... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

... LP, Vinyl record album

A great 2LP collection of classic work from Bessie Smith – recordings that helped revolutionize the world of blues, and had a huge impact on jazz as well! LP, Vinyl record album

Backings by Eddie Chamblee, on a host of Bessie Smith classics – updated with more of a 50s R&B vibe. LP, Vinyl record album

Arranged and conducted by Thad Jones. LP, Vinyl record album

Backings by Eddie Chamblee, on a host of Bessie Smith classics – updated with more of a 50s R&B vibe. LP, Vinyl record album

Jimmy Rushing reprises a nice batch of blues classics from the 20s, all of which were sung by early recording artists like Bessie or Clara Smith. The group that backs him is a nice one, and features Buck Clayton on trumpet, Buster Bailey on clarinet, and Coleman Hawkins on tenor. As with many of Columbia's late 50's sessions in this style, the sound is excellent, and has an intimacy and warmth that works extremely well with the material – including titles like "Arkansas Blues", "Gulf Coast Blues", "Muddy Waters", "Squeeze Me", and "Crazy Blues". LP, Vinyl record album

A partner album of sorts to Jimmy Smith's classic Midnight Special album – recorded during the same sessions as that one, and also featuring Stanley Turrentine on tenor and Kenny Burrell on guitar! The sound here is almost even more open and stretched out – with only 4 long tracks on the album, 2 on each side – all offering up plenty of room for Jimmy to hit the Hammond with that keenly imaginative approach to a solo he was showing at this time – a style that proved that the instrument could do a lot more than just make weird noises or pump up the rhythm. Turrentine's tenor more than matches Jimmy's solos for imagination – and titles include "When I Grow Too Old To Dream", "Messy Bessie", "Minor Chant", and "Back At The Chicken Shack". LP, Vinyl record album

A partner album of sorts to Jimmy Smith's classic Midnight Special album – recorded during the same sessions as that one, and also featuring Stanley Turrentine on tenor and Kenny Burrell on guitar! The sound here is almost even more open and stretched out – with only 4 long tracks on the album, 2 on each side – all offering up plenty of room for Jimmy to hit the Hammond with that keenly imaginative approach to a solo he was showing at this time – a style that proved that the instrument could do a lot more than just make weird noises or pump up the rhythm. Turrentine's tenor more than matches Jimmy's solos for imagination – and titles include "When I Grow Too Old To Dream", "Messy Bessie", "Minor Chant", and "Back At The Chicken Shack". LP, Vinyl record album

With selections by Sidney Bechet, Lil Johnson, Bessie Smith, Oscar's Chicago Swingers, Johnny Temple, Merline Johnson, Coot Grant & Kid Wesley Wilson, Tampa Red's Hokum Jug Band, Jelly Roll Morton, Lucille Bogan, Bessie Jackson, and Georgia White. LP, Vinyl record album

A stunning tribute to the great Alan Lomax – the legendary musicologist, historian, and recording engineer who captured so many wonderful American sounds in the 20th Century! Lomax's work has been crucial to both the Library Of Congress and Smithsonian/Folkways Records – yet there's also a fair bit that has never seen the light of day before – amazing recordings that make up a surprisingly large part of this box set – which compiles work in many different styles recorded by Alan in the field – blues, folk, gospel, and global modes, plus compelling regional genres – all presented here in a special 6LP set. The box features 55 never-issued tracks, and lots more great ones too – with music by Shirley Collins, Fiddlin Joe Martin, Compagna Sacco, Calvin Frazier, Sonny Boy Williamson, Jelly Roll Morton, Ernest Williams, Neal Morris, Skip James, Son House, Elmer Barton, Brendan Behan, George Sea Island Singers, Big Bill Broonzy, Elizabeth Austin, Jean Ritchie, Bascomb Lamar Lunsford, Bessie Jones, Duke Of Iron, Charles Barnett, and many others. The box features a nice booklet of notes, too – and some rare photos from the archive! LP, Vinyl record album