If he Hollers

To mark the tenth anniversary of the release of I’m New Here , the thirteenth - and last - studio album from the legendary US musician, poet and author Gil Scott-Heron, XL Recordings will release a unique reinterpretation of the album by acclaimed US jazz musician Makaya McCraven. The Chicago drummer and producer transforms Gil-Scott Heron's final album into a masterpiece of dirty blues, spiritual jazz, and deep yearning. (Pitchfork)

From the earthy guitar-driven country blues of Blind Lemon Jefferson and Charley Patton to the sequined glamour of the classic blues singers Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey, this Rough Guide charts the early recorded history of the blues through its key pioneers.

Harlan Leonard first showed up on traditional jazz radar as a member of Bennie Moten's Kansas City Orchestra. He joined in 1923 and served as a vertebra in the backbone of the Moten reed section until 1931. Teaming up with another Moten veteran, Leonard worked with Thamon Hayes' Skyrockets, helping to steer this band until it too dissolved in 1937. Leonard formed his own Rockets in 1938. In 1940 they appeared at the Golden Gate Ballroom in New York, recorded about 23 sides for Bluebird, toured all over the continental United States, and finally disbanded in 1945 while working in California. This band contained a lot of young talent from Kansas City. Hearing all of their records in one package is a gas. Swing had matured. It was obviously ready to lunge forward into big-band modernity…