This session marked a watershed for Humphrey. He was relatively inactive when Sweet Emma’s band stopped touring after her stroke – Billie and DeDe Pierce did most of the touring and he worked a day or two at Preservation Hall – the few times I saw him he had lip problems and showed little interest in his music. When Orange Kellin and Lars Edegran organized the New Orleans Joymakers for a European tour he was available, and after
playing almost every night for a month with an all-star band he was in
shape and ready to take over the main Preservation Hall Band, which happened shortly afterward, following DeDe’s death.