Recently, John Kenyon — executive director of the Iowa City UNESCO City of Literature organization and one of our area’s most insightful arts analysts — and I were both in the audience at the Englert for a performance by the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Kenyon wrote about the concert in his “My Impression Now” Substack, using the apt phrase “mixture of tight and loose” to describe the sound of the touring arm of the legendary torchbearers of traditional New Orleans music.
That description can also accurately be applied to Whirlwind Sessions, Vol. 1, the new album by Dandelion Stompers. The ensemble, which was named “Best Local Band” by Little Village readers in 2022, is all in on the sounds of early jazz. And listeners to this energetic record — recorded live in early 2023 at Flat Black Studios in Lone Tree — will be all in on the band.
The members of the octet consistently find a sweet spot that includes a rock solid sense of swing while also providing space for vocalists and instrumentalists to meander a course both ahead and behind the beat. The unshakable swing is built on the foundation provided by Tim Crumley on percussion (who has an unerring sense of when to accent a moment), Brandi Janssen on upright bass, Marc Janssen on guitar and Chris Clark on baritone saxophone.
Katie Greenstein on trumpet, Suzanne Smith on clarinet and Devin van Holstein on alto saxophone (disclosure: van Holstein and I are both members of the leadership team for Hancher Auditorium) combine with Clark to provide stirring ensemble playing and engaging solos. Each horn player offers up a bright (but never too bright) tone and successfully balances sweetness and sauciness.
Clark winningly handles the lead vocals on “Root Hog or Die,” and Janssen’s vocal on “Who Stole the Preacher’s Whiskey?” (a song by Iowa City legend Dave Moore) is a highlight of the record.
All of that would make for an enjoyable and impressive take on traditional jazz on its own. Katie Roche’s lead vocals, however, elevate Whirlwind Sessions Vol. 1 the way a tornado can whisk a house to new heights.
Roche has an unerring ear for what each song — indeed, each phrase of the lyrics of any given song — needs from her weighty alto voice. She can growl down low and deliver a featherlight note up high. She knows when a talky tone — as on the band’s rapid-fire run through “Comes Love” — is useful and when a touch of vibrato can warm up the end of a line. She never loses track of the pocket, but she refuses to be constrained by it, laying back with a bit of languor or rushing ahead with a touch of urgency. And she sings the old-timey lyrics that dominate this record without irony and with an appealing swagger.
These attributes are all on display on “Aggravatin’ Papa,” the standout track on the record that also offers each horn player a moment to shine. It’s a midtempo number, so it isn’t full of fireworks from Roche or the horns, but it burns at just the right speed. And Roche is dynamite throughout.
This article was originally published in Little Village’s January 2024 issue.
