Jazz the World Forgot, Vol.1
I bought this last night, and I like it. It's a great chance to hear some obscure, 1920s bands that lead the way for the swing era. On the whole, the sound quality is quite good in that you can hear the individual instruments pretty well, although there is at least a tiny bit of hissing on each track.
The liner notes include a short, but interesting blurb on each band. There are songs by black bands and white bands. Some of the tracks feature early New Orleans jazz. The first track, "To-Wa-Bac-A-Wa" by Louis Dumaine's Jazzola Eight (1927), has a melody line that reminds me of calypso.
"Four-Four Rhythm" by Paul Tremaine and His Aristocrats (1929) sounds typical of white bands of the time, but the lyrics made me perk up:
"We used to have that two-four rhythm, but it's had it's day. Blackbottom and the Charleston - they are passé. That hot stomp that you heard about - all of those we can do without. We'll take four-four rhythm by a four-four rhythm band. One, two, three, four, four-four rhythm - a new style of music. Can you feel that modern rhythm that the four-four band is givin'? One, two, three, four, four-four rhythm - you don't have to listen..."
I'd consider spinning a few of these tracks in the same night, but they certainly wouldn't be standards. I'll probably enjoy it for its historical aspects.
