"Ain't Love Grand–Stomp" John Hyman's Bayou Stompers (Victor, 1927) New Orleans Modernism

Johnny Wiggs, c / Charles Hartman, tb / Elry Maser, cl, as / Alvin Gautreaux, h / Horace Diaz, p / Nappy Lamare, g / Monk Hazel, d Victor Remote Recording Studios (location not yet confirmed) New Orleans, LA 10 Mar. 1927 37993-2 “Ain't Love Grand? (Don't Get Funky)” (B. Peck) Vic 20593 Transferred with 3.5ET stylus in Audiotechnica VMN70SP cartridge via Audiotechnica AT-LP120 Turntable. Discs and Discographical Information and Research from Brian Rust’s Jazz Records, Brian Rust’s The American Dance Band Discography 1917-1942, David Sager, and Colin Hancock. All recordings and transfers from the Colin Hancock Collection. Sometime in the mid 1920s, the modernist or “cool” bug that had been in vogue in New York hit New Orleans. Spearheaded by musicians like Bix Beiderbecke, Red Nichols, Artie Schutt, and George Gershwin, the music was jazz at its harmonic cutting edge, and its whole tone scales, false fingerings, weird measure counts, and weirder melodies were a far cry from jazz’s roots. Cornetist Johnny (Hyman) Wiggs was one of the finest proponents of this style in the Crescent City, often cited as the perfect combination of Bix Beiderbecke and King Oliver. “Ain’t Love Grand” was the first recording under Wiggs’ name (or rather under his birth name of John Hyman). In addition to the modernist melody and harmonies, the record is also unique for the presence of Alvin Gautreaux and Nappy Lamare, who give the record a cajun edge that lives up to the name “Bayou Stompers.”