This CD is one of the Living Era series of historical jazz recordings with 25 tracks featuring rhythm guitar and banjo player Eddie Condon. The tracks demonstrate his competency and capacity to strike a strong immpecable beat as well as to inject rhythm into the melodies themselves, though very little of what is included can claim solo virtuosity. Rather than his playing, Eddie Condon is remembered as the most prominent of the Chicago jazz musicians taking up residence in New York in the late 1920s and the 1930s for his ability to pull together and inspire groups of excellent musicians. There were numerous ad hoc groups where Eddie Condon was master of cerimonies at broadcasts or recordings, and at the club he ran bearing his name.The Eddie Condon groups included on this CD are the Chicagoans, the Rhythm Kings, Quartet, Hot Shots, Orchestra, Windy City Seven and Band, together with Eddie Condon playing with Fats Waller and His Buddies, Billy Banks and His Rhythm Makers, Joe Marsala's Chicagoans and Bud Freeman's Summa Cum Laude Orchestra. There are many famous names within these various groups including Jack Teagarden, Muggsy Spanier, Frank Teschmacher and Pee Wee Russell. As well as variety of groups the choice of numbers on the CD allows a wide range of music, played in the hard punching Chicago style. This was developed by white musicians in Chicago in the mid 1920s and then taken to New York which the Chicagoans made their headquarters. Numerous musicians joined in, and came and went, with the resultant wide range of music. The Chicago style developed via formalised ensembles with frequent opportunities for solos that made it easier for changes in personnel.
The numbers on the CD are presented in chronological order from 1927 to 1940. From the earliest session with the Chicagoans my preference is "Nobody's Sweetheart", from the Rhythm Kings "Ive Found A New Baby", from the Quartet I am intrigued by "Indiana" as a rare vocal from Eddie Condon, and from the Hot Shots I favour "I'm Gonna Stomp Mr. Henry Lee". The next 2 numbers by Fats Waller are amongst the best on the CD, with my favourite of the 25 tracks being "The Minor Drag". There are then 3 pleasant vocals by Billy Banks with good trumpet and clarinet support, and 2 Orchestra numbers where for me Eddie Condon has allowed the sax to dominate an otherwise fairly traditional line-up. The sax is then banished for 2 marvellous tracks "Wolverine Blues" and "Jazz Me Blues" with an unusual line-up enhanced by violin and harp. The sax returns for what I consider nondescript tracks by Eddie Condon with the Windy City Seven and by Bud Freeman's Orchestra. However there are then superb examples of "I Ain't Gonna Give Nobody None Of My Jelly Roll" and "Ballin' The Jack" that highlight my subjective liking for the traditional trumpet, trombone, clarinet front line of Eddie Condon's Band. Personal idiosyncrasy also determines preference between the final 2 tracks where these are different versions of "A Good Man Is Hard To Find". Choose yourself.
Jazz is a matter of taste, and tastes vary. It is difficult to give an overall rating to a CD where the numbers are so different. With my "5-star" preference for clarinet over "3-star" for saxophone I trust my "4-star" rating for the CD is honest and fair.
