- Format: CD
- Label: Fantasy
- Genre: Jazz
While he has not attained the legendary status of his friend Bunk Johnson, clarinetist George Lewis (1900-1968) was even more influential in the worldwide acceptance of traditional New Orleans jazz as a classic music style. The collective empathy that Lewis and his sidemen built over years of playing together was matched by their flair as entertainers (trumpeter Kid Howard, pianist Alton Purnell, and drummer Joe Watkins were all featured vocalists), and Lewis albums formed the traditional cornerstone of several of the greatest independent jazz labels' catalogs. Recorded in the group's first year of steady American touring, before its triumphal visits to Europe and Japan and the period as "house band" at Preservation Hall, Jazz at Vespers is a church concert where Lewis concentrates on the spirituals that formed a key part of his repertoire.
Track listing:Just a Little While to Stay Here, Bye and Bye, The Old Rugged Cross, Sometimes My Burden Is Hard to Bear, Down by the Riverside, Just a Closer Walk with Thee; Lord, You've Been Good to Me; When the Saints Go Marching In
