Jelly Roll Morton's recordings have been reissued in numerous formats and compilations over the decades since his death in 1942, but this volume in the five-disc series, remastered by the talented engineer John R.T. Davies is vastly superior in sound to other editions, because he managed to improve the sound without such heavy filtering that causes a loss of fidelity in higher frequencies. One other improvement is programming the songs by session, though breaking up alternate takes by placing them together on other discs in the series, so it isn't necessary for the listener to hear several songs plus their alternate versions back to back. Even on computer speakers, "Each Day" has remarkable fidelity, with the interplay of the band very clear. The loopy humor of "Fickle Fay Creep" has long made it a favorite with revivalists. The pianist is heard with several different groups in sessions six sessions recorded in 1930, with sideman including several former or future sidemen like
Bubber Miley and
Billy Taylor, along with trombonist
Wilbur De Paris, clarinetist
Albert Nicholas, drummer
Cozy Cole, and others. The only complaint about this CD is the microscopic liner notes, which was evidently done to save the use of paper. ~ Ken Dryden