The Frog label is the latest to weigh in on the early jazz reissuing program. The U.K. company has wisely enlisted the remastering services of John R.T. Davies, the wizard behind many of JSP and Hep's superb sounding releases. He's certainly kept up the high standards on this
McKinney's Cotton Pickers set, which is the second of three discs covering most of the band's output from 1928-1931. Wedged in between a collection covering 1928-1929 and one that includes both 1931 cuts and several career-spanning alternate takes, Cotton Picker's Scat feasts on the group's banner year of 1930 with such highlights as "Zonky," "Hullabaloo," and the title track. Don Redman and John Nesbitt return with another batch of top-drawer modern charts, while guest and regular soloists like
Rex Stewart,
Benny Carter, and Joe Smith come up with fine solo contributions. Sure, there are plenty of novelty vocals here (many featuring Redman at the mic), but the quality of the music is such that they rarely seem obtrusive. A welcome addition to a body of classic jazz reissues that thankfully has remained rich and full. ~ Stephen Cook