Aside from a few compilations consisting of previously released 78 rpm recordings, the 1959 United Artists LP Petite Fleur represents the first album by New Orleans clarinetist Edmond Hall. Accompanied by pianist Ellis Larkins, bassist Milt Hinton, and drummer Jimmy Crawford, Hall revisits Sidney Bechet's "Petite Fleur" and another Dixieland classic, "Clarinet Marmalade," with great feeling. His perky original "Cook Good" was inspired by a folk tune he heard as a young man called "Cook Good Cabbage." The group expands to a sextet with the addition of trumpeter Emmett Berry and trombonist Vic Dickenson on four tracks. A medley of six songs from the vast Duke Ellington songbook showcases a different side of Hall and some excellent muted horn by Dickenson. The leader even takes a rare vocal on the swinging closer, "Don't Give Me No Sympathy." ~ Ken Dryden, All Music Guide
