OLIVER-SMITH INCOMPARABLES, Stomp Your Stuff

On Stomp Your Stuff, the rousing, energetically arranged and performed debut album by the Oliver-Smith Incomparables, co-leaders Andrew Oliver (piano) and Hal Smith (drums) draw on the classic arranging concepts from Jelly Roll Morton’s timeless Red Hot Peppers recordings as a springboard for something fresh, fiery and intricately original. Mining colorful obscurities from the Melrose Brothers catalog, the ensemble creates a vibrant, imaginative and speedy swinging set that feels both historically informed and thoroughly alive.

The title track launches the album with buoyant brass interplay, playful clarinet flourishes and Oliver’s stomping piano momentum. From there, the ensemble moves effortlessly between the jaunty clarinet-driven swagger of “Bucktown Blues,” the ragtime elegance of “Grace and Beauty,” and the stop-and-start rhythmic intrigue of “Jimtown Blues.” Throughout, Oliver’s arrangements capture Morton’s love of shifting textures, ensemble conversation and unexpected twists without ever sounding like an academic exercise.

Other tracks like “San Sue Strut,” “Mobile Blues,” “Original Chinese Blues” and the exuberant closer “Cafe Capers” showcase the band’s ability to balance intricate arrangements with freewheeling improvisation. More importantly, they capture the collective spirit, groove and sense of fun that made early jazz so irresistible in the first place.

What makes Stomp Your Stuff especially engaging is the keen intuitive chemistry among the musicians. Cornetists Colin Hancock and Andy Schumm, trombonist T.J. Müller, guitarist-banjoist Jacob Alspach and bassist-tubist Dan Anderson bring personality and stylistic authority to every performance, while Smith’s drumming provides both propulsion and subtle color. The trio performances of “Mill Creek Shuffle” and Morton’s “Honey Babe” offer welcome contrasts, with Müller delivering a heartfelt vocal on the latter.

Part of the album’s appeal lies in the fact that these veteran musicians are all intimately familiar with this vocabulary. Hancock, Schumm and Müller are all multi-instrumentalists with extensive knowledge of early jazz styles, while Oliver’s years immersed in Morton’s music allow him to draw from the master arranger’s palette without sounding derivative. The performances continually shift between tightly crafted ensemble passages and open spaces for individual expression, creating the same balance of discipline and spontaneity that made Morton’s finest recordings so compelling.

A century after Morton helped define the language of hot jazz, the Oliver-Smith Incomparables prove that language remains as powerful, expressive and irresistible as ever – and still capable of inspiring a few stomping feet along the way!