Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Not much remembered today, the Norfolk Jubilee Quartet from Norfolk, Virginia were a hugely important group in their day who influenced seminal acts like the Golden Gate Quartet and the Soul Stirrers. As Ray Funk's sleevenote here reads, "The Norfolk's arrangements have a unique propulsive character that would seem to be driven by the tension created by the bass singer's interjections on their more uptempo arrangements. The group's mastery of tight harmony is demonstrated on a fine version of "Let The Church Roll On" while elsewhere tracks like "Daniel In The Lion's Den" and the gospel evergreen "The Old Account Was Settled Long Ago" work well. Less interesting are the two secular songs here, "Queen St Rag" and "Louisiana Bo Bo" while one or two of the slower songs teeter into (white) barbershop harmony style with the archetypal lengthening of the final syllable of the song's lines. But there are plenty of good cuts in the 24 lovingly presented here, showing that the Norfolk's were fine exponents of jubilee singing.

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