| Jazz |
We glance in the rearview mirror, let the years roll past, apply the brakes, and suddenly it is 1920. Outside, a jazz club glows against the night. We step inside, and wonder takes over. This is a work of beauty, not just a recording, but an act of time travel, with the luminous Catherine Russell in her element, doing what she does best: bringing the story of jazz to life. She even infuses it with a hint of modern intent, a rare sleight of hand when working with music so deeply marked by time.
The Jazz Hounds of Colin Hancock, cornetist, saxophonist, historian and Afro-Rom producer — proudly present Cat & the Hounds, a bold new album that revives the spirit of early 1920s Black jazz and blues with both historical fidelity and contemporary urgency. Drawing on rare recordings from that decade and exhaustive archival research, the Jazz Hounds approach these pieces not as museum reconstructions but as restorations, breathing life into them, keeping their imperfections, their grain, their human pulse. The name itself nods to the pioneering Jazz Hounds of Johnny Dunn, and this modern ensemble channels the legacy of each member into performances that honor the complex, cosmopolitan roots of early Black popular music.
Many musicians have attempted such forays into the past, with varying degrees of success. But here, every detail is treated with complete respect: the muted trumpets, the exact timbre of the piano, the careful phrasing of every note. The effect is not a facsimile but a true immersion, a chance to hear history anew and admire it afresh. The album’s origins trace back to George Wein’s vision for a “History of Jazz” presentation at the 2020 Newport Jazz Festival, an event meant to spotlight the founding styles and a new generation of Black traditionalists. Wein enlisted Vince Giordano of the famed Nighthawks, who then entrusted the project to Hancock. When the pandemic cancelled the festival, and Wein passed away soon after, the concept seemed lost.
Yet albums, like the histories they tell, often take winding paths, some linear, others full of detours, pauses, and chance encounters. Bringing such a project to life depends on finding the right hands to carry it forward. In this case, Hancock proved to be the ideal steward, pairing meticulous research with the precision of transcription needed to resurrect these historic works. “Early jazz wasn’t just the work of novice cornet players,” write Kahn and Hancock in the liner notes. “And early blues didn’t come solely from rural guitarists.” Instead, the music was shaped by violinists, conservatory-trained pianists, and artists rooted in classical, Caribbean, and African American traditions, weaving improvisation, syncopation, spirituals, and ragtime into something vibrant and evolving. “At the same time,” they add, “the fledgling record industry compressed this rich musical tapestry into the more marketable label of ‘blues.’” Cat & the Hounds aims to correct that distortion, restoring nuance to a story too often flattened.
It is the kind of record you could discuss for hours over tea, letting the music play as you imagine elegant ladies and their gallant partners filling the dance floor. Or you could simply sit back and listen on a fine hi-fi system, letting its warm, beautifully mixed sound draw you into an era when the night air outside a club was thick with the promise of music that could change everything.
Thierry De Clemensat
Member at Jazz Journalists Association
USA correspondent for Paris-Move and ABS magazine
Editor in chief – Bayou Blue Radio, Bayou Blue News
PARIS-MOVE, August 12th 2025
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Musicians:
Catherine Russel, vocals
Collin Hancock, cornet, C melody sax
Dion Tucker, trombone
Evan Christopher, clarinet, soprano sax, vocals, harmonica
Ahmad Johnson, drums
Kerry Lewis, tuba
Special guest:
Vince Giordano, bass sax
Tracklist :
- Panama Limited Blues
- Cake Walkin’ Babies
- Telephoning the Blues
- You’ve Got Everything a Sweet Mama Needs But Me
- Gypsy Blues (Introducing: Serenade Blues)
- Elevator Papa, Switchboard Mama
- West Indies Blues
- Everybody Mess Around
- Goin’ Crazy with the Blues
- Crazy Blues
- Carolina Shout
- Sweet Man