Dodds was one of the very finest New Orleans clarinetists, and the only non-Creole among them. The peak experiences here, and some of the finest small-group recordings ever made, are the New Orleans Wanderers sessions --
Armstrong's Hot Five with George Mitchell instead of
Armstrong. Also present are
Freddie Keppard's only two recordings and a bunch of marginally lesser cuts that
Dodds transmutes into gold. ~ John Storm Roberts, Original Music