The Complete, Vols. 1-2

Sidney Bechet

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 8, 1994)
• Original Release Date: September 15, 1932
• Number of Discs: 2
• Label: RCA
• ASIN: B000002WRD
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #355,518 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Sidney Bechet was one of the greatest early jazz players, a true original whose technique and invention on clarinet and soprano saxophone were unparalleled. He was able to play both with dazzling virtuosity and deep blues feeling. This set opens with classic 1932 recordings by the New Orleans Feetwarmers, a band he co-led with trumpeter Tommy Ladnier. "Sweetie Dear" is an irresistible dance number; "Maple Leaf Rag" is staggeringly hot. On "Indian Summer" and "One O'Clock Jump," from 1940, Bechet cuts a swath as the featured soloist in a quartet with drummer Kenny Clarke. "Blues in Thirds" and "Blues for You, Johnny" are terrific sides with pianist Earl Hines, Rex Stewart on cornet, Johnny Lindsay on bass, and Baby Dodds on drums. "Coal Black Shine," from 1941, features Red Allen on trumpet and J.C. Higgenbottom on trombone. --John Swenson

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Hot jazz, warm feet, November 3, 2000

By	Mark Levine "leevyne" (Jersey City, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Drums include Baby Dodds, Sid Catlett, J.C. Heard, and Kenny Clarke; piano players include Earl Hines; trumpeters Henry "Red" Allen. Bechet is wonderful. And wouldn't a CD mostly comprised of selections from The New Orleans Feetwarmers make a terrific stocking stuffer!

5.0 out of 5 stars Back to the Future, March 12, 2009

By	Matthew Watters (Vietnam) - See all my reviews

There are archival recordings of Charlie Christian inventing bebop at Minton's around 1940-41, but if I were going to select a single date that marked the birth of modern recorded jazz, it would have to be September 6, 1940, when clarinetist Sidney Bechet, pianist Earl Hines and drummer Baby Dodds went into a studio in Chicago and recorded "Blues in Thirds". With this one track, all three blazed a trail into the future, when small-group jazz and exploratory improvisations would dominate the art form. All of everything great that would follow in the 1950s heyday of recorded jazz is here in three-minute embryo. Everything else they recorded that day, including polyrhythmic and utterly modern versions of "Stompy Jones" and "Ain't Misbehavin'", is nearly as jaw-dropping. Happy birthday!