Best of Dixieland Jazz Music CD by Dixieland Stompers - When the Saints & Classic Tunes for Parties, Mardi Gras & New Orleans Style Celebrations

I won't bother with a host of 2nd place. THIS recording is THE BEST EVER in the Dixieland genre. Straight up Dixieland. Not New Orleans Jass (think Preservation Hall) or Lousiana Swamp Blues, or other related genres. All instrumental. No Dixieland vocal (such as Leon Redbone). The MUSICIANSHIP is astoundingly good. The CREATIVITY -- blows away all others. Yes, many a 2nd place has inventive stuff, but this recording so creatively does it FULLY WITHIN PURE DIXIE (not like the creative Wnyton Marsalis might do). In 'Saints, for example, there is an inversion stuffed into the melody you are probably sick of hearing. It makes you cry; it just surprises you and tweaks your emotions, and like wow, gazillions of Saints Go Marching In and not one other group ever did that. And it just twisted me up with joy and weirdly, sadness, at the same time. All the pieces are different. In flavor and in the kinds of creativity used. All the instrumentalists are outstanding.By the way. A litmus test for Dixieland is this: you can feel EITHER a two-pulse OR a four-pulse and switch ENTIRELY RANDOMLY between the two (like the figure-ground illusions; lady/old-woman, etc.): 1-2 1-2 1-2 1-2-3-4 1-2 1-2 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4 1-2 1-2. Every tune here passes this litmiss test so it is 100% unequivocal Dixieland. Just SO creatively done. With the most facile group of musicians.Now there are TWO recordings QUALITY-wise. The one made in Germany is better. The one made in the US is not quite as good. The recording is allegedly identical, but somehow sound quality does differ. If you had both (I do) you don't need to be an audiophile to tell the difference. The CD case and paper don't say which you have. Look at the CD itself and ITS writing. If its got a gay-emm-bay-hah (how the Germans would pronounce their GmbH ), then you have the better sound quality German-made CD.The recording is SO good, I wouldn't even tell you about it. So I can buy more in the future. Except, I already did. Won't go into why the intended gift one didn't work out as becoming the gift. So, since I already hogged up a few of these, it's OK if you buy whatever are left of them.