Review

The New Orleans cornetist Punch Miller did not lead any record sessions of his own in the 1920s, but the great majority of his recordings as a sideman (with the exception of his dates with Tiny Parham) are on this valuable CD put out by the Austrian RST label. Miller is heard with the vaudeville team of Billy and Mary Mack, Albert Wynn's Gut Bucket Five, Jimmy Wade's Dixielanders, King Mutt's Tennessee Thumpers, Jimmy Bertrand's Washboard Wizards, Frankie "Half-Pint" Jaxon, and Frankie Franko's Louisianians. In addition, there are two numbers by Wynn that have Dolly Jones on cornet instead of Miller. Among the more notable sidemen overall are Barney Bigard (on tenor and clarinet), drummer Sid Catlett, pianists Alex Hill and Jimmy Blythe, and clarinetist Darnell Howard. There are more than its share of classic jazz performances on this disc, including "When," "She's Crying for Me," "Parkway Stomp," "Shake Your Shimmy," and "Somebody Stole My Gal." This is a reissue that 1920s collectors should go out of their way to acquire since all of the sessions are complete.