Ma Rainey [Milestone]

Performer: Ma Rainey
Artist: Louis Armstrong; Fletcher Henderson; Coleman Hawkins; Tampa Red; Georgia Tom Dorsey
Producer: Orrin Keepnews (Reissue)
Distributor: Fantasy (distributor)

Notes: Personnel includes: Ma Rainey, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong, Buster Bailey, Coleman Hawkins, Lil Henderson, Blind Blake, "Georgia Tom" Dorsey Tampa Red, Joe Smith. Includes liner notes by Dan Morgenstern. Digitally remastered by Joe Tarantino (1991, Fantasy Studios, Berkeley, California). Personnel: Ma Rainey (vocals); Blind Blake (guitar); Charlie Dixon (banjo); Tampa Red (kazoo); Buster Bailey (clarinet); Coleman Hawkins (saxophone); Louis Armstrong (trumpet); Howard Scott , Joe "Fox" Smith (cornet); Charlie Green (trombone); Lil Henderson, Fletcher Henderson, Georgia Tom Dorsey, Jimmy Blythe (piano); Jimmy Bertrand (xylophone); Joseph "Kaiser" Marshall (drums). Liner Note Author: Dan Morgenstern. Recording information: Chicago, IL (10/1924-09/1928); New York, NY (10/1924-09/1928). Unknown Contributor Roles: Coleman Hawkins; Fletcher Henderson; Tub Jug Washbord Band; Georgia Tom Dorsey; Louis Armstrong; Tampa Red; Blind Blake; Buster Bailey. Nobody could belt it out like Ma Rainey, and here's a great collection that showcases it. All of the lady's biggest hits ("See See Rider," "Jealous Hearted Blues," "Black Cat, Hoot Owl Blues," "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom") are here, and the sound is as good as one can expect from the old Paramount 78s, probably the worst-pressed discs of the 1920s. Still, Ma's ebullient personality comes through the hisses and pops and scratches loud and clear. An essential blues buy for the collection. ~ Cub Koda

Down Beat (8/92, p.51) - 5 Stars - Excellent - "..recording from '24 to '28 with Don Redman, Fletcher Henderson, Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins among her sidemen in accompaniments that only had to be serviceable, but are more often than not inspired, Gertrude Mallissa Pridgett moves us still.."

One of the earliest blues singers, and one of the first to record, Georgia-born Ma Rainey pretty much created the template for vocal-oriented piano blues. She started making records towards the beginning of the recording era in the '20s, but she had in fact been performing since the first decade of the century. Rainey's style was more sophisticated than the Delta sound that dominated blues in the '30s. She was often accompanied by some of the finest early jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong and Kid Ory, and her style owed as much to New Orleans jazz and ragtime as it did to what we think of as blues today. Hugely influential, she has been a key inspiration to generation upon generation of blues singers, both male and female.

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