This budget disc collects ten late-period Bechet sides from what sounds like a variety of sources. There are no recording dates or personnel listings to give us a clue as to the where, when, or who of these tracks, but the recording quality and the instrumental stylings of the backing units (some of which are a little too modern for Bechet) place all of these as later pieces. All ten songs are blues, played in major and minor keys — and quite ornately, too. Bechet is in his usual top form, playing with a vibrancy that leaves some of the big bands backing him in the dust. Not the most essential Sidney, but certainly another chunk of his genius. – Cub Koda
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