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LP
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MK 341LP
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Blanche Calloway was the sister of both famous jive bandleader Cab Calloway and the lesser-known performer Elmer Calloway, one of the best jazz vocalist of the era, the recordings are all in chronological order and recorded in various location where the artist was performing.
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LP
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MK 343LP
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Valaida Snow might well be counted among the greatest entertainers of the early 20th century, her voice has enchanted the audience of America and Great Britain, 16 tracks in chronological order.
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LP
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MK 331LP
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"After their success with Blind Lemon Jefferson, Chicago's Paramount was scouting for more male blues talent, and they found it in 1926 in a man called Blind Blake (1893-1933), a sophisticated guitar player who was the antithesis of Delta blues. Like many, he played his guitar like a piano but few did it with the talent of this man. Called the 'King of Ragtime-blues', no one had fingers as fast as Blind Blake, but by 1933 he was dead (some say his drinking killed him). These recordings taken from 1927-28 are a collection of Blind Blake's early material, showcasing the man at his musical peak, before alcohol began to take its toll."
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LP
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MK 402LP
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"What did South Africa and South East Asia of the 1940s and 50s have in common? In both places the local population was trying to gain independence from British colonialism. Although colonialism is never a good thing, there are always some positive outcomes when two cultures collide, especially when it comes to music. The Zulu of South Africa are the largest ethnic group in the country and are well known for their rich musical traditions. In the 1940s, however, Zulu musicians began fusing traditional Zulu choral music (often sung by migrant mine workers), like Mbube and Isicathamiya, with the instruments and rhythms of Western jazz. A continent away in India, we see that the same kind of musical revolution was taking place during this same period. Calcutta in particular became a musical hotbed beginning in WWII, when it became one of the major ports for the South East Asian Theatre of the War. The jazz scene was mainly centered on the house bands from the various luxury hotels and British social clubs, with these bands often recording for the South East Asian division of E.M.I. Interestingly, one of the hottest stars on this scene during the 1940s was Teddy Weatherford, an African American 'expat' from the Chicago jazz scene. Beginning in 1942, following the Japanese invasion of Burma (Myanmar), hundreds of thousands of refugees poured into India, among these great jazz musicians like Reuben Solomon (of Iraqi Jewish descent) of 'The Rangoon Gymkhana Club' fame. Batuk Nandy, on the other hand, was a well-known steel guitar player who rose to fame by making 'filmi' music for Bollywood films, while Bismillah Khan was an Indian shehnai (a traditional flute-like instrument) master, and one of only three classical musicians to have ever won the Bharat Ratna prize, the highest civilian prize in India. Khan was also one of the few musicians to perform at Delhi's Red Fort in 1947 for India's Independence celebrations. Despite the obvious negative outcomes, different cultures and religions forced together in the face of economic and political adversity has historically been a recipe for great music, and as this album testifies, India and South Africa were no different."
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