This is a good if slightly frustrating compilation from Holland-based Timeless Records. On the one hand, it's got all of this great jazz from the dawn of the music, the likes of the Original Memphis Melody Boys, the Original New Orleans Rhythm Kings, Isham Jones, and so on; on the other, it's totally without annotation, except for referring to British jazz legend Chris Barber's 78 rpm collection as the source for the material at hand. The transfers have been done well enough, as well, and the material -- most of it instrumental and all of it Dixieland-oriented, which is no surprise as, even beyond the history of the music, Barber's whole career was built around Dixieland's British offshoot, "trad" jazz -- sounds fine. But listeners will have to fill in the blanks as far as release dates and other information; it's great listening (which is essential, of course) but hardly edifying in any way beyond the ears. ~ Bruce Eder

This entry in the French Classics Jazz label's instructive chronological series documenting the careers of significant jazz artists features the brilliant, influential tenor saxophonist Coleman Hawkins on a variety of recordings made in Chicago in the early 1950s.

The Bethlehem label didn't make it out of the '50s before folding, and one of the reasons why is the ambitious yet misguided George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess, a three-LP box set that represents a complete recording of the Gershwin classic (with narration and sound effects). Bethlehem certainly had the talent to pull it off -- appearing on the label, and this production, are Mel Torm‚, Duke Ellington & His Orchestra, Johnny Hartman, Bob Dorough, Betty Roche, Frances Faye, and minor period stars including vocalist Frank Rosolino, bandleader Stan Levey, and arranger Russ Garcia. And long-playing versions of theatrical productions were huge in the mid-'50s (a few sold millions of copies). The most popular of these, however, were simply easy-to-digest highlights LPs that never attempted to present the complete production. This version is a gargantuan two hours long, difficult to sit through even if every performance was stellar (and, unfortunately, that's far from the case). The recording makes a virtue of being hip, primarily through the narration of Al "Jazzbo" Collins, a radio DJ who may have been hip for the times but whose counterfeit excitement and perfect diction make the proceedings sound like a period newsreel. ("Watch out, Porgy, here comes that mean Sportin' Life!") Torm‚, as the most popular vocalist on the label, was a shoe-in for the role of Porgy, despite Johnny Hartman's clear superiority, and Frances Faye received the role of Bess despite Betty Roche's ability to handle the role much better. Those mistakes are compounded by Russ Garcia's period arrangements (the Ellington group makes only one appearance) and some decidedly subpar performances from Frank Rosolino early in the program. Still, it has to be admitted that a highlights compilation of this record would sparkle very brightly, driven by Mel Torm‚'s swinging "I've Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" with a super-enthused backing chorus, George Kirby's "It Ain't Necessarily So," and Betty Roche's reprise of "Summertime" during the second half. ~ John Bush