Henry "Red" Allen’s live take: 1964
August 23, 2006 by nonotes
It occurred to me that maybe somebody had posted the “SJI” segment of the Spike Lee doc on Youtube. No such luck, but there are a few other new clips since last time I searched that site. Like this one.
That’s Henry “Red” Allen doing a rather rousing version of the tune on a “a 1964 TV show with the very good British Jazz Band of Alex Welsh,” according to the person who posted the clip. It’s pretty cool, and one of the more exciting versions I’ve heard in a while — there’s even a call-and-response moment, and a guitar solo! I’d never heard this version, so I was pretty pleased to come across it. Allen’s trumpet work truly sparkles. Recommended.
A couple of years ago I did some research into the song "St. James Infirmary," wrote up what I found, emailed that essay to friends and posted it on my web site (as part of a series of "Letters From New Orleans," as I was living in that city at the time). Based on the feedback, I wrote a second version of the essay, and asked for more feedback. Based on that, I wrote a 
