Label: Document Records.
Release Date: March 18, 1997.
Recording Time: 69 minutes.
Releases: 1997, 2000, 2005.
Releases: 1997, 2000, 2005.
Recording Date: 1923 - May 29, 1929.
Styles: Classic Female Blues, Early Jazz.
This is one of the strongest sets in this 14-CD series. The disc has all of the recordings released under the names of classic blues singers Nellie Hite, Jane Howard, Bertha Idaho, Mary Jackson, Sadie Jackson, Zaidee Jackson, and Elnora Johnson, along with two of the four selections led by Caroline Johnson. Some of these names are pseudonyms, with Nellie Hite actually being Mattie Hite (whose other work was reissued on Vol. 9), Jane Howard probably being the same person as Miss Frankie (who is otherwise covered in Vol. 6), Zaidee and Sadie Jackson most likely being the same singer, and Elnora Johnson possibly being another name for Alberta Hunter! In general, the music is of pretty high quality, particularly the four enjoyable numbers by Bertha Idaho (a Bessie Smith-type singer who should have gained fame and a much more extensive recording career). Sidemen along the way include cornetists Tom Morris and Ed Allen, pianists Clarence Williams and Fletcher Henderson, Perry Bradford's Jazz Phools, and (on the two Sadie Jackson numbers) the great James P. Johnson. Recommended. - Review by Scott Yanow
Credits: Bud Aiken - trombone; Gus Aiken - cornet; Ed Allen - cornet; Perry Bradford's Jazz Phools - ensemble; Garvin Bushell - clarinet, sax (alto); Tom Delaney - composer; Dr. David Evans - liner notes; Fletcher Henderson - piano; Jane Howard - performer, primary artist, vocals; Bertha Idaho - performer, primary artist, vocals; Mary Jackson - primary artist, vocals; Mike Jackson - piano; James P. Johnson & His Orchestra - piano; Carol Johnson - vocals; Caroline Johnson - primary artist; James P. Johnson - piano; Thomas Morris - cornet; Tom Morris - cornet; Johnny Parth - producer; Andy Razaf - composer; Bob Ricketts - piano; Sam Speed - banjo; Leroy Tibbs - piano; Gerhard Wessely - remastering; Clarence Williams - piano; Spencer Williams - composer.
Tracks: 1) Midnight Blues - Nellie Hite; 2) Oh Daddy Blues - Nellie Hite; 3) Kissin' Mule Blues - Jane Howard; 4) Peepin' Jim Blues - Jane Howard; 5) Hard-Hearted Papa - Jane Howard; 6) Graveyard Love - Bertha Idaho; 7) You've Got The Right Eye, But You're Peeping At The Wrong Keyhole - Bertha Idaho; 8) Down On Pennsylvania Avenue - Bertha Idaho; 9) Move It On Out Of Here - Bertha Idaho; 10) I Don't Let No One Man Worry Me - Mary Jackson; 11) Liza Jackson's Got Better Bread Than Old Sally Lee - Mary Jackson; 12) Deceitful Blues - Mary Jackson; 13) If Anybody Here Wants A Real Kind Mama (Here's Your Opportunity) - Mary Jackson; 14) All The Time - Mary Jackson; 15) Who'll Get It When I'm Gone? - Mary Jackson; 16) Original Black Bottom Dance - Sadie Jackson; 17) Nobody Worries 'Bout Me - Sadie Jackson; 18) I'm Mad Because I Turned My Baby Down - Zaidee Jackson; 19) Something's Gonna Happen To You - Zaidee Jackson; 20) Georgia Grind - Caroline Johnson; 21) Mamma Stayed Out The Whole Night Long (But Mamma Didn't Do No Wrong) - Caroline Johnson; 22) Blue Black Bottom Blues - Elnora Johnson; 23) Red Cap Porter Blues - Elnora Johnson; 24) Freakish Papa - Elnora Johnson; 25) I Like That Thing (Called The Black Bottom) - Elnora Johnson.