Wolverine Blues - Zutty Singleton with Bob Greene's Hot Green Peppers 1969

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZUTTY! (14 May 1898)
The Fourth Annual Manassas Jazz Festival was held on 7 December 1969. It was an afternoon concert in the auditorium of Osbourn High School. There was a formidable All Star line up with the two eldest members being New Orleans veterans, drummer Zutty Singleton at age 71 and cornetist Johnny Wiggs at age 70. The next day found them together again in a Washington, DC recording studio. They were asked by the United States Information Agency (USIA) to make a recording of New Orleans styled Jazz promoting the culture of New Orleans Jazz, an original American art form. The selected band members were all drawn from the previous day Manassas Festival roster. The ensemble consisted of Johnny Wiggs (cornet), Ernie Carson (2nd cornet), Bobby Gordon (clarinet), Bob Greene (piano), Danny Barker (guitar), Van Perry (bass) and Zutty Singleton (drums). A total of six classic New Orleans tunes were recorded for eventual issue. The recording was released as an insert to a 1970 issue of Topic Magazine. It was a 331/3 rpm flimsy plastic disc that was eight inches in diameter and contained three titles per side and surprisingly good fidelity. For this post, I have selected a well-known traditional New Orleans tune by Jelly Roll Morton, “Wolverine Blues.” It features excellent solos by Bobby Gordon, Ernie Carson and Bob Greene. On a somber note, this was Zutty Singleton’s final recording session. Early in 1970 he suffered a severe stroke and never performed again. He eventually died in 1975 at age 77. I hope you enjoy this rarity.
Note: see my other post under Zutty Singleton for another track from this session.