Jim McHarg's Metro Stompers were a Dixieland outfit comprised of a bunch of expat Brits (and one Scot) led by bassist McHarg, who played with The Clyde Valley Stompers in his hometown of Glasgow before emigrating to Canada in 1961. The Metro Stompers played their first gig at the Penny Farthing Coffee House in Yorkville, where they quickly gained a following led by jazz critics Helen McNamara, Patrick Scott and John Norris, and jammed with visiting musicians like Buck Clayton, Lil Armstrong, Lonnie Johnson, Willie "The Lion" Smith, Max Kaminsky, Bob Wilber, Jimmy Archey, Freddie Moore, Olive Brown, Rudy Powell, Vic Dickenson and "Wild Bill" Davidson, among others. The Metro Stompers themselves consisted of leader McHarg on double bass, Charlie Gall on cornet, Jim Galloway on clarinet, alto sax and vocals, Jim Abercrombie on trombone, Dave Moodie on banjo and guitar and Bernie Nathan on drums.

Thumbs Up is an Arc Records Citation Series release, and was recorded by Ken Warriner (who played vibes on Sharon Strong's record and produced Phil La Penna's album) and Gary Starr at Bay Studios in Toronto. "A Place To Stand" is a rousing cover of Ontario's unofficial anthem. "Manitoba Mood" is a languorous instrumental written by Torontonian Freddie Grant, and "The Sheik of Araby" is a raucous jazz standard that also showed up on The Beatles Anthology. Lastly, "The Maple Leaf Forever" is a take on the Canadian would-be anthem written by Alexander Muir (who was inspired by a tree located a few blocks over from where I live). It was recorded with Canadian folk music institution The Travellers (who handled the vocals) and released as a single in the Centennial year of 1967.

A Place To Stand
Manitoba Mood
The Sheik of Araby
The Maple Leaf Forever