There isn't a whole lot of
Bertha "Chippie" Hill available in any audio format. In 1997 Document released 24 of her classic early recordings, and that CD still stands as the definitive monument to her artistry. Trained to perform in vaudeville while still a girl, then schooled in theatrical presentation by
Ethel Waters,
Ma Rainey, and
King Oliver, she outgrew the vaudeville upbringing and perfected a straightforward blues delivery while making these records during the years 1925-1929. Her first sessions were shared with cornetist
Louis Armstrong and pianist Richard M. Jones, composer of "Trouble in Mind" and more than a few of the other songs heard on this collection. Anyone seeking insights about blues, jazz, and human nature needs to savor
Louis Armstrong's interactions with
Bertha "Chippie" Hill. She is also backed by Richard M. Jones' Jazz Wizards (with clarinetist Artie Starks doing his best to complement her passionate delivery); guitarist
Lonnie Johnson, who recorded during this period with artists as diverse as
Duke Ellington,
Texas Alexander, and
Eddie Lang; guitarist
Scrapper Blackwell and pianist
Leroy Carr; pianist and songwriter Georgia Tom (
Thomas A. Dorsey); and guitarist
Tampa Red (Hudson Whittaker) and bassist Bill Johnson of New Orleans. The gravitational pull of the blues is nicely counterweighted by "Non-Skid Tread," an amusing study in hokum for kazoo and continuo.
Bertha "Chippie" Hill had a nice comeback during the 1940s, during which she received international recognition. Even as her later recordings are powerful and well worth exploring, the recordings she made in the 1920s define her as an individual and, to some extent, the entire human race as a species. ~ arwulf arwulf