Although
Alberta Hunter, who had briefly come out of retirement, gets first billing on this CD reissue, in reality she shares the spotlight with two other veterans of the 1920s:
Lucille Hegamin and
Victoria Spivey. Each of the singers is featured on four songs apiece while backed by such top players as clarinetist
Buster Bailey, trombonist
J.C. Higginbottham, and
Cliff Jackson or
Willie "The Lion" Smith on piano.
Hunter is in superior form on such numbers as "You Gotta Reap Just What You Sow" and "I Got a Mind to Ramble," although she would soon be out of music for another 15 years, continuing her work as a nurse.
Hegamin (who had not recorded since 1932) was having a brief last hurrah, despite sounding good, and
Spivey, reviving her "Black Snake Blues," would soon be launching her own Spivey label. This is a historic and enjoyable set recommended to both classic jazz and blues collectors. ~ Scott Yanow