Jim Cullum: Red Hot & Blues

The fifteen performances in this set have been extracted from broadcasts by the Jim Cullum Jazz Band in its Riverwalk, Live from the Landing series that began on Texas Public Radio in 1988. Ably led by Cullum on cornet, with John Sheridan on piano, the septet presents the traditional repertoire with considerable authority. Here it is joined by such notable guests as Lionel Hampton, Dick Hyman, Clark Terry, Bob Haggart, Joe Williams, Ken Peplowski, Linda Hopkins and dancer Savion Glover. One extraordinary track begins with an excerpt from the 1932 Don Redman recording of “Doin’ the New Low Down,” on which Bill Robinson danced; it fades into the Cullum band’s version with Glover dancing to remarkable effect. What a percussionist he is! In this sampling, he cuts everybody, Bojangles included. He impresses, too, on three tracks with the same group in a companion CD of Christmas songs, “Hot Jazz for a Cool Yule” (RW CD 5), on which the guests include Bob Wilber, Clark Terry, Dick Hyman, Milt Hinton and Banu Gibson.

Originally Published April 1, 1997