Matchbox Bluesmaster Series, Vol. 11: Black Diamond Express

Description

The 42 albums that make up the iconic Matchbox Bluesmaster Series were released by Saydisc Records during the 1980s under the editorship of well known Austrian collector, Johnny Parth. With the erudite notes by Paul Oliver they established a benchmark for releases of early blues, gospel and hokum. The series now continues with a further 5 x 6 CD sets containing albums released by Saydisc on its then newly formed Matchbox label a decade earlier, which introduced collectors to many blues, hokum, ragtime and gospel artists that had not been re-issued at that time as well as recordings made in the US between 1966 and 1972 of singers in the classic blues tradition. The final set (Sept 2023) will be devoted to Matchbox's central role in the 1960's British Blues Boom bringing the total number of CDs in this mammoth exploration of blues roots series to 72.

In this, the 11th and penultimate 6 CD set, we feature blues piano - a much neglected area of the blues - from the unique playing of Cripple Clarence Lofton to two albums from "The High Sherriff From Hell" himself, Peetie Wheatstraw, and a cross section of the music of Little Brother Montgomery and much else besides. Kokomo Arnold is the one non-piano playing blues artist on this set and, in his short recording career, marked himself out as a seminal figure. He also appears with Peetie Wheatstraw on a number of tracks. The last disc in this set is devoted to a wide range of pre and post war Gospel music which has been honed down from the original double LP release Black Diamond Express To Hell.