This two-disc, 41-track collection spotlights the all but vanished harmonica swing jazz tradition in America and Europe, featuring rare sides recorded between 1929 and 1952, with most of them coming from the mid-'30s and early '40s. There aren't many famous names here, beyond maybe
Larry Adler and Borrah Minevitch, and track after track of chromatic harmonica lines can get a bit repetitive, but overall there is a joy and economy of tone here that is quite startling, underscoring the often forgotten versatility of one of the most compact, complete and portable instruments ever invented. ~ Steve Leggett