “Black and Tan Fantasy” and wail on “Lover Come Back To Me”. The clarinets are dark, woody and blue on “Chalumeau Blue”. The mix of old time two stepping standards and originals works real well, keeping things interesting as on Wilbur’s “Debut” while back in time with the Flux Capacitor on WC Handy’s “Ole Miss” and the old hot ‘cha standard “Oh, Daddy!”. Topping things off is a fun monologue by guitarist Grosz chronicling the bands rise, and a handful of material from a festive gig with the band in overdrive on ”Everybody Loves My Baby”. This music is so much fun to listen to, reminding you that at one time jazz put a smile on your face. When did the Barbarians storm the gates?