Jo Jones, one of the most influential drummers of the swing era, did not lead that many recording sessions of his own during his career. Producer John Hammond gave him his first two dates when he was working for Vanguard and, with the exception of a second take of "Shoe Shine Boy," all of the music from the two LPs is on this single-CD reissue. The first session is very much in the spirit of Count Basie's band; in fact,
Basie himself makes a guest appearance on "Shoe Shine Boy." The other swing-oriented players include trumpeter
Emmett Berry, guitarist
Freddie Green, tenor saxophonist
Lucky Thompson, and (on one song apiece) trombonist
Lawrence Brown and clarinetist
Rudy Powell. The later date is quite a bit different: a trio session with pianist
Ray Bryant and bassist
Tommy Bryant. There is a liberal amount of drum soloing but the early versions of
Ray Bryant's "Cubano Chant" and "Little Susie" are of greatest interest. ~ Scott Yanow