Search - Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Bessie Smith :: High Society

Mixed bag

Daniel R. Lindsay | Hilo, HI United States | 05/21/2002

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Despite the title, only a few bands have Armstrong playing with Oliver, and Bessie Smith appears with piano and bass only, not with either Armstrong or Oliver. Most tunes are either Oliver after Armstrong left, or Louis with the Hot Five. Some of the recordings, like the Hot Five ones, are widely known, while other bands are more obscure. Discography and personnel information are complete. This is a CD for the true lover of '20s jazz, and the rare takes are great for that -- but anyone wanting those will doubtless already have the Hot Five numbers, so they're duplicative. On balance, this is a valuable disk for a real '20s jazz fan."

Rykodisc should know better

James Bonevich | Kalamazoo, MI | 03/31/2007

(1 out of 5 stars)

"Rykodisc should know better than to let their good name be associated with this irresponsible release of poorly-packaged timeless classic jazz. Most dates given are incorrect for one thing. Bessie Smith, for another, is only represented on one track which features neither Louis Armstrong nor King Oliver (so much for the misleading sub-title on the front cover). Worst of all, many tracks here have been transfered at SLOW SPEEDS from whatever sources were used, resulting in longer track times and, more importantly, LOWER PITCHES than the originals. After all of this then, you'd think that they could give you a full CD's worth of material. Sorry - this thing clocks in at a measly 33:11. Those who appreciate classic early jazz recordings should find this same material elsewhere from more reputable sources, like Milestone / Fantasy, or buy this flawed disc for peanuts. Jim Bonevich - Kalamazoo, MI

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