Leecan & Cooksey Vol. 1 1924-1927

Document’s two-part Complete Works of guitarist Bobby Leecan is a comprehensive yet incomplete index of the man’s adventures as a recording artist during the 1920s. The first volume, which taps into the years 1924-1927, is heavily stocked with blues vocals by Margaret Johnson, Helen Baxter, Sara Martin, and Viola McCoy, while “When My Wants Run Out” and “Talk ‘Bout Something That’s Gwine to Happen” are performed by the vaudeville blues duo of Elizabeth Smith and Sidney Easton. Leecan is best known for his collaborations with mouth organist Robert Cooksey, and this collection includes material from two of their most intriguing Victor recording dates. “Dirty Guitar Blues” and “Black Cat Bone Blues” are wonderfully loose and intimate duets, while tracks 9-15 provide the listener with everything recorded on November 22, 1926, by the South Street Trio, which consisted of Leecan as banjoist, Cooksey as singer and blues harpist, and a fellow by the name of Alfred Martin on guitar. This vibrant little group would record again in October 1927 as the State Street Trio. The byproducts of that session, along with more Leecan and Cooksey duets and a spate of fine washboard-driven interludes by Leecan’s Need-More Band, can be found on Vol. 2. A truly “complete” overview of Leecan’s recording career would need to include his works with the Dixie Jazzers Washboard Band, Eddie Edinborough & His New Orleans Wildcats, Thomas Morris & His Seven Hot Babies, and young Thomas “Fats” Waller. Even without these important elements, both volumes of Leecan and Cooksey on Document are highly recommended for unbiased listeners of all ages and backgrounds. – arwulf arwulf