Ruffins, Kermit
Putumayo, 2005, CD
Instrument: Trumpet
Issue: 11.2
Jazz Ruler Type: Dixieland
Performance: 4
Sound: 4
Score: 
O’s Notes: Is Kermit a modern day Louis Armstrong? Yes and No. He plays the same New Orleans marching band and swinging Dixie style. He also voices himself equally well whether singing his trumpet or playing the lyrics (no typo). More importantly, he is entertaining. It sounds like Kermit is a reborn Satchmo, but he does have his own signature and writes many of his tunes. Yet no one has hit the scene with the roaring power of the legend. That said, Ruffins is strong and this CD is formidable collection of some of his early work on Justice Records and more recent work on Basin Street Records.
