Sidney Bechet - Sidney Bechet: Petite Fleur - His 48 Finest 1923-1953 (2020)

It was Duke Ellington who said: “Bechet to me was the very epitome of jazz”. Indeed Sidney Bechet (1897-1959) was one of the supreme talents of jazz history; as a soloist rivalled only by Louis Armstrong, and the creator of a jazz language for his favoured instrument, the soprano saxophone (as well as being an unsurpassed clarinetist). Retrospective’s Petite Fleur (the title of his biggest international hit) offers a unique 2 CD survey of an extraordinary career, from his very first issued record, Wild Cat Blues of 1923, through to highlights of his later years in Paris. In between is a sequence of unsurpassed jazz masterpieces: Really The Blues, Summertime, Indian Summer, Blues In Thirds, Egyptian Fantasy, Blue Horizon and so many more: 48 classics lasting 2 hours and 38 minutes. The tracks also present a gallery of Bechet’s foremost fellow soloists, including Tommy Ladnier, Muggy Spanier, Charlie Shavers, Vic Dickenson, Albert Nicholas, Mezz Mezzrow, Earl Hines, Bunk Johnson and, of course, Louis Armstrong. No jazz collection can be complete without a Sidney Bechet compilation, and this is the one to have.

Tracklist:
1-1. Sidney Bechet - Petite Fleur (03:13)
1-2. Sidney Bechet - Wild Cat Blues (03:02)
1-3. Sidney Bechet - Kansas City Man Blues (03:00)
1-4. Sidney Bechet - Sweetie Dear (02:51)
1-5. Sidney Bechet - Maple Leap Rag (02:56)
1-6. Sidney Bechet - Dear Old Southland (02:36)
1-7. Sidney Bechet - Okey-Dokey (02:54)
1-8. Sidney Bechet - Blackstick (02:47)
1-9. Sidney Bechet - Really the Blues (03:39)
1-10. Sidney Bechet - Weary Blues (03:03)
1-11. Sidney Bechet - Summertime (04:10)
1-12. Sidney Bechet - High Society (02:50)
1-13. Sidney Bechet - Indian Summer (03:10)
1-14. Sidney Bechet - Sweet Lorraine (04:23)
1-15. Sidney Bechet - China Boy (03:53)
1-16. Sidney Bechet - Four or Five Times (04:05)
1-17. Sidney Bechet - Perdido Street Blues (03:08)
1-18. Sidney Bechet - Shake It and Break It (02:40)
1-19. Sidney Bechet - Wild Man Blues (03:21)
1-20. Sidney Bechet - Old Man Blues (02:50)
1-21. Sidney Bechet - Blues In Thirds (02:58)
1-22. Sidney Bechet - Ain't Misbehavin' (02:55)
1-23. Sidney Bechet - Egyptian Fantasy (03:03)
1-24. Sidney Bechet - The Sheik of Araby (02:12)
1-25. Sidney Bechet - When It's Sleepy Time Down South (03:00)
2-26. Sidney Bechet - I'm Coming, Virginia (02:38)
2-27. Sidney Bechet - Strange Fruit (02:31)
2-28. Sidney Bechet - Blue In the Air (02:45)
2-29. Sidney Bechet - Twelfth Street Rag (03:00)
2-30. Sidney Bechet - Mood Indigo (03:11)
2-31. Sidney Bechet - After You've Gone (04:52)
2-32. Sidney Bechet - St. Louis Blues (04:48)
2-33. Sidney Bechet - Blue Horizon (04:27)
2-34. Sidney Bechet - Milenberg Joys (04:18)
2-35. Sidney Bechet - Days Beyond Recall (04:51)
2-36. Sidney Bechet - Out of the Gallion (02:31)
2-37. Sidney Bechet - Blame It On the Blues (02:56)
2-38. Sidney Bechet - Old Stack O'Lee Blues (04:14)
2-39. Sidney Bechet - Buddy Bolden Stomp (02:46)
2-40. Sidney Bechet - Where Am I? (04:41)
2-41. Sidney Bechet - I've Found a New Baby (03:08)
2-42. Sidney Bechet - Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams (03:01)
2-43. Sidney Bechet - Margie (02:22)
2-44. Sidney Bechet - Black and Blue (02:24)
2-45. Sidney Bechet - Le Marchand de Poissons (02:45)
2-46. Sidney Bechet - Si Tu Vois Ma Mère (03:14)
2-47. Sidney Bechet - The Black Bottom (03:26)
2-48. Sidney Bechet - C Jam Blues (04:41)