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During 1924-26 (and to a lesser extent 1927-30), Louis Armstrong appeared as a sideman on a series of sessions by a variety of blues-oriented singers. All of these recordings are included on this attractive six-CD set issued by the English Affinity label (which also includes a lengthy booklet), Armstrong's cornet (and, by 1928, trumpet) is heard backing and occasionally taking solos on record dates led by singers Ma Rainey, Virginia Liston, Eva Taylor, Alberta Hunter, Margaret Johnson, Sippie Wallace, Maggie Jones, Clara Smith, Bessie Smith, Trixie Smith, Billy Jones, Grant and Wilson, Perry Bradford, Chippie Hill, Blanche Calloway, Hociel Thomas, Baby Mack, Nolan Welsh, Butterbeans and Susie, Lillie Delk Christian, Seger Ellis, Victoria Spivey and even the country pioneer Jimmie Rodgers ("Blue Yodel No. 9"). The Bessie Smith recordings are the most powerful but there are other memorable selections including those with the remarkably nasal Lillie Delk Christian (Armstrong even joins in and scats during "Too Busy"), Eva Taylor (during "Mandy Make up Your Mind" soprano-great Sidney Bechet switches to the remarkable sarrusophone), Eva Taylor (Armstrong's solo on "Cake Walking Babies from Home" was one of his first great ones), Chippie Hill (the original version of "Trouble in Mind") and Ma Rainey (the earliest recording of "See See Rider"). These recordings on a whole are not as essential as his own classic sessions from the 1920s so this perfectly packaged set is recommended mostly to the more fanatical early jazz and blues collectors rather than the more general listeners who are advised to get Armstrong's Hot Five recordings first.
Louis Armstrong
Louis Armstrong and the Blues Singers: 1924-1930
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AllMusic Review by Scott Yanow
Track Listing - Disc 1
| Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
feat: Georgia Jazz Band / Ma Rainey
|
3:20 | ||||
| 2 |
feat: Georgia Jazz Band / Ma Rainey
|
3:20 | ||||
| 3 |
feat: Georgia Jazz Band / Ma Rainey
|
3:21 | ||||
| 4 |
feat: Georgia Jazz Band / Ma Rainey
|
3:23 | ||||
| 5 |
feat: Georgia Jazz Band / Ma Rainey
|
3:23 | ||||
| 6 | 3:01 | |||||
| 7 | 3:24 | |||||
| 8 | 2:55 | |||||
| 9 | 2:35 | |||||
| 10 |
feat: Alberta Hunter
|
2:46 | ||||
| 11 |
feat: Alberta Hunter
|
3:05 | ||||
| 12 | 2:36 | |||||
| 13 | 2:45 | |||||
| 14 | 3:01 | |||||
| 15 | 2:53 | |||||
| 16 |
feat: Maggie Jones
|
3:07 | ||||
| 17 |
feat: Maggie Jones
|
3:20 | ||||
| 18 |
feat: Maggie Jones
|
3:03 | ||||
| 19 |
feat: Maggie Jones
|
3:20 | ||||
| 20 |
feat: Maggie Jones
|
3:18 | ||||
| 21 |
feat: Maggie Jones
|
3:07 |
Track Listing - Disc 2
| Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3:12 | |||||
| 2 | 3:17 | |||||
| 3 | 2:57 | |||||
| 4 | 3:03 | |||||
| 5 | 3:33 | |||||
| 6 |
feat: Clara Smith
|
3:20 | ||||
| 7 |
feat: Clara Smith
|
3:37 | ||||
| 8 |
feat: Eva Taylor / Clarence Williams
|
3:03 | ||||
| 9 | 3:22 | |||||
| 10 |
feat: Bessie Smith
|
3:14 | ||||
| 11 |
feat: Bessie Smith
|
3:07 | ||||
| 12 |
feat: Bessie Smith
|
3:06 | ||||
| 13 |
feat: Bessie Smith
|
3:17 | ||||
| 14 |
feat: Bessie Smith
|
3:33 | ||||
| 15 | 3:12 | |||||
| 16 |
|
3:10 | ||||
| 17 |
|
3:02 | ||||
| 18 | 2:57 | |||||
| 19 | 3:02 |
Track Listing - Disc 3
| Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3:03 | |||||
| 2 | 3:06 | |||||
| 3 |
|
2:59 | ||||
| 4 |
|
3:02 | ||||
| 5 |
feat: Clara Smith
|
3:27 | ||||
| 6 |
feat: Clara Smith
|
3:22 | ||||
| 7 |
feat: Clara Smith
|
3:11 | ||||
| 8 |
feat: Clara Smith
|
3:21 | ||||
| 9 |
feat: Bessie Smith
|
3:46 | ||||
| 10 |
feat: Bessie Smith
|
3:21 | ||||
| 11 |
feat: Bessie Smith
|
3:30 | ||||
| 12 |
feat: Bessie Smith
|
3:33 | ||||
| 13 |
feat: Bessie Smith
|
3:08 | ||||
| 14 |
feat: Bessie Smith
|
3:25 | ||||
| 15 |
feat: Billy Jones / The Southern Seranaders
|
3:00 | ||||
| 16 | 3:02 | |||||
| 17 | 2:53 | |||||
| 18 | 3:02 | |||||
| 19 |
|
3:04 | ||||
| 20 |
|
2:58 |
Track Listing - Disc 4
| Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2:53 | |||||
| 2 | 2:36 | |||||
| 3 | 2:57 | |||||
| 4 | 2:40 | |||||
| 5 |
feat: Eva Taylor / Clarence Williams
|
3:22 | ||||
| 6 | 3:12 | |||||
| 7 | 3:11 | |||||
| 8 |
feat: Perry Bradford
|
2:52 | ||||
| 9 |
feat: Perry Bradford
|
2:38 | ||||
| 10 |
feat: Bertha "Chippie" Hill
|
2:58 | ||||
| 11 |
feat: Bertha "Chippie" Hill
|
3:01 | ||||
| 12 |
feat: Blanche Calloway
|
3:05 | ||||
| 13 |
feat: Blanche Calloway
|
2:56 | ||||
| 14 |
feat: Hociel Thomas
|
2:33 | ||||
| 15 |
feat: Hociel Thomas
|
2:53 | ||||
| 16 |
feat: Hociel Thomas
|
3:26 | ||||
| 17 |
feat: Hociel Thomas
|
3:06 | ||||
| 18 |
feat: Hociel Thomas
|
3:11 | ||||
| 19 |
feat: Hociel Thomas
|
3:02 | ||||
| 20 |
feat: Bertha "Chippie" Hill
|
2:59 | ||||
| 21 |
feat: Bertha "Chippie" Hill
|
2:52 | ||||
| 22 |
feat: Bertha "Chippie" Hill
|
2:42 |
Track Listing - Disc 5
| Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
feat: Baby Mack
|
3:05 | ||||
| 2 |
feat: Baby Mack
|
3:04 | ||||
| 3 |
feat: Hociel Thomas
|
2:53 | ||||
| 4 |
|
feat: Hociel Thomas
|
3:13 | |||
| 5 |
feat: Hociel Thomas
|
3:27 | ||||
| 6 |
feat: Hociel Thomas
|
3:04 | ||||
| 7 |
feat: Sippie Wallace
|
3:19 | ||||
| 8 |
feat: Sippie Wallace
|
3:28 | ||||
| 9 |
feat: Sippie Wallace
|
3:11 | ||||
| 10 |
|
feat: Sippie Wallace
|
3:04 | |||
| 11 |
feat: Sippie Wallace
|
3:05 | ||||
| 12 |
feat: Sippie Wallace
|
3:04 | ||||
| 13 |
feat: Nolan Welsh
|
3:34 | ||||
| 14 |
feat: Nolan Welsh
|
3:01 | ||||
| 15 |
|
feat: Butterbeans & Susie
|
2:52 | |||
| 16 |
feat: Bertha "Chippie" Hill
|
3:01 | ||||
| 17 |
feat: Bertha "Chippie" Hill
|
2:55 | ||||
| 18 |
feat: Bertha "Chippie" Hill
|
2:49 | ||||
| 19 |
feat: Bertha "Chippie" Hill
|
3:18 | ||||
| 20 |
feat: Bertha "Chippie" Hill
|
3:07 |
Track Listing - Disc 6
| Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
feat: Sippie Wallace
|
3:14 | ||||
| 2 |
feat: Sippie Wallace
|
3:05 | ||||
| 3 |
feat: Sippie Wallace
|
3:11 | ||||
| 4 |
|
feat: Sippie Wallace
|
3:08 | |||
| 5 |
feat: The Little Deaths
|
3:09 | ||||
| 6 |
feat: Lillie Delk Christian
|
2:56 | ||||
| 7 |
feat: Lillie Delk Christian
|
2:58 | ||||
| 8 |
feat: Lillie Delk Christian
|
3:09 | ||||
| 9 |
feat: Lillie Delk Christian
|
3:25 | ||||
| 10 |
feat: Lillie Delk Christian
|
2:54 | ||||
| 11 |
feat: Lillie Delk Christian
|
3:08 | ||||
| 12 |
feat: Lillie Delk Christian
|
3:16 | ||||
| 13 |
feat: Seger Ellis
|
3:18 | ||||
| 14 |
feat: Seger Ellis
|
3:10 | ||||
| 15 |
feat: Victoria Spivey
|
3:17 | ||||
| 16 |
feat: Victoria Spivey
|
3:20 | ||||
| 17 |
feat: Seger Ellis
|
3:10 | ||||
| 18 |
feat: Jimmie Rodgers
|
2:42 |
