5.0 out of 5 stars
GEMS FROM A FABULOUSLY RARE LABEL, May 15, 2010
This review is from: QRS Recordings Volume 1 (Audio CD)
I heard the first four tracks, which feature King Oliver, on a Riverside LP more years ago than I care to remember, and they made an indelible impression on me. It is a joy to hear them again, in digitally remastered form, together with the other 1928 QRS recordings where Clarence Williams accompanied Anna Bell, Katherine Henderson, before reverting to instrumental form for the November session. Four of the titles were issued in alternate takes, and they are all here. As John Capes writes in his liner note, virtually every recording made under his leadership share characteristics that make them identifiable as a Clarence Williams group. He defines that as the ability to obtain a full sound from a small ensemble and to preserve an air of spontaneity with a larger group. I cannot improve on that analysis, which is borne out by every track in this superb compilation.
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