Though Bob Wills has long been heralded as a country-music icon (an inspiration for artists from Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson through Lyle Lovett and Asleep at the Wheel, and toasted by Waylon Jennings in "Bob Wills Is Still the King"), the Texas fiddler considered himself more of a jazz bandleader. The Texas Playboys' signature dance-floor style of Western swing encompassed blues, jazz, country, and pop standards, with a sophistication at odds with the era's image of "hillbilly music."
Vanguard may have spelled his name wrong (he prefers Charlie or Charles), but the word was out as soon as this solo debut was released: here was a harpist every bit as authentic, as emotional, and in some ways as adventuresome, as Paul Butterfield…
The title of this release is thoroughly misleading. The album contains nothing like the ''Complete Flute Sonatas'' of C. P. E. Bach but only those for flute with obbligato harpsichord, of which there are but five. Eleven others for flute and continuo are omitted, along with Bach's single work for unaccompanied flute. Instead, the remaining five sonatas in the programme consist of two (BWV1020 and 1031) whose authorship has long been a matter of dispute; a trio for flute, violin and bass (H578) in which the violin part has been taken over by the right hand of the keyboard; another (H543) in which a similar adjustment has been made to Bach's two differently scored originals; and a duet for violin and harpsichord (H504) in which the violin part is taken by the flute. So, you can see that the title of the album is somewhat economical with the truth, though the accompanying essay by Barthold Kuijken clarifies the position.– Nicholas Anderson, Gramophone [5/1994]