New York Jazz in the Roaring Twenties

This CD is subtitled "Tommy Dorsey - Red Nichols - Jimmy Dorsey" but in reality The Dorsey Brothers are only heard as sidemen. Included on the enjoyable set are four selections from Red & Miff's Stompers (co-led by cornetist Nichols and trombonist Miff Mole), seven selections by The California Ramblers, two featuring the obscure Joe Herlihy's Orchestra and one by Phil Napoleon. The music ranges from hot (if complicated) '20s jazz to some jazz-oriented dance music. An improvement on Biograph's LP of the same name (due to the inclusion of a couple of extra tracks), these performances (originally released by the Edison label) are longer than the usual recordings of the era, often over four (as opposed to three) minutes long. Fans of '20s jazz will want to get this one.