CBC TIMELESS £10.50/£8.50)
CBC 1074; Ted Lewis & His Band. 1929 - 1934. 26 titles

CHESKY   (£14.00/ £11.91)
SACD254; John Pizzarelli My Blue Heaven Sweet tempered, laidback, small band swing with vocals, a la the King Cole Trio, with a bit of Frishberg tossed in. This pleasingly old fashioned guitarist and singer is backed up by dad Bucky, Clark Terry, Dave McKenna, Milt Hinton and Connie Kay. This Disc contains 3 versions of the same music programme - Direct Stream Digital surround sound, Direct Stream Digital Stereo and CD standard stereo

DOCUMENT Double CDs    (£10.50/£8.50)
CBL200036; Mamie Smith The Essential 36 tracks demonstrating the versatility and talent of Mamie Smith, who was the first to record blues songs in 1920 with her versions of Perry Bradford's "Crazy Blues" and "It' s Right Here for You" on Okeh Records. The record was a wild success, selling over a million copies in less than a year, and finally ending up selling over two million copies. After this it dawned on record companies that there was a lot of money to be made selling what was then called "race records" to various minority groups in big cities. The success of "Crazy Blues" also prompted other record companies to try to find other female blues singers. Smith herself was more of a vaudeville performer, although she included blues and jazz numbers as part of her show that also featured trapeze acts, dancing, comedy, lavish costumes and jewelry as well as music. She continued to record for Okeh until 1923 and in the 1930s and early '40s she still lead a successful career singing and recording as well as appearing in several films. Mamie set the standard for female blues singers that followed in her foot steps. Nearly every other Classic Blues singer of the 1920s borrowed something from her act or style to achieve her success.
CBL200037; Peetie Wheatstraw - The Essential  A limited piano stylist and even more rudimentary guitar player, St Louis-based Peetie Wheatstraw (real name William Bunch) was nevertheless one of the most prolific and successful pre-war recording bluesmen, on the strength of his vocals, the varied lyrical content of his songs and his talent for self-publicity. Here are 36 examples of why he was so popular, including perhaps his most famous recording "Devil's Son-In-Law".
CBL200038; Johnnie Temple  - The Essential Johnnie Temple is one of the great unsung heroes of the blues. A contemporary of Skip James, Son House and other Delta legends, Temple was one of the very first to develop the now-standard bottom-string boogie bass figure, generally credited to Robert Johnson. While still in Mississippi Temple seems to have worked with all the local bluesmen before moving to Chicago in 1932. He never had a string of major hits but he was hugely popular with the black audience of the '30s and war years, his style, singing good songs while fronting small jump combos, keeping him in work until the post-war period when more recent immigrants from the south, such as Muddy Waters, began to lead the music in a new direction. Here are 36 of his bestrecordings.
CBL200039; Leroy Carr - The Essential  The term "urban blues" is usually applied to post-World War II blues-band music, but one of the forefathers of the genre in its pre-electric format was pianist/singer Leroy Carr. Teamed with the exemplary guitarist Scrapper Blackwell in Indianapolis, Carr became one of the top blues stars of his day, composing and recording almost 200 sides during his short lifetime, including such classics as "How Long, How Long Blues", "Prison Bound Blues" and "Blues Before Sunrise", which are featured here with 33 other examples of his thoughful lyrics that go far beyond the 'woke up this morning' formula.
CBL200040 Charley Jordan - The Essential Here’s a chance to sample 36 tracks of one of the most influential and colourful bluesmen from the St Louis music scene of the 1930s. A city known more for it’s blues piano musicians, St Louis did have some fine blues guitarists/singers residing there too, including Henry Townsend, J.D. Short and the incomparable Charley Jordan. This double CD demonstrates just why Jordan was so popular, not only with his audience but also with his fellow musicians. Along with bootlegging and playing the blues, Charley Jordan acted as a talent scout for the Vocalion and Decca record labels, so it is understandable that he started a recording career himself. Apart from cutting records under his own name, Jordan played some of his finest improvisational guitar work behind other well known artists such as Peetie Wheatstraw, "Hi" Henry Brown, Lee Green and St Louis Bessie, all of whom are featured here. Blues and rags abound, including "Hunkie Tunkie Blues", "Just A Spoonful", "Nut Factory Blues" and the wonderful "Keep It Clean".

FROG £10.50/£8.50
DGF 46; Bessie Smith. Volume 7   24 August 1928 - 11 October 1929. 20 titles
DGF 54; Andy Kirk and His Twelve Clouds of Joy. Lotta Sax Appeal. 24 titles.7 Nov 1929 - 15 Dec 1930.

JAZZ ORACLE (Double CD £21.00/£17.87)
BDW 8041;  Fess Williams and His Royal Flush Orchestra, Fess Williams and His Joy Boys. Recorded in New York and Chicago 1926 - 1930. 50 titles. An ideal companion to Retrieval RTR 79032 Pre Victors 1925 - 1927.

JAZZBAND (Double CD £13.85/£11.79)
TMCD2190/91-2; Artie Shaw - The Complete Rhythm Makers Sessions. 1937 - 1938. Double CD. 45 titles.

JSP  (5CD Box £20.00/£17.02)
JSPCD7719 Various - Big Joe Williams And The Stars Of Mississippi Blues  124 track, 5CD set focusing on a group of bluesmen who hailed from the Mississippi Delta but found their way to cities such as Chicago and St Louis to record in the 1930s and '40s. Foremost amongst them was Big Joe Williams, who is represented here by 50 tracks over the first two CDs, including his most famous 'calling card', the earliest recording of the much-revived "Baby Please Don't Go". Williams survived to a ripe old age and enjoyed later fame on the festival circuit whereas his contemporary Tommy McClennan (42 tracks), though equally pioneering with recordings such as "Bottle It Up And Go" and "Cross Cut Saw Blues", soon slipped back into obscurity. Also here are Tony Hollins (7 tracks), Robert Petway (13 tracks), Willie 'Poor Boy' Lofton (8 tracks) and Robert Lockwood (4 tracks), with accompanying musicians including Sonny Boy Williamson, Henry Townsend and David 'Honey Boy' Edwards. The usual comprehensive notes with recording dates and personnel completes a typically good value JSP package.
JSPCD918; Hoagy Carmichael The First Of The Singer Songwriters: Key Cuts 1924 - 1946   Authoritative 4CD, 101 track overview of one of the great composers of American popular song, including performances of most of his best loved compositions such as "Riverboat Shuffle", "Star Dust", "Rockin' Chair", "Georgia On My Mind", "(Up A) Lazy River", "Lazy Bones", "New Orleans", "Two Sleepy People", "Skylark" and "Hong Kong Blues". 40 of these recordings are by Carmichael himself with varying accompaniment, the other tracks are various interpretations of his works by singers and bands of the era, including Bix Beiderbecke & The Wolverine Orch., Red Nichols & His Five Pennies, the Paul Whiteman Orch., the Jean Goldkette Orch., Irving Mills Hotsy-Totsy Gang, Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Mildred Bailey, Ethel Waters, Nat Gonella, the Frankie Trumbauer Orch., Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orch., the Dorsey Brothers Orch., and the Boswell Sisters. This is accompanied by a bumper 92 page booklet with discography and essay written by Richard M Sudhalter, Carmichael's official biographer.

LAKE   (£12.50/£10.64)
LACD 190; Ken Colyer's Jazzmen Vintage Ken Colyer 1953 When Ken Colyer returned from his famous pilgrimage to New Orleans, Chris Barber and Monty Sunshine had a band ready created for him. It included Lonnie Donegan who was to become a legend in his own right and this CD includes some of his early Skiffle pieces. Through contacts he had made Chris Barber had already secured a tour of Denmark. And after a brief rehearsal period the band set off. There they were recorded under fairly primitive conditions. The recordings, which originally appeared on the Storyville and Tempo labels became cult collector’s items. Personality clashes and musical differences led to the band breaking up less than a year later. The band, minus Colyer, brought in Pat Halcox on trumpet and thus was born Chris Barber’s Jazz Band which continues to this day. High hopes were pinned on this band, it created the pianoless rhythm section which became the norm for Trad Jazz Bands and it quickly established a loyal following – something Chris Barber was able to capitalise on when he took over the band. The high profile of this band, the short length of time they were together and the few recordings they made make these recordings important historically in the story of British Jazz.
LACD 191; Monty Sunshine Jazz Band Sunshine Of Your Blues
Monty Sunshine is one of the legends of British Traditional Jazz. He was a founder member of the Crane River Jazz Band (see LACD182) alongside Ken Colyer. Along with Chris Barber he formed a band for Ken Colyer to lead when he returned from New Orleans in 1953 (see LACD190) and when that band split he was part of Chris Barber’s Jazz Band (see LACDD141/142). Chris Barber’s band has been the most consistently popular traditional jazz band in the UK and Europe. Already established as a popular member of the band Monty sealed his position by being the featured soloist on the Barber Band’s hit single ‘Petite Fleur’ – a number recycled more often than any other recording on Trad Jazz collections. Monty left the Barber band late in 1960 in a blaze of publicity and formed his own band which continued until his ill health a few years ago. There were a few attempts to recreate the success of ‘Petite Fleur’ and a number of clarinet specialities can be found on this CD, including some written by Sidney Bechet, the composer of ‘Petite Fleur’. The band tracks reveal an excellent driving band well led by the powerful trumpet playing Rod Mason (then the new kid on the block who is now a successful band leader in Germany). Although Monty’s own band never enjoyed the commercial success of the Barber band it had a consistent and loyal following both in the UK and on the continent.    Tuxedo Rag, Do Lord, Jacqueline, South, Saturday Night Function, The Sunshine Of Your Blues, Gimme A Pigfoot & A Bottle Of Beer, Sobbin’ & Crying, Creole Love Call, 1919 Rag, Coney Island Washboard, Sunshine, Down Home Rag, Young Woman Blues, Cake Walking, Babies From Home, I Keep Calling Your Name, Saratoga Shout, Seven of Hearts.
LACD 192; Terry Lightfoot's New Orleans Jazzmen Lightfoot At Lansdowne Terry Lightfoot formed his first band in 1956 (see LACD158) and many top players, and later band leaders, passed through its ranks including Kenny Ball, Alan Elsdon, the legendary Sonny Morris, Graeme Bell, and Cream’s Ginger Baker. Although he had previously been a member of Chris Barber’s amateur band and the Yorkshire Jazz Band, the trumpeter on these recordings, Dicky Hawdon, caused a stir by joining the Lightfoot band because he had been playing more modern styles of jazz alongside Johhny Dankworth and Tubby Hayes by 1961. Trombonist Roy Williams was a burgeoning talent and his period with the Lightfoot band was just prior to him joining the Alex Welsh band and seriously establishing himself as a world class trombonist - a position he holds today. Terry Lightfoot himself is a fluent and articulate player. His band was immensely popular as is borne out by the fact that they released 10 singles and 5 LPs in a four year period from 1960 to 1964 (roughly the same as the chart-topping Acker Bilk band). The Lightfoot band produced accessible, swinging traditional jazz to a high standard and with eye on the commercial market. Terry Lightfoot still leads a popular band today that pulls in audiences all over the UK with a reputation which was built on recordings such as this in the 1960s.   Black Bottom Stomp, King Kong, Riverside Blues, Maryland My Maryland, Creole Mama, Tiger Rag, Wild Man Blues, I Love Paris, Old Man River, Isle Of Capri, Top Gear, Dardanella, Creole Love Call, Streets Of Antibes, Rocking Chair, Coffee Grinder, Bali Hai, Taint What You Do

STORYVILLE  (£13.50/£11.06)
1018335; Art Tatum Live Vol. 5, 1951   This 72 minute (21 tunes) live CD was recorded at the newly-opened Embers Club in N.Y.C. in 1951.The first four tunes are trio numbers with Everett Barksdale on guitar and Slam Stewart on bass; the rest are solo piano. Pianist Art Tatum is a true, unique genius of jazz; his lightening speed, his dynamics, nuances and complex ideas on the keyboard have never been equaled. The repertoire consists mostly of "crowd pleasers", including compositions by Duke Ellington, the Gershwin Brothers, Benny Goodman, Rogers and Hart, Harold Arlen and of course Art Tatum’s mentor, Fats Waller. In spite of the noisy audience on these live sessions, Tatum succeeds in showing the audience – and CD listener – why he deserves his staus at the father of all jazz pianists. While Tatum plays mostly tunes – and quotes of tunes - that the live audience recognizes, it doesn’t diminish the quality of his playing. These never-before-released live sessions include an interesting three-minute interview with jazz journalist Leonard Feather.
1018346; Duke Ellington At The Hollywood Empire 1949 This is the first-time release of live radio broadcasts with the Duke Ellington Orchestra from the Hollywood Empire club in Los Angeles in 1949. This 71-minute/17-tune CD was recorded during a transitional period in Ellington’s career, when the swing big bands were dying out and bebop was on the rise, and several of the tunes reflect the new bebop trend. Almost half of the compositions performed on this CD were never again performed by Duke Ellington. On this CD the Ellington Orchestra features Billy Strayhorn, Al Hibbler, Ben Webster, Ray Nance, Harry Carney and Johnny Hodges. As is usually the case with Duke Ellington, this CD deserves repeated listening in order to solve the "mystery" of Ellington’s wonderful, complex musical ideas.
1018380; Thad Jones & The Danish Radio Big Band A Good Time Was Had By All This 72-minute (ten tunes) session was recorded live at the Montmartre jazz club in Copenhagen in 1978. Five of the ten tunes are written by Thad Jones; the rest include compositions by Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington and the Gershwin Brothers. The Danish Radio Big Band is comprised of the best Danish musicians plus two American stars - Idrees Sulieman on trumpet and Richard Boone on trombone – who were living in Copenhagen at the time. Thad Jones’ compositions are a mix of power and eloquence; a unique style which made him world famous. The two years during which Thad Jones was chief conductor of the Danish Radio Big Band (1977,78) are considered the best in the Radio Big Band’s illustrious forty-year history. World-renowned bassist on this gig, Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen has this to say  about playing with Thad Jones: "… this is the culmination of thirteen years … working in this band. This is what this band is capable of sounding like!" And the drummer, Bjarne Rostvold had this to say: "… he was able to inspire us with his energy, his ability to improvise through body movements. His performance as a conductor was always something special. He made the band play better than ever."