Some albums announce themselves politely, and some kick the door open. Down in Honky Tonk Town kicks the door open, then holds it for you and waves you in with a grin. From the first bars of “Sensation Rag” to the last fireworks of the closer, this is a record that radiates joy. It feels like a late-night walk through New Orleans, where the music spilling out of the doorways is enough to put a smile on your face before you’ve set foot inside. It is a collection of conversations, between horns, between banjo and piano, between a cornet and a trombone who argue and make up in the space of a single song.
Down in Honky Tonk Town is the debut album from the Burgamy-Hancock New Originators, released on Turtle Bay Records. The band is co-led by cornetist Colin Hancock and banjoist-vocalist Hunter Burgamy. The personnel are: Colin Hancock on cornet, Hunter Burgamy on banjo and vocals, Robin Rapuzzi on drums, Tom Saunders on tuba, Kris Tokarski on piano, Dennis Lichtman on clarinet and tenor sax, Charlie Halloran and Jens Lindgren on trombone, James Evans on clarinet and C-melody sax, and Joplin Parnell, also on piano.
The album was recorded in New Orleans using Jon Atkinson’s original RCA equipment. It runs eleven tracks and about 38 minutes, drawing on New Orleans repertoire from the early 1900s through the 1930s. Rather than copying the classic recordings note for note, the band plays its own arrangements, chasing the kick that a dance hall or honky-tonk crowd would have felt when the band played live.
“Sensation Rag” kicks things off and lets you know exactly how fun and enjoyable the album is going to be. “Buffalo Blues” is like going back to the days of the first telephones, picking up the receiver and finding yourself on a party line between a clarinet and a cornet, a conversation you just can’t hang up on. “Baby Brown” is an opportunity to hear every element of the band, a constant exchange between one instrument and all the others. Then “Cryin’ for the Carolinas” turns the mood with its minor key, the first thing that hits you, a song with its own opinion. The title track, “Down in Honky Tonk Town,” pulls you right into the New Orleans vibe: if you’re lucky, late at night, you walk down a street in the city, never go into a single venue, and the music spilling out into the street still puts a smile on your face.
“Mad (‘Cause You Treat Me This Way)” sounds like a marriage between a cornet and a trombone with things on the rocks, though happily, they work it out. “Working Man Blues” is a reminder of how a classic jazz blues can tell a story through feeling alone. “I Never Knew What a Gal Could Do,” a tune long associated with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings, captures all the joy of the original. “Squeeze Me” is a smooth-as-velvet, lilting version of the standard, a gentle contrast to the horn chatter around it. “Good Old New York,” the Jelly Roll Morton tune, is driven by the piano, with the banjo bringing an almost intimate sound. Finally, “I Can’t Beat You Doin’ What You’re Doin’ Me” features vocals, like the MC of a fantastic show you’ve just experienced, and gives every musician the chance to take a bow, each one sending up a final burst of musical fireworks.
Listening to this delightful album makes you wish you were watching a Woody Allen film. On its own, though, it captures all of the wit and wisdom, and puts a smile on your face, and some eternal songs in your heart.
