This box set contains 200 tracks including a 7-track vinyl LP featuring duets with Ella Fitzgerald. It also includes a 12x12 book with photos and notes by Peter Grendysa.
A typically exhaustive collection from the German reissue specialists Bear Family, LET THE GOOD TIMES ROLL is nine full discs' worth of prime Louis Jordan. Featuring both sides of every record Jordan released on Decca Records from 1938 to 1954, this is a remarkable collection. It's astounding to see how completely Jordan's jump blues aesthetic was already formed by the time the singer--and killer alto saxophonist, let's not forget--left Chick Webb's orchestra in 1938 to record his own small group sessions with the Tympany Five. These recordings, a largely under-appreciated but nonetheless huge influence on early rock and roll--there could be no Little Richard or Chuck Berry without Louis Jordan--are the definitive jump blues experience. It's a massive set, but well worth the hours it takes to listen. minimize