Jsp Records
2007
Bessie Smith: Queen Of The Blues Volume 1
About This Album
As evidenced by the five double-disc sets issued by Columbia at the end of the last century, Bessie Smith was at the very least prolific. From the beginning of her series of recordings for the label in 1923, she recorded and toured almost incessantly until her death in an automobile accident in 1937. England's JSP issues its first volume in a projected two-volume series that places her first 90 sides -- master takes only -- on four fine sounding CDs. There are decent notes in each volume documenting her rise to fame, from 1923's "Downhearted Blues" b/w "Gulf Coast Blues" until she became the undisputed queen, perhaps even Empress, of the genre in 1926 with the hits "Hard Time Blues" and "Honey Man Blues." The liners detail the inclusion of many famous sidemen from Fletcher Henderson (who replaced her first pianist, and manager, Clarence Williams) and clarinet boss Don Redman, cornettist Joe "Fox" Smith, trombone player Charlie Green, and Elmer Snowden on banjo on "Nobody's Blues But Mine" and "I Ain't Got Nobody." Even the great Louis Armstrong appeared with Smith during the years 1924 and 1925, when her bands were just a tad bigger.
Track List

Disc 1 (try tracks 1,4,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,18 and 19)

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Disc 2 (try tracks 1,6,8,9,10,12,13 and 17)

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Disc 3 (try tracks 2,4,8,9,15,16,17,18,19,20 and 21)

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Disc 4 (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10,12,14,15,16,17,20 and 22)

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