1940-1950 Boogie Woogie

An excellent overview of the music both jump blues and rock & roll morphed out of, 1940-1950 Boogie Woogie collects 22 solid examples of the floorboard-shaking stuff by key figures like Pete Johnson, Albert Ammons, and Jimmy Yancey. Boogie-woogie found plenty of fertile ground in Kansas City (Johnson was a favorite son), as evidenced by choice sides from Jay McShann, Count Basie, and Andy Kirk. And several other towns -- predominantly in the Midwest and South -- and styles are well-represented, too, namely by Louis Jordan, Erskine Hawkins, Amos Milburn, Lionel Hampton, and a young Fats Domino. Some important cuts may be missing, but this pumping-piano roundup is still essential listening for fans of the R&B side of jazz.