Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. Somewhere Along the Way - Gene Ammons
2. Mahogany Hall Stomp - Louis Armstrong
3. Solitude - Louis Armstrong
4. Jumpin' at the Woodside - Count Basie
5. When the Sun Sets Down South (Southern Sunset) - Sidney Bechet
6. Night Hop - Benny Carter, Benny Carter
7. Blues in the Dark - Buck Clayton
8. Sweet Lorraine - Nat King Cole
9. Melancholy - Johnny Dodds
10. After You've Gone - Roy Eldridge
11. Mood Indigo - Duke Ellington
12. Lullaby of Birdland - Ella Fitzgerald
13. Midnight Sun - Lionel Hampton
14. Body and Soul - Coleman Hawkins
15. Down South Camp Meeting - Henry "Red" Allen, Fletcher Henderson
16. Cavernism - Earl Hines
17. Good Morning Heartache - Billie Holiday
18. Flying Home - Illinois Jacquet
19. Tishomingo Blues - Buck Johnson
20. Snowy Morning Blues - James P. Johnson

Disc 2:

1. Yancey Special - Meade "Lux" Lewis
2. Coquette - Jimmie Lunceford
3. Something to Live For - Carmen McRae
4. Sepian Bounce - Jay McShann & His Orchestra
5. King Porter Stomp - Jelly Roll Morton
6. Bump It (The Bumps) - Jimmie Noone
7. Sugar Foot Stomp - King Oliver
8. For Dancers Only - Sy Oliver
9. I Won't Be Here Long - Hot Lips Page
10. Chant of the Weed - Don Redman
11. Good Morning Blues - Jimmy Rushing
12. Passionette - Willie "The Lion" Smith
13. Blue Serge - Billy Strayhorn
14. Liza (All the Clouds'll Roll Away) [Take D] - Art Tatum
15. Rebecca - Big Joe Turner
16. Blow Top Blues - Dinah Washington
17. Clap Hands! Here Comes Charlie - Chick Webb
18. (Keep It) In the Groove - Mary Lou Williams
19. One O'Clock Jump - Lester Young

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #295475 in Music
• Released on: 1994-11-08
• Number of discs: 2

Customer Reviews

Superlative jazz collection
BLACK LEGENDS OF JAZZ is a two CD set packaged in a heavy paper slipcover very reminsicent of the type once used to house specialty multiple book sets. The 80-plus page booklet that's included is printed on matted heavyweight cream-colored paper, and has an intentional look of antiquity that is most appropos. This small tome provides a wealth of detail about performers and era.

The 40 songs of the collection, which spans DECCA's golden jazz age (1926-'59), are not in chronological or logical order. This is a hardship only if one is trying to study a year-by-year progression. Output level for all tracks is solid, remastering nothing less than superb. No heavy filtering here, no added echo or reprocessing of any kind. Source material is the best available.

DECCA's BLACK LEGENDS OF JAZZ is an absolutely great album. Highly recommended.

TOTAL RUNNING TIMES --
DISC ONE -- 61:32
DISC TWO -- 56:54

A Great Compilation, with a few 'classics' missing
Decca has put together a wide range of early Jazz from a bunch of different artists; some with tracks you would not expect, which I suspect may have been intentional, the dates vary from 1929-1959, but the latter date is a bit misleading (see track list). There is no "modern" jazz here. It is also a self-admitted limited survey, due to the label. Men like Ben Webster and Johnny Hodges are not represented due to the fact that no solos from any Decca, or Decca owned subsidiary, were deemed proper examples of either. But what is included is always classic, even if not the most obvious candidate for the artist. Making up for any shortcomings in that regard is the 79 page booklet included, which is really half the presentation. Well done, informative, and richly packaged, it is a great companion to the disc, and a great gift idea for a jazz aficianado.