Pete Fountain Presents - The Best of Dixieland

There are relatively few of Pete Fountain's early-'60s Coral recordings available on CD, which is a pity because those rank with the finest work of the New Orleans clarinetist's career. This sampler in a series presented by Fountain has 20 selections in all. A dozen cuts comprise the complete reissue of the 1963 album South Rampart Street Parade, an unusual date in which Fountain, trumpeter Jackie Coon, trombonist Moe Schneider, tuba, banjo, and bass are joined by four drummers who each focus on specific parts of a drum set in order to sound like a New Orleans parade band. The results are naturally quite rhythmic and fun. In addition, Fountain is featured on seven earlier tracks, including three numbers with trumpeter George Girard and four in an octet with trumpeter Charlie Teagarden and tenor saxophonist Eddie Miller. The only weak number is the final selection, a 1968 version of "Walking Through New Orleans," in which Fountain is backed by insipid background singers, but that is the only minus to this rewarding set of high-quality Dixieland.