Blackbottom
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (01 July, 1991)
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Editorial Review

The classic blues belter had been singing for two decades before she ever put her voice on record, and it shows on these recordings from the mid- to late '20s. The archetypal blues shouter, Rainey had a voice whose depth and strength is startling and sometimes alarming, even on these scratchy old recordings--one can only imagine what she must have sounded like in real life. Her backup musicians include such notables as pianist Fletcher Henderson, trombonist Charlie Green, guitarist Tampa Red, and trombonist Kid Ory, all performing fairly straightforward 12-bar blues. It's not the material here that's notable, so much as Rainey's voice, a voice that has informed the work of female blues singers ever since. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more

Reviews (6)

The cream of Ma Rainey's crop
Gertrude 'Ma' Rainey was billed by her record company as the "Mother of the Blues" (something which pleased her greatly), and although there was blues and blues singers even before her, she was certainly one of the genres most important trailblazers.

"Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is a fine collection of 14 of Ma Rainey's best songs recorded between 1924 and 1928. She was a powerful and expressive singer, and she is backed here by various brass- and/or string bands (Kid Ory, Coleman Hawkins and Tom Dorsey being credited among the musicians).

The sound quality on these recordings, of which some are almost 80 years old, is surprisingly good, and among the highlights are "Shave 'Em Dry Blues", "Yonder Come The Blues" and the title track.
This is highly recommendable to anyone with an interest in early blues, or even jazz.

Ma Rainey Should Sing Forever
Here is a hot CD!Ma Rainey is recaptured in all her richness.What a great listening experience, especially for those who love to hear the African American sound the way it was!No wonder August Wilson found such a wonderful tapestry on which to draw his play -- the music on this CD wants to be heard again and again.

Ma Rainey is rare!
Ma Rainey was a classic blues singer, whose many songs are over 70 years old, but still highly beautiful and entertaining. This collection shows it all. If you are just starting to listen to the blues, I recommend you to get this! ... Read more

Asin: B000000G86
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Pop   

The Essential Bessie Smith
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Audio CD (23 September, 1997)
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Editorial Review

Bessie Smith was crowned the Empress of the Blues, and, while this moniker was well deserved, she was much more. A prolific recording artist, Smith was quite an eclectic performer. In fact, she may have been one of the first true crossover artists. This neat two-disc set gives the listener a good sampling of her wide repertoire. Smith is backed up by some of the best jazz musicians of her era. Her rendition of "St Louis Blues" for example, features the horn work of a young Louis Armstrong. Smith was not above doing such suggestive material as "Kitchen Man" or "Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl" and could breath new life into a pop chestnut like "Alexander's Ragtime Band." And when Smith sang "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out," she knew what she was talking about. The title of this album says it all. --Lars Gandil ... Read more

Reviews (6)

essential
The title says it all. If you have only one Bessie Smith cd in your collection ( and we all need AT LEASTone - she is THAT influential, THAT soulful, THAT powerful a performer ) then this is it. It covers all sorts of songs, from interpretations of standards , to racy ( for their time ) innuendo-filled blues numbers, to love songs. A warning - these songs were recorded in the twenties and thirties, and all have that far-away, tinny sound to them, as if Smith were singing down a cardboard tube directly onto record. Even though the sound is admittedly dated, the power of the performances is undeniable.

The Empress Lives On!!!!!
I was watching tv one late night and stumbled across the short 1929 Movie St. Louis Bluesstarring Bessie Smith now im a 24 year old guy who is into all the lastest music but this lady sung a song called st. Louis Blues and i was watching the screen going who is this she her voice full of passion and pain and then i found how she died in a tragic car accident i was hurt bessie smith wasshe was really doing the da%mn back in the 1920's so if you wanna know where the r&b of today got its drama filled lyrics check out the empress of the blues she will not leave you disapointed

Overrated singer
Bessie Smith is victim of a great deal of overheated praise by a small circle of devoted fans. When enough people yell, "Fire!" I want to check it out to see if I am missing out on some great music. Well, I have listened to these recordings and was unmoved. I find the blues musically repetitious - three chords, a seventh chord here and there, the same structure over and over and over. This pattern becomes easy to mock because every blues song sounds like every other blues song. The complex innovations and inventiveness of Jazz and better rock melody composers (Lennon/McCartney, etc) are totally missing here. Bessie could sing loudly but I don't think that she could sing well. Her brassiness and vulgarity might be appropriate in a brothel but I am not interested in hearing a woman singing how she wants a "hot dog in her roll." Keep your urges in the bedroom, Ms. Smith, if you please.Sex is the absolute lowest common denominator in humanity and unless you can present it in a refreshingly witty and elegant way (Hello, Cole Porter), I don't want to hear or see you in heat. I can watch my dog act the same way for free.
Monotonic, dreary, wailing and screeching: welcome to Bessie Smith. ... Read more

Asin: B000002ADO
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Classic Female Blues    3. Classic Jazz    4. New Orleans/Classic Jazz    5. Pop    6. Trad Jazz    7. Vocals   

Complete Recorded Works 1
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (01 September, 1995)
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Editorial Review

Okay, the recording quality is not the best, but what can you expect from something recorded in the early 1920s? Regardless, this collection of Mamie Smith's early work is well worth hearing; along with the classic "Crazy Blues," there's "That Thing Called Love," "What Have I Done?," "Sax-O-Phoney Blues," and the hilarious "I Want a Jazzy Kiss." Several instrumental tracks highlight Smith's backing band as well. If her voice doesn't come through as strongly today as does Empress Bessie's, it's still got a clear, clean tone that's a pleasure to hear. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Good idea...BUT too long!
From the point of view of modern listener,this CD is something like test of endurance.As much as I respect the whole legend about early quens of the blues,and fascinated as I am with the whole story,"Document" CD's aree simply too much for me.Instead of having ALL of Mamie's (Ida's,Alberta's,Sippie's or whoever) recordings,I would prefer to have SELECTED compilation,simply because this songs were recorded long before idea of LP,so they do sound very much alike.I know Mamie Smith was very important singer who started blues recordings,I love her strong voice and she must be interesting personality,but I never managed to listen this CD until the end.Quitte a few instrumentals dont make much difference,I must say its simply too long.

MAMIE SMITH WAS THE 1ST PERSON TO RECORD A BLUES
MAMIE SMITH MAY HAVE NOT BEEN THE FIRST PERSON TO HAVE EVER SANG A BLUES, BUT SHE'LL GO DOWN IN HISTORY AS BEING THE FIRST PERSON TO RECORD A BLUES.IN 1920 SMITH RECORDED THE 1ST BLUES EVER, "CRAZY BLUES", WHICHSOLD OVER A MILLION COPIES IN THE 1ST 6 MONTHS OF IT'S RELEASE. SHE PAVEDTHE WAY FOR THE 20'S BLUES CRAZE, AND RECORD PRODUCERS WERE REALIZING THATWHITE PEOPLE WERE BUYING THESE "RACE RECORDS."MAMIE SMITH PAVEDTHE WAY FOR MANY ENTERTAINERS LIKE BILLIE HOLIDAY, BESSIE SMITH, ANDCOLEMAN HAWKINS(WHO PERFORMED WITH HER GROUP THE JAZZ HOUNDS).SMITH'SRECORDING CAREER WAS QUITE ACCIDENTAL, SOPHIE TUCKER WAS SUPPOSED TO RECORDSOME SONGS, BUT DUE TO A BUSY SCHEDULE SHE RECOMMENDED SMITH, WHICHEVENTUALLY LED TO THE HISTORICAL "CRAZY BLUES"ALTHOUGH SMITHHERSELF WAS MORE OF A VAUDEVILLE PERFORMER THAN A BLUES SHOUTER,SHE HAD ACLEAR AND DICTY VOICE. THE MUSIC ON THIS IMPORTED DOCUMENT CD IS QUITEHISTORICAL, THESE ARE HER EARLIEST SESSIONS IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER. HIGHLIGHTS OF THE DISC ARE THE HISTORICAL "CRAZY BLUES" AS WELLAS SOME MARVELOUS INSTRUMENTAL TRACKS BY HER JAZZ HOUNDS(FEATURING COLEMANHAWKINS AND MANY OTHER JAZZ ALL STARS).OVERALL THIS IS A HISTORICAL ANDHIGHLY ENJOYABLE SET.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED TO CLASSIC JAZZ AND BLUESCOLLECTORS AS WELL AS THE NOVICE. ... Read more

Asin: B000000JC1
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Pop   

Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1, 1923
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Audio CD (01 April, 1997)
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Reviews (4)

Ida Cox, one of the finest classic blues mama's of the 20's
Ida Cox had a distinctive and very appealing voice, she was one of the few blues moaners who could sing on the same artistic level as Bessie Smith, as a matter a fact many of Cox's recordings have more bite to them then Smith's.Here are 24 of Cox's 1st recordings which date between 1923-1924.The sound quality is exellent considering this is the early 20's, and Cox communicates to todays listeners just as well as she did in the 20's.One can clearly hear and understand every word she says, a somewhat dicty singer, yat so bluesy and down to earth.If you like a blues singer who can sing jazz and swing, you will enjoy Ida Cox, and if you like Bessie Smith you will also appreciate Cox's work.There are three other volumesin this series that reissue all of Cox's recordings and they are all stronly recomended.Also if you like Ida Cox, go see Lavay Smith, next time she stops by you're town.Lavay Smith sings a lot of classic blues numbers made popular by or written by Ida Cox, Helen Humes, Billie Holiday, and Bessie Smith.Lavay is a young but stylized vocalist in the traditional jazz vein, listen to her CD "One Hour Mama"(which was Cox's composition), you'll lover her too.

one of the best singers from the 20's, a must have CD!!!
Ida Cox was one of the most talented of the classic blues singers of the 1920s. This Document CD has 24 of her first 32 recordings and, although one regrets that it is not a "complete" series (hopefully the dozen other alternate takes will be reissued by Document eventually), the music is consistently enjoyable and timeless. In fact, quite a few of the lyrics (many of which were written by Cox) were later permanently "borrowed" by Jimmy Rushing and Joe Williams; the first stanza of "Goin' to Chicago" was taken from "Chicago Monkey Man Blues" and "Bear-Mash Blues" has a couple of Williams' best lines. When one considers that the music on this CD is taken from 1923-24, it can certainly be considered ahead of its time! Most of the musicians backing Ida Cox are excellent, particularly pianist Lovie Austin and (on five numbers) cornetist Tommy Ladnier and clarinetist Jimmy O'Bryant. The recording quality (even with some surface noise) has been greatly cleaned up for this reissue and Cox's singing is very easy to understand. Although uncrowned, Ida Cox (who after retiring in 1945 came back for a final recording in 1961) can still communicate to today's listeners, something than can be said about very few other singers from 1923HIGHLY RECOMENDED

Interesting but - hard to digest!
In theory,the idea of sorting this precious blues recordings in chronological order sounds great (why Austrian label?) but once faced with full-lenght CD,listener must admit that these songs were not meant to beplayed for more than 30 minutes.What sounds as cracky,charming primitivesound of 20-ies, soon became monotonious - specially as the only musicbackground was often just plink-plonking piano (in this case LovieAustin,interesting female piano player) and tempo hardly changes.Instead ofpresenting overview of her career in chosen song programe,this precious buthard-to-digest "Document" CD kills any desire to explore more ofIda Cox music.She was interesting woman but her music in 1923. was verymuch the same story over and over again. NOTE: her own "GraveyardDream Blues" was succesfully covered by "Empress" BessieSmith who had strange habbit of showing her superiority (and complex) bycovering hits of her competition singers. ... Read more

Asin: B000000JB2
Sales Rank: 267236
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Classic Female Blues    3. Pop   

Blues for Rampart Street
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (01 July, 1991)
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Editorial Review

Dubbed the "Uncrowned Queen of the Blues," Ida Cox was a bit past her prime when she recorded the songs that appear on Blues for Rampart Street in 1961. But her voice still had the richness and expression that had made Cox a star in her younger days, and this collection remains one of the best examples of her work. Songs like "Wild Women Don't Have the Blues" reveal the tough-minded disposition that was one of Cox's hallmarks; she had more control over her career than most female vocalists have today and wrote most of her own material. Blues for Rampart Street also includes strong takes on classics like "St. Louis Blues" and "Death Letter Blues," with able assistance from Coleman Hawkins. --Genevieve Williams ... Read more

Reviews (7)

I may only have 1 leg, but I know good music when I hear it!
Hey I've got two ears, even though I've only got one leg, I know great blues music, when I hear it.Ida Cox recorded soem classic blues sides in the 1920s(I have all her 78 rpm's), and she tried to make a comback here with Coleman Hawkins, and darn nearly succeeded.Her vocie was in fine shape, and she sounds wonderfully miserable thru the whole session, capturing the TRUE spirit of teh downhearted mean evil blues, that same spirit that she had in those seminal 20's sessions.Here Cox is relaxed and sounds happy to be joined by the sax jazzman great Hawkins.

This is a historical and wonderful issue, in 1961, not many remebered Cox, and she could have made a major comeback like Mississippi John Hurt or Skip James did, however ill heakth kept her from doing so, but true blues fans gt one HECK of a treat with this classic 1961 LP, now avaialbale here at Amazon on CD!!!She covers all her trademrk sonsg with new difinitive versions of Death letter Blues, St Louis Blues and the classic Wild Women Don't Get The BluesJUST BUY IT!!!

Bottom line:Classic blues singer, reprises her 20's songs in style with jazz legend saxman Coleman Hawkins, ESSENTIAL CD!!!

Miss Ida's Final Statement
The days of touring in tent shows were behind her & she had settled down to the quiet life of a church woman, but Miss Ida let out her lusty croaks one more time for Riverside Records, before she passed on. She sang of death and sweet poppas with Roy Eldridge, Coleman Hawkins & Sammy Price nudging her along in what she said was her "final statement". One of the last of the great vaudeville blues women, she went out with style and plenty of soul.

Unsinkable Ida Cox
To tell the truth,even in her young days Ida Cox never had a beautiful voice (as say,Bessie Smith)- her weapons were charisma,sex appeal,beautiful clothes and spectacular shows.So what was left of her at the age 65 and two strokes behind her were sparks of indestructible spirit,not the voice.I agree that this album sound very similar to late Billie Holiday whorecorded famous "Lady In Satin" with almost no voice left at all,but spreading the blood from her heart all over the album.Some people would find old and ragged Cox hard to listen,and I must say that I prefer her glory days of early 1920's more than this,but obvious respect and tenderness that backing musicians provided for her are touching.A survivor of long gone era was singing her last time on the record and this miracoulous event was fortunately saved for us to hear forever.Her contemporaries Alberta Hunter and Sippie Wallace had more upbeat albums in their late years - but beauty of this album is comparable to dry autum leaves,fragile and unforgettable in their own way. ... Read more

Asin: B000000Z6X
Subjects:  1. Classic Female Blues    2. Jazz    3. Pop   

Women Be Wise
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (01 November, 1994)
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Reviews (1)

Sippie - Liberated Woman
A must for Sippie Wallace and blues fans. Sippie was the original liberated woman and these songs speak from her heart. This combined with clarity of the recordings is makes this an album to treasure. ... Read more

Asin: B0000022HO
Sales Rank: 107074
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Classic Female Blues    3. Pop   

Young Alberta Hunter - Songs From 1920's & 1930's
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Audio CD (09 July, 1996)
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Reviews (2)

Funny, but her great work comes much later
As 82-years old blues survivor Alberta Hunter was artist with a heart big as the world (check her "Amtrak blues" CD) - howewer,as a young woman she was closer to Vaudeville/Cabaret music that made rich customersof the night clubs giggle,than to real passionate blues that Ma Rainey andBessie Smith recorded at the same time.Closer in spirit to"whitened" and forgotten Ethel Waters than to famous black bluesmama's Hunter used heavy vibratto and her half-spoken ditties made hersound like old woman when she just started her career!This compilation isshowcase of her early successes but although she wrotte "DownheartedBlues" and sang "Nobody Knows The Way I Feel ThisMorning",Bessie Smith and later Dinah Washington mopped the floor withher.If you like irresistible work of older Alberta Hunter,this CD is justcuriosity that showes how much she progressed in the meantime.Of all theblues diva's from 20-es I still havent found anybody who can match MaRainey and great Bessie Smith,all others were just imitation.

A good disc!
A good sample of Alberta Hunter's jazz recordings(although some are blues).Highlights include YOU CANT TELL THE DIFFERENCE AFTER DARK and DOWNHEARTED BLUES which she wrote(which became Bessie Smith's big hit). Highly recommeded to all jazz vocal collectors & historians. ... Read more

Asin: B000001LYR
Sales Rank: 176273
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Pop   

Amtrak Blues
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Audio CD (25 October, 1990)
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Reviews (9)

Absolutely incredible
I'm absolutely blown away by this recording. Alberta Hunter may have been a blues singer but her phrasing and breath control (at 83!) are fantastic. Quite a few jazz singers could learn a thing or two from listening to her.

Her Voice and Her Rhythm are Complex and Unbeatable
These 'standards' are anything but; Alberta Hunter's versions are unbeatable.She has that kind of voice and rhythm that seem so natural and yet, like Billie Holiday, defy the human range thus placing her in the pantheon of jazz greats.She is earthy yet refined and completely in touch with the band, she moans and cries at places that you'll find yourself wondering how she got there."Darktown Strutters Ball", "Georgia Brown" and the intensely down and dirty "My Handyman" are sensual, comic and dramatically original-your body will react- guaranteed.Unpredictably fresh, this late great senior citizen packs all she's got and all we need, right in to each piece. I have given this CD as a gift to many people and they have all been smitten and grateful.Decidedly worthwhile.

Brilliant
Produced by John Hammond, this is a simple, sweet, swinging collection that showcases the incredible talent of 83 year old Alberta Hunter.It has the feel of a live recording; the supporting musicians and Miss Hunter are obviously having a grand old time.In a world where every singer thinks he or she is an artist, Alberta Hunter provides an object lesson in real artistry. ... Read more

Asin: B0000025IC
Sales Rank: 8208
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Pop   

Songs We Taught Your Mother
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Audio CD (14 April, 1992)
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Editorial Review

In 1961 jazz-backed blues seemed slack, almost nonexistent. Bebop, hard bop, tenor sax & organ combos, and the avant-garde were more relevant in the jazz world. And blues was veering toward an electrified, altogether different realm. So when Chris Albertson brought Alberta Hunter, Victoria Spivey, and Lucille Hegamin to the acclaimed Rudy Van Gelder's studio to capture songs from the era when jazz and blues melded together, the result could've easily sounded thinly nostalgic. But with a backing band that included pianist Willie "the Lion" Smith (on Hegamin's four tunes) and trombonist J.C. Higginbotham and clarinetist Buster Bailey (on the four tracks from both Hunter and Spivey), this session came out topnotch. It's redolent of an earlier era (specifically the early 1920s, when the three singers got their starts), but each of the tracks is potent with a deep, slow swing accentuating the peerless vocals. Spivey's grainy voice is impassioned and powerful, in the same way that Hunter's is unmistakable in its slight waver, carrying her sometimes near-spoken lines to the stars (especially as she delivers jewels like this: "I don't like those hepster lovers / They've got larceny in their eyes / They got a handful of gimme / And a mouthful of much obliged"). The acoustics are as sharp as any of Van Gelder's sessions, and the music is majestic. --Andrew Bartlett ... Read more

Reviews (3)

Wonderful
Every time I listen this album,I feel like a proud father who have to choose which one is his favourite daughter.As the big fan of 1920's classic female blues,I find this album simply irressistible.Since the biggest and the most talented names (Ma Rainey,Bessie Smith)were dead until 1940's,Chris Albertson (author of Bessie Smith biography) saved music of survived contemporaries Victoria Spivey,Alberta Hunter and Lucille Hegamin for new generations of music lovers.All three of them,in my opinion,sound better and more enthusiastic then in their younger days,althought true to be told,only Spivey would fitt in the blues category,while Hegamin and Albert represent old-time vaudeville tradition.Wonder why Sippie Wallace and Ida Cox (still recording at the time of this album) were not invited... While Spivey and specially Hunter recorded long afterwards,this was the last time we heard from wonderful,clear-voiced Hegamin who was obviously enjoying herself on these recordings.She sounded like enthusiastic school girl trapped in a body of older woman!My only regret is that,althought this album was recorded in one day,the chance to hear these three voices singing together was missed,we only hear each of them separatedly.

On my top ten list...
Alberta Hunter, Victoria Spiver, and Lucille Hegiman all blues veterens from the 20's sound wondeful, torchy and playful accomanied by top jazz players.Excellent LP.Recommended especailly to jazz vocal fans.

authentic AH
Liked it better on vinyl, but I'll buy it on CD to play in my car ... Read more

Asin: B000000XXF
Subjects:  1. Blues    2. Classic Female Blues    3. Pop    4. Standards   

An Introduction to Ethel Waters: Her Best Recordings 1921-1940
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Audio CD (19 November, 1996)
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Reviews (1)

There was a life (music) before Billie!
After reading excellent book "Jazz singers" by Will Friewald,I decide to check this long-forgotten singer out.What a discovery!She is very interesting being totaly out of blues idiom (as a difference of BessieSmith or Ma Rainey and innumerable other blues singers of her time) and itwas perhaps her "white" sound that made her so appealing andlater succesful in theatre & film as well.Although personaly I lovecoarse and rough blues singers, Ethel Waters had such a high-quality songsthat I can easy forgive her for not being "authentic" (well, shewas authentic vaudeville/cabaret!).Songs she had a honour to made legendarywere: "Stormy Weather", "Am I"Blue?","There'll Be some Ccchanges Made" and beautiful"Dinah", all of them first-class hits of 20-ies and 30-ies.Iwouldn't considere her really jazz singer, since her style is very close tocabaret, she had good taste in choosing jazz musicians for her backgroundand the songs were excellent.From the first song in 1921. where she wasyoung playfull and flirtatious to the last one in 1940. where she soundsvery beautiful, mature singer in full powere of her art, Ethel Waters wasreally interesting and this CD made me think that perhaps I used to liveearlier in 20-ies, since i enjoy this music so much!This is also muchbetter introduction to her work than somewhat scary French Classicseditions in several volumes, which is not for everyone's pockets and itsmaybe to overwhelming.Highly recomended! ... Read more

Asin: B000001MZF
Sales Rank: 192926
Subjects:  1. Classic Jazz    2. Swing    3. Traditional Pop   

Blues Masters, Vol. 11: Classic Blues Women
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Audio CD (17 August, 1993)
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Reviews (1)

Black Pearls
A perfect introduction to now-forgotten period of music,when women were the first blues stars,this CD is also great company for a book "Black Pearls:Blues Queens of the 1920's" by Daphne Duvall Harrison.While in the book we could find historical and economical background that shaped women like Bessie Smith,Ma Rainey and Ida Cox,on this CD we can hear their voices - through the limitations of primitive recording equipment,spirit of Mamie Smith explodes in our ears from 1920.when her hit "Crazy Blues" started avalanche of blues recordings and opened a door for a new market,as then unknown teritory of "race music" whose first pioneers were women.It's interesting to compare this women to their white sisters from the same era (check "Flappers,Vamps And Sweet Young Things") - while white singers lived and performed in far better circumstances,their songs and type of singing sounds comical today as opposite to these wonderful black singers whose music left beautiful afterglow that still shines,a century later.Of course,at that time they did not know that today we will considered them artists,they were "loose women" condemned by church,often on the road,living hard life and paying their fame with a price of not having family.Popularity of this first blues singers lasted only 10 years and then they were washed away by depression which succesfully destroyed recording bussines for some time,but songs survived until present day - check wonderful Ma Rainey (whose importance as "the mother of the blues" is introduced here by 3 songs!) and Bessie Smith;compare them to other singers and hear for yourself why these two women are called "Mother" and "Empress",why their music overshadowed other contemporaries...Young Louis Armstrong could also be heard here in the full glory of his New Orleans years.Compilation ends with touching example of late Billie Holiday in the autumn of her life - althought swing era singer,Billie actually grew up listening to these women and would often quotte their old verses in her blues songs.Lyrics of her "Stormy Monday" originally could be heard on Clara Smith (Bessie's biggest compentition) 1923."I Never Miss The Sunshine (I'm So Used To The Rain"). ... Read more

Asin: B0000032XP
Sales Rank: 114815
Subjects:  1. 20's    2. 30's    3. 40's    4. Acoustic Blues    5. Blues    6. Classic Female Blues    7. Classic Jazz    8. Cool    9. Dixieland    10. New Orleans Jazz    11. Piano Blues    12. Pop    13. Standards    14. Swing    15. Traditional Pop   

Black Pearls: Blues Queens of the 1920s
Average Customer Review:
Paperback (01 June, 1990)
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Reviews (2)

Great Intro to Women Blues
Did you know that women were the first popular blues singers? Black Pearls explores the pioneering women who in the 20's changed the record instustry and music as we know it. Having read a few blues books by now, I found that portions in the introductory sections lacked the sort of awe-inspiring insight that makes for an excellent blues book. And my attention span had me skipping half-way through the chapter on lyrical analysis. Howvever, once I got to the sections that focus on the individual performers, this book excelled. There are many who seem hellbent on denying these particular women a hallowed place in the history of popular music (read Alan Lomax's brief dismissal of the classic blues era in his "The Land Where the Blues Began"), but Harrison's prodigious biographical and musical insights really open the door to a greater appreciation of the women she features. As a companion, I might suggest the cd "Classic Blues Women" by Rhino Records.

Black Pearls
Black Pearls is the first novel I've read that depicts what was going on in Hawaii during the 1880s.The story's characters were ok, but the hero Peter Darien was really controlling when it came to the heroine Rosalind.I think the book could have had a lot more romance and conflict. ... Read more

Isbn: 0813512808
Sales Rank: 483618
Subjects:  1. African American women musicians    2. Biography    3. Blues (Music)    4. Blues musicians    5. Genres & Styles - Blues    6. Genres & Styles - Soul & R&B    7. History and criticism    8. Music    9. Musical Instruments - General    10. Reference    11. United States   

Blues Legacies and Black Feminism : Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday
Average Customer Review:
Hardcover (20 January, 1998)
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Editorial Review

The female blues singers of the 1920s, Gertrude "Ma" Rainey,and Bessie Smith, not only invented a musical genre, but they also becamemodels of how African American women could become economicallyindependent in a culture that had not previously allowed it.BothSmith and Rainey composed, arranged, and managed their own roadbands.Angela Y. Davis's study emphasizes the impact that these singers, and laterBillie Holiday, had on the poor and working-class communities fromwhich they came. The artists addressed radical subjects such as physicaland economic abuse, race relations, and female sexual power, includinglesbianism. Ma Rainey was well known as a lover of women as well asmen, and her song "Prove It on Me" describes a butch woman whodresses like a man and dates women. Blues Legacies and Black Feminism places the fluidsexuality of these women within a larger context of African Americanartists' attempts to subvert and recreate America. ... Read more

Reviews (9)

Poetics ARE Politics for many people. No exceptions here.
Davis work is a powerful re-reading of Blues women, and firmly places them in the center, rather than the margin, of Black oppositional and autonomous culture discourse. The book is mostly devoted to the work of Gertrude Rainey and Bessie Smith, but there are important sections devoted to Billie Holiday as well. In each case, the Davis argues for a more complete contextual understanding of Blues women music as introducing gender issues, breaking discursive taboos, and forging meaning within the context of an imagined community of Black women's lives.

To begin with, Davis convincingly argues that Blues women were on the vanguard in breaking down taboos concerning domestic violence and male subjugation, as many Blues songs concerned these matters. Davis uses powerful works such as "Rough and Tumble Blues," "See See Rider Blues," and "Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair," to demonstrate that Blues women were willing to engage in oppositional, if allegorical, violence in the service of personal autonomy. Even man songs that seem to demonstrate acquiescence, even masochism, in the face of male abuse can be seen to have an ironic,subversive, or didactic quality that belies a simplistic surface reading.

Davisalso takes on the common notion that Blues music doesn't include social protest, an interpretation that has been pushed by white commentators, such as Samuel Charters, and black commentators, such as Albert Murray. Davis argues that Blues music inherits from Slave musical culture a coded approach to naming and resistance that demands more than a surface analysis of the lyrics, and takes into account the role of music as a lyrical interlocuter. Focusing on tunes such as "Backwater Blues" and "Washwoman's Blues," Davis almost always effectively demonstrates that coded protest is still protest, and that women's blues historically anticipated and grounded mass movements in the areas of civil rights and feminism, while remaining linked with West African hermeneutic structure of naming and interpretation, such as "nommo."

In terms of Religious content, Davis forcefully recounts how women reconfigured a secular existential (or even "Devil's") music as prayer itself, magically and aesthetically conjured to exorcise emotions such as "the blues." At the same time, she harshly criticizes the Black church for adopting Christian dualisms concerning the moral status of body and spirit, which she sees as sexualized forms of racism and sexism--- since both blacks and women have been semiotically linked with earthiness and body as opposed to spirit by while male elites. Celebratory Sexuality, on the other hand, has always, according to Davis, been an oppositional aspect of black working-class consciousness. This extends beyond sexuality to an affirmation of Black folk religious life (such as Hoodoo) and crossing of class boundaries in the Blues, which Davis contends is a major reason Blues music was ignored and even distanced by Black elites during the Harlem Renaissance.

Davis's discussion of Billie Holiday is short (two chapters) but powerful, in which she argues that Holiday subversively appropriated the saccharine Tin Pan Alley love song format she was given as Slaves would have appropriated the English language upon their arrival in the North Americas. Holiday worked little in the formal Blues, but was nontheless grounded in the Blues idiom, from which she drew inspiration, and a subversive presentation of white romantic life to Black audiences. In this vein, such songs as "Strange Fruit" fit more coherently, and the ironic (and yet utopian) edge in her voice professes to the truth of Black women's lives, even in ways that on the surface seem to be feministically regressive.

There are isolated examples where Davis is less successful than at other times, but on the whole, her argumentation is strong and fearless, and her analogical and narrative analysis of the music along with lyrics adds, rather than detracts, from her argument.

Breaking ground
I have to agree with the reviewer from Turkey who wrote positively about Davis' "Strange Fruit" chapter in Blues Legacies. I recently wrote a term paper on the song Strange Fruit in which I referred to bothDavid Margolick's recent release about Strange Fruit and Davis' BluesLegacies. I was very impressed with Davis' depiction of Holiday as anindividual and an entertainer. It seemed that she brought a morewell-rounded and objective perspective on the singer into the world ofBillie Holiday biographies. Her take on the song and on Holiday'sconnection to it are, shall we say, refreshing, in that it takes a novelapproach to the singer -- one that attempts to remain impartial to thepopular image of Holiday. This book is also an excellent reference forthose studying feminism, jazz, Afro-Americana and/or the lives of the threewomen (Rainey, Holiday and Smith) showcased in Davis' Blues Legacies.

A wonderful analysis of Strange Fruit and Billie Holiday
If you expect to read a traditional biography you may be dissappointed. The lives of the blues women and their political messages behind their songs are discussed in one another's light. This works very well as bluesis a folk music which tells many things about the black experience and mostsingers are song writers themselves. The section about Billie Holiday andher song Strange Fruit is one of the rare approaches to Lady Day as anartist who gave a very important political messages about racism. In otherbiographies Billie Holiday is always portrayedas a victim rather than aperson who had an important political message. I believe this very style ofher portrayal could be discussed in a feminist context and that's whatAngela Davies did in this book with her vast knowledge and experience inblack politics and gender issues. Some people criticize the book for beingovertly political. However, I see no other way of analyzing the blueswithout its political context. The transcriptions of the songs also gives adocumentary value to this book. It has been a great reference for myresearch in this field. I wish I can get in touch with Angela Davies oneday and discuss her about the research she has done while preparing thisbook. ... Read more

Isbn: 067945005X
Subjects:  1. Biography/Autobiography    2. Blues    3. Blues (Music)    4. Ethnic Studies - African American Studies - General    5. Feminism and music    6. Genres & Styles - Blues    7. History and criticism    8. Music    9. Sociology    10. Texts    11. United States    12. Women And Music    13. Women's Studies - History    14. Holiday, Billie    15. Rainey, Ma    16. Smith, Bessie    17. Social Science / African-American Studies   

Dinah Washington Sings Bessie Smith
Average Customer Review:
Audio CD (09 November, 1999)
list price: $14.98 -- our price: $14.98
(price subject to change: see help)
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Features

• Original recording remastered

Reviews (6)

Right Idea, Wrong Execution, But Still Worth Having........
The feedback on this Dinah release has been mixed, and mostly it's due to the questionable remastering job and also Dinah's back-up band for this release.The rickety tick IS annoying and first listens to this CD can turn away even the staunchiest Dinah fans.I was like that too in the beginning, but after repeated listens, Dinah's wonderful interpretations of Bessie's stuff and her fierce performance simply carried me over.Also, not all the tracks have that insulting rickety-tick drummning. On "If I Could Be With You..." "Fine Fat Daddy" and "Backwater Blues", she gives an old-fashioned jazz performance with a jazzy back-up.One wishes if only the entire session had been done with a more jazzy approach as opposed to the Dixieland ironic rickety-tick could this release been much more widely accepted.I don't know what happened on the remastering job, Dinah's voice is relegated to the left channel on most of the tracks.I'd like to think Universal/Verve did the best job they could.Keep in mind the original sessions were done in mono, so converting them to stereo adds the realism---warts and all.Sorry!

Right Idea, Wrong Execution, But Still Worth Having........
The feedback on this Dinah release has been mixed, and mostly it's due to the questionable remastering job and also Dinah's back-up band for this release.The rickety tick IS annoying and first listens to this CD can turn away even the staunchiest Dinah fans.I was like that too in the beginning, but after repeated listens, Dinah's wonderful interpretations of Bessie's stuff and her fierce performance simply carried me over.Also, not all the tracks have that insulting rickety-tick drummning. On "If I Could Be With You..." "Fine Fat Daddy" and "Backwater Blues", she gives an old-fashioned jazz performance with a jazzy back-up.One wishes if only the entire session had been done with a more jazzy approach as opposed to the Dixieland ironic rickety-tick could this release been much more widely accepted.I don't know what happened on the remastering job, Dinah's voice is relegated to the left channel on most of the tracks.I'd like to think Universal/Verve did the best job they could.Keep in mind the original sessions were done in mono, so converting them to stereo adds the realism---warts and all.Sorry!

A CHEAP REMASTERING JOB
I agree with the reviewer who said that this was a bad remastering job, but DINAH WASHINGTON was born to do this tribute album to BESSIE SMITH ,so you'll still want it in your collection.Maybe some readers won't like my commentary, but DINAH might have been the most vicious jazz singer of her time ,but in her case it's a compliment.She probably was also the most blues inclined jazz singer.Maybe this is due to the fact that she married so many times. ... Read more

Asin: B00002MYXV
Sales Rank: 146565
Subjects:  1. Ballads    2. Classic Female Blues    3. Jazz    4. Pop    5. Standards    6. Traditional Pop    7. Vocal Jazz