Little Miss Cornshucks
Ahmet Ertegun called her the best blues singer he ever heard. Ruth Brown claimed her as her most important influence.
No Depression did a big story on her back in 2003 when this compilation came out. You can find it
here.
Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five
AMG Wrote:
This magnificent five-CD set from the British label JSP has all of Louis Jordan's studio recordings (not counting radio transcriptions, V-Discs, and rarities unearthed by the Bear Family label) from his first date as a leader in 1938 through the end of 1950. Jordan would continue recording regularly for the Decca label into 1953, but all of his hits are on this set plus a variety of lesser-known but superior material. In other words, get this set and one really has the very best of Jordan. A fine altoist who was a personable singer, a subtle comedian, and a winning personality, Jordan pioneered the move of jazz from big-band swing to small-group jump music and early R&B. Once he caught on with the 40th song on this set ("Knock Me a Kiss"), Jordan had hit after hit including many songs that are still greatly beloved such as "Five Guys Named Moe," "Choo Choo Ch'Boogie," and "Ain't Nobody Here but Us Chickens." There are many fine solos throughout this set (particularly from Jordan and his trumpeters) and nearly every selection is memorable.
Louis Armstrong - Complete Hot Fives and Sevens
AMG Wrote:
In addition to sounding better than the competition, it also sensibly lays out all the recordings Satchmo made during this period, grouping all the original Hot Five recordings from 1925 to 1927 (and all attendant material) together on the first two discs, all of the Hot Sevens on disc three, with the final disc devoted to the second coming of the Hot Five in 1928 along with the attendant material from the following year.... You can't have a Louis Armstrong collection without this historic set. Come to think of it, you can't have any kind of respectable jazz collection without it, either. Beyond indispensable.
Blind Lemon Jefferson - S/T
AMG Wrote:
Blind Lemon Jefferson was to Texas blues what Charley Patton was to Mississippi blues. His performances had a direct influence upon such legendary Texas musicians as Lightnin' Hopkins, T-Bone Walker, and Leadbelly, while his recordings helped bring his influence to an even larger audience. In the decades since, Jefferson's songs have been covered by countless musicians including Bob Dylan, John Hammond, Jr., and Kelly Joe Phelps, to name just a few...This solid collection (73 minutes' worth) features some of Blind Lemon Jefferson's best. "Jack O'Diamond Blues," "Match Box Blues," and "That Black Snake Moan" are all on board, and with the Sonic Solutions System employed on the audio restoration end, the result is about the best these surviving 78s have ever sounded.
Roy Milton & His Solid Senders
AMG Wrote:
This is more great stuff from the "Legends Of Specialty" series. Drummer and vocalist Roy Milton was one of the first artists signed to Juke Box Records, the label that became Specialty, and his "R.M. Blues" was a factor in getting the label capitalized. The Solid Senders came about, in part, because of the growing economic unfeasibility of the big bands. The streamlining that followed had a dramatic and interesting effect, first highlighting simpler, punchier, and more direct arrangements over a firm rhythmic backing, and then by the directions it led -- listening to the 1947 "Milton's Boogie" is an instant education in the roots of rock and roll.
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