BESSIE SMITH – 1923 | The Classics Chronological Series – 761 (1994) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This document of Smith's first year in the studio reveals a blues giant in full command of her talents. And while later dates -- especially the epochal 1925 sessions with Louis Armstrong -- offer more in the way of the era's horn-blowing royalty, these early sides nicely showcase Smith in the unadorned company of a variety of top pianists like Clarence Williams and Fletcher Henderson. The Empress of the Blues flexes her vocal muscle throughout, ranging from Broadway fare like "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" to the dark-hued rumblings of "Graveyard Dream Blues." She also revels in the provocative ambiguities of "Nobody in Town Can Bake a Sweet Jelly Roll" and puts her stamp on the future blues warhorse "'Tain't Nobody's Bizness If I Do." From the opening strain of her first best-seller, "Downhearted Blues," until the end of the disc, lovers of classic female blues will find plenty here to keep them enthralled. Stephen Cook
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BESSIE SMITH – 1925-1927 | The Classics Chronological Series – 843 (1995) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The Empress of the Blues is heard here in all her prime from 1925-1927. While also touring the country in the Harlem Frolics tent show during this time, Smith laid down hundreds of tracks in New York studios. These 24 performances feature such jazz luminaries of the day as pianist Fletcher Henderson, trumpeter Joe Smith, trombonist Charlie Green, and clarinetist Buster Bailey (the latter three men all played in Henderson's groundbreaking band of the day). Also on hand are Gotham legend and pianist James P. Johnson and songwriter extraordinaire Clarence Williams (along with such '20s classics as "Royal Garden Blues," "'Taint Nobobdy's Business if I Do," and "Everybody Loves My Baby," Williams penned a handful of the tracks covered here, including his collaboration with Fats Waller, "Just Squeeze Me"). Smith is powerful and in total command throughout, churning out her jazz-tinged blues on such standouts as "Backwater Blues," "The Gin House Blues," and "Hard Driving Papa." A must for all Smith devotees. Stephen Cook  
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