It seems that Music Mecca Records will continue their successful concerts at Sorgenfri Kirke (Free of Sorrow Church) near Copenhagen. Volume 3 sees the return of New Orleans Delight and Jensen's Jazz Serenaders. The newcomers are Britain's Rae Brothers New Orleans Jazz Band and Max Lager's Stompers from Sweden.

Kjeld Brandt and his crew always do a fine recording job at the church sessions and the enthusiastic audiences really enjoy the venue. The concerts on the new CD are from the period of December 2001 to December 2002 and perhaps we can look forward to Volume Four next year.

Jensen's Jazz Serenaders are a Danish outfit led by clarinetist Kurt Jensen with guest artist Brian Carrick. Carrick's duets with Jensen are inspired high-energy performances. Their romping version of Royal Telephone features some pyrotechnics by guest drummer, Taff Lloyd, one of my favorite rhythm men.

The Swedish band, Max Lager's New Orleans Stompers is named for a fictitious character created by novelist / pianist Ulf Albrekson. Active since 1979, the Max Lager band is exciting and faithful to the traditions of George Lewis and Kid Thomas Valentine. I enjoyed their fine version of Ting-a-Ling featuring Anders Ekstrom's C-Melody sax. The vintage instrument is seldom heard today.

The British entry on Volume 3 is the Rae Brothers New Orleans Jazz Band. This group features a front-end of trumpeter Clem Avery, trombonist Jim Blenkin and leader/clarinetist Mac Rae. They tackle a couple of unusual tunes in the form of Brahms Cradle Song and I'm a Pilgrim, a country favorite penned by Merle Travis.

The band that hosts the Sorgenfi Kirke concerts is Denmark's New Orleans Delight, one of the busiest little bands on the continent. Kjeld Brandt hosts guests from Canada in the form of George Berry and the recently deceased Cliff "Kid" Bastien. This session was the last recording by Bastien who passed on in February. His trumpet and vocals are featured on the hymn Jesus Is Calling and a novel version of the Caribbean pop hit Rivers Of Babylon. George Berry's tenor sax always adds spice to a tune. Berry and Bastien's partnership goes back many years. I'm awaiting further news from Music Mecca regarding the release of a CD featuring items from Bastien's final tour with New Orleans Delight.

Those who bought Volumes 1 and 2 shouldn't miss the new issue. It's happy music in the New Orleans tradition.