Fortnight ago in the Old Absinthe House in New Orleans two oldtime jazzists, one with a trumpet, the other with a clarinet, stepped into the spotlight, played with such authentic abandon, such valid virtuosity that the customers sat owl-eyed, raised a din with their applause when the pair had finished. Well they might. The trumpeter was Nick La Rocca. The clarinetist was Larry Shields. As members of the Original Dixieland Jazz
Band, it is generally agreed that 20 years ago they originated the syncopated style of music now known as "swing." La Rocca...
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