This two-hour two-CD set (a companion to
Jazz in the Thirties) has more than its share of classic performances. There are big-band sessions by
Duke Ellington,
Mills Blue Rhythm Band,
Benny Carter,
Fletcher Henderson and
Horace Henderson, piano solos from
Buck Washington and
Meade Lux Lewis plus quite a few selections from tenor-saxophonist
Coleman Hawkins just prior to his decision to move to Europe (in addition to a 1939 date with
Jack Hylton's Orchestra). Highpoints include "Sophisticated Lady," "Six Bells Stampede," "Nagasaki," "The Day You Came Along," "Symphony in Riffs," "Honky Tonk Train Blues" and many others.