Pete Fountain (Ranwood)
To damn him with faint praise, the Dixieland clarinetist Fountain was the best musician in the Lawrence Welk Orchestra of the 1950s. And now, at 70, Fountain still plays with the joyful spirit and fat, true tone that made him the saving grace of all those "champagne music" schmaltzfests. While Fountain has continued to perform at his own club in New Orleans, this is his first recording with the New Lawrence Welk Orchestra, which ordinarily bubbles away in the Welk Champagne Theater in Branson, Mo. So even though the accompanying musicians aren't the swingingest group around, Fountain, with his venerable wooden clarinet, is still a joy to hear.
Bottom Line: Intoxicating champagne Fountain
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