Review

Teddy Bunn was one of the finest acoustic jazz guitarists of the 1930s, although he had relatively few opportunities to be showcased on record. This CD (from the Austrian RST label) features Bunn on a series of hokum vocal duets with Spencer Williams (Clarence Profit or James P. Johnson provide the piano accompaniment); backing singers Buck Franklin, Fat Hayden, and Walter Pichon; jamming with clarinetist Mezz Mezzrow and trumpeter Tommy Ladnier (six alternate takes from the famous Panassie Sessions); and leading a session of his own. The latter (which is also included on a Mosaic box set) features Bunn on two memorable unaccompanied guitar solos and on three occasions (including an alternate take of "Blues Without Words") backing his own vocals. It is strange that Bunn recorded so rarely after 1940, for he lived until 1978. This is his definitive set.