Various Artists
Fritzel’s Jazz Pub: Jazz Combos
(Independent)

Fritzel’s European Jazz Pub, which is located on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, bills itself as a the place “Where Jazz Lives!” The club has recently released two albums chronicling live performances in the intimate space just off the hubbub of the city’s most touristic street.

The first, dubbed simply Jazz Combos, features a collection of songs ranging from the familiar, like “Tea For Two” and “Hesitation Blues,” to the more obscure like the opening cut “Swing Gitan.”

Guitarist John Saavedra gives the jazz manouche tune a workout while bassist Mike Robbins anchors the drum less rhythm section. But it’s the next cut, “Wild Women,” sung with lusty gusto by trumpeter Marla Dixon, that probably gets people in the front door.

This cut, like most of the others on the album, also is drum less. Russell Welch takes a sweet solo, and the bass is solid. This is basically the approach across the thirteen tracks selected for inclusion.

While the album title suggests “combos,” most of the songs are in the trio format with two exceptions. Richard “Piano” Scott provides a stellar solo version of “La Vie en Rose.” His sly piano work, on what sounds like a Tin Pan Alley-style upright, captures the elusive sentiment of the Edith Piaf classic. His gravelly voice takes the listener right back in time.

On “Oh How I’ll Miss You Tonight,” banjo player and vocalist Hunter Bergamy anchors a quartet with Zack Lange on trumpet, Colin Myers on trombone and Norbert Farkas on bass. I was not familiar with either horn player, but each provided depth with their solos over Farkas’s rhythmically thumping bass part. Burgamy struts with his vocal, and strums with aplomb.

The only miscue in my opinion is the inclusion of the perennial New Orleans classic, “What A Wonderful World.” Though I must admit recording it in a piano trio with Jory Woodis’s sterling, swirling clarinet rather than a trumpet is an accomplishment, it still seems like pandering to the tourist crowd.

Various Artists
Fritzel’s Jazz Pub: Fritzel’s Allstars
(Independent)

The second release, Fritzel’s Allstars, features many of the same players and the only discernable difference is most of the 11 cuts have a drummer. Bryan Besse is his

name and though I was not familiar with his work, he brings a swinging sensibility to the proceedings enlivening a program of mostly well-known, and some well-worn, chestnuts.

The opening cut, “Fidgety Feet,” sets the stage with Kevin Clark’s trumpet driving the uptempo number as Connor Stewart provides counterpoint on alto sax. Besse announces his presence with a great drum break.

The Hunter Bergamy combo from the first album returns with a singsong version of “Ting-a-Ling.” Myers lets loose a lyrical solo on trombone with just the right amount of slip on the slide before Lange tears into an expressive solo of his own. I clearly like this group of musicians.

The ringer on the album is trumpeter Jamil Sharif. His vocals, along with LPO bassist Jim Markway’s subtle touch, supply much of the emotion on two cuts, “Milneburg Joys” and “On the Sunny Side of the Street.” The former is presented in a more modern arrangement than versions you’ll hear on WWOZ. The ensemble work is among the best I have heard in a long time.

One minor quibble about these recordings—the packaging is nearly identical; the internal liner notes are the same and none of the players or their instruments is identified. While this might not offend a visitor looking for a souvenir, it does a disservice to these hard-working musicians slogging it away on Bourbon Street.

With that caveat, the Fritzel’s Jazz Pub live recordings sound great, you can really hear the intimacy of the room, and all of the players are clearly on top of their games. They are quality documents of a club that tends to fly under the radar of most locals.