During 1951-57,
Tab Smith recorded extensively for the United label, and although he was initially popular (due to the hit record "Because of You"), nearly half of the 90 titles he cut went unissued. Delmark in their
Tab Smith CD series plans to eventually come out with all of the performances. Their second
Tab Smith release has 20 selections, including five songs being released for the first time.
Smith, a former swing stylist who was best known in the R&B market during the 1950s, was not a honker like many others in the genre, and his mixture of relatively gentle stomps and ballads is appealing. The distinctive altoist (who takes four vocals) is often joined by
Sonny Cohn (mistakenly listed as "Sammy Cohn") or
Irving Woods on trumpet and
Leon Washington or
Charlie Wright on tenor, along with a rocking rhythm section, on four complete sessions from 1952-53. Fun if not essential music.