New Orleans Hula

It would be easy, romantic even, to say that the effervescent clarinettist Monty Sunshine, now in his 70s, is currently enjoying a resurgence in his long career. The truth is that he has never been away. Sunshine has always reigned. He was there at the time in the late 1940s when camps were being formed and styles explored. Shrewdly, Londoner Monty assured himself of recognition by joining the ground‐making Ken Colyer Jazzmen before neatly side‐stepping to the rival Chris Barber outfit with which he recorded the Bechet tune “Petite Fleur”. It soared into the hit‐parade of 1956 and Sunshine’s reputation,...