For generations, Sidney Bechet's legacy of great jazz recordings has been reissued carefully, both casually and haphazardly. One of several chronological options, the 12-volume Masters of Jazz "Complete Edition" takes a most exactingly thorough approach, mapping Bechet's every appearance in the recording studio, week by week and session by session, regardless of who was initially designated as the primary artist. 1923, Vol. 1 in the series covers a four-month period from late July to early November 1923…
To say that this limited-edition six-LP Mosaic box is overflowing with classics is an understatement. Included are a variety of small-group sessions (with overlapping personnel) from the early days of Blue Note. The Edmond Hall Celeste Quartet has five songs that are the only existing examples of Charlie Christian playing acoustic guitar; clarinetist Hall, Meade Lux Lewis (on celeste), and bassist Israel Crosby complete the unique group. The king of stride piano, James P. Johnson, is heard on eight solos; other combos are led by Johnson, Hall (who heads four groups in all), trumpeter Sidney DeParis, and trombonist Vic Dickenson (heard in a 1952 quartet with organist Bill Doggett).