This is a rather self-indulgent and ultimately pointless reissue although it does contain some timeless music. Thirty-eight jazz greats (all Blacks) are featured on 39 selections (
Louis Armstrong gets two songs) that are programmed in alphabetical order according to the artist's name. Although professing to represent a full spectrum of jazz history, the great majority of the numbers feature swing stylists since the music is (with four exceptions) restricted to performances originally cut for the Decca label. There are some underrated classics (such as
Coleman Hawkins's 1958 remake of "Body and Soul,"
Carmen McRae's "Something to Live For" and
Hot Lips Page's "I Won't Be Here Long") but many of these songs (such as
Nat King Cole's "Sweet Lorraine,"
Duke Ellington's "Mood Indigo" and
Billie Holiday's "Good Morning Heartache", etc.) certainly did not need to be reissued again. And using
Count Basie's original version of "One O'Clock Jump" as an example of
Lester Young's playing is absurd. Skip. ~ Scott Yanow