Released in 2002 by
Fremeaux & Associes
,
The Blues: Chicago 1937-1945
is an exceptionally fine 36-track anthology of recordings made for the
ARC
Vocalion
Okeh
, and
Columbia
labels by
Big Bill Broonzy
during a period when he collaborated with some of the Windy City's most sure-footed players. In addition to pianists
Blind John Davis
Joshua Altheimer
Horace Malcolm
Memphis Slim
Big Maceo Merriweather
Broonzy
is heard with trumpeters
Punch Miller
and
Alfred Bell
; clarinetist
Odell Rand
, saxophonists
Buster Bennett
Bill Osborne
; blues harpist
Jazz Gillum
, and a jug blower by the name of
Oliver Nelson
. Listen also for electrically amplified guitarist
George Barnes
, bassists
Ransom Knowling
Bill Settles
; and percussionists
Judge Riley
Fred Williams
Washboard Sam
.
Fremeaux
's selections are generally well chosen, and on this, the label's only
collection to date, the records document his progress from the late '30s into a decade when the world became convulsed by war and the accelerated pace of life began to be reflected in the music. In essence, the period sampled on this collection was
's first golden age. During the '50s he would become a living archetype of the blues in his own land and especially in Europe. While his way of handling the guitar was always substantial and pleasant, the main reason to listen to
Big Bill
is to absorb the incredible magic of his warm and expressive voice. This double-disc set is recommended for anyone who loves or would like to learn to love the blues as it sounded at the end of the Great Depression and during the Second World War. ~ arwulf arwulf