Frog Records presents a fine album of vintage Chicago jazz recorded between 1925 and 1929 by various little bands under the leadership of
Richard Marigny Jones (1892-1945), whose limping gait prompted other musicians to nickname him "McKnee" or "My Knee." This music was originally released to the public on 78-rpm records bearing the OKeh, Vocalion, Paramount, and Victor imprints. With the exception of "All Night Shags" and "Put Me in the Alley Blues," which were issued as by
the Chicago Hottentots, everything here was presented under the heading of
Richard M. Jones & His Jazz Wizards.
Jones, a solid pianist most famous for having composed "Trouble in Mind" and "Jazzin' Babies Blues," is heard in the company of clarinetists
Albert Nicholas,
Omer Simeon, and
Artie Starks; cornetist
Shirley Clay; trombonist
Preston Jackson; banjoists
Johnny St. Cyr and
Ikey Robinson; and tuba wrestler
Quinn Wilson. This compilation includes alternate takes of (or sequels to) "Novelty Blues" and "Tickle Britches Blues." While not as highly acclaimed as the records made during this period by
Louis Armstrong, these historical performances compare nicely with the Chicago-based recordings of
Johnny Dodds,
King Oliver,
Freddie Keppard, and
Jimmie Noone. No reissue label has yet succeeded in bringing out literally everything in the
Richard M. Jones discography. Document has produced several volumes under his name, and the French have done an excellent job with their Classics
Chronological Series. Frog's
Good Stuff is a superb introduction to this kind of scruffy Windy City jazz of the 1920s, and is highly recommended for those who aren't too fussy to kick back and enjoy it for what it is rather than kvetching about what it isn't.