Jazz archivists have always enjoyed listening to King Oliver’s 1923 Creole Jazz Band recordings (which have Louis Armstrong and clarinetist Johnny Dodds in the active supporting cast) despite all of the surface noise. The interplay of the four horns and the exciting ensembles made this the best band on record up to that time. Now, somewhat miraculously, Oliver’s 37 performances can be heard with remarkably clean sound on the two-CD set Off the Record (from the label of the same name). So that’s what it really sounded like! Get this one.
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