Not really knowing anything about these box sets in advance, I embarked on this project with some trepidation that I had signed myself up for fifty weeks of crap. By the end of this album's first track, I was a believer.

The top-notch musicianship and Satchmo's¹ trademark gravelly crooning are already reason enough to listen, but I can't emphasize enough how much fun this album is: the frequent banter between Louis and Velma Middleton is charming, and the whole thing is joyous and downright raucous throughout. I mean, just listen to this laugh:

One thing I don't understand: W. C. Handy was the "Father of the Blues," and most of the songs here have "blues" in the title—obviously there's lots of shared heritage between jazz and blues, but where exactly does that dividing line lie? And what is this exactly?

Favourite track: St. Louis Blues