Time: 70:17
Size: 166.5 MB
Label: Challenge
Styles: Early jazz, Guitar jazz, Swing
Year: 1998
Art: Front
[2:55] 1. Eddie's Twister
[3:08] 2. April Kisses
[3:07] 3. Prelude In C Sharp Minor Op 3
[3:03] 4. A Little Love, A Little Kiss
[2:49] 5. Melody Man's Dream
[3:03] 6. Perfect
[2:49] 7. Rainbow Dreams
[2:46] 8. Add A Little Wiggle
[2:52] 9. Jeanine I Dream Of Lilac Time
[3:02] 10. I'll Never Be The Same
[3:03] 11. Church Street Sobbin' Blues
[3:11] 12. There'll Be Some Changes Made
[3:02] 13. Pickin' My Way (Guitar Mania, Part 1)
[3:00] 14. Feeling My Way (Guitar Mania, Part 2)
[3:08] 15. Danzon
[3:00] 16. Stage Fright
[2:13] 17. Chicken-A-La-Swing
[2:25] 18. Heat Wave
[2:48] 19. Afterthoughts - Part 1 (In Three Movements)
[3:02] 20. Afterthoughts - Parts 2 & 3 (In Three Movements)
[2:34] 21. Peg Leg Shuffle
[2:43] 22. Helena
[3:18] 23. Love Song
[3:03] 24. Sutton Mutton
This 1998 CD has a great deal of timeless music. Guitar features were very rare in jazz prior to Django Reinhardt, and particularly before the guitar became amplified in the late '30s. This essential reissue has all of Eddie Lang's guitar features (leaving out only a few numbers in which he led a bigger group), the two Lang/Carl Kress duets, the Kress/Dick McDonough duets, and all of Kress' unaccompanied solos. The Lang numbers (mostly duets with Arthur Schutt, Frank Signorelli, or Rube Bloom offering quiet support on piano) were unprecedented in jazz at the time. Highlights include "Add a Little Wiggle," "I'll Never Be the Same," and "There'll Be Some Changes Made." Actually, the most memorable moments on this CD are the two Lang/Kress collaborations, classics from 1932 called "Pickin' My Way" and "Feelin' My Way." Lang's single-note lines work perfectly with Kress' advanced chords, and it is surprising that no arranger has transcribed these wonderful performances and orchestrated them for a larger group. Highly recommended, and proof that the jazz guitar did not begin with Charlie Christian. ~Scott Yanow
Pioneers Of Jazz Guitar