Norfolk Jubilee Quartet - Norfolk Jazz And Jubilee Quartets Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Vol 6 1937-1940
STYLE: Gospel RATING OUR PRODUCT CODE: 21342-12067 LABEL: Document DOCD5386 FORMAT: CD Album ITEMS: 1 RRP: £9.99
Reviewed by Tony Cummings
My review of Vol 5 spoke about the split personality of these pre-war harmonisers, one moment exhorting us to "Shine For Jesus" (track 17 here) and the next moment (track 18) confiding how they "Like My Jelly Roll" (and they weren't talking about mama's home-made dessert). But whatever the questionable content of the songs when they did their Norfolk Jazz Quartet bit, as church performers and a jubilee recording act they were masters. Listen to their sublime versions of "Stand By Me" or "Jesus Is Making Up My Dying Bed" and one will hear harmonisers at the top of their game. As second tenor Raymond Smith noted, "We were cleaning up around here (New York). Nobody was doing what we were doing. After we got here, we learned the style of most of the groups. Everybody was humming and 'homp-homp'. So we would say the words to the songs in harmony." The last session for the group was on 20th April 1940. Prophetically, one of the songs recorded was "The Death Train Is Coming". On 2nd June 1940 the group's founder and longtime manager Len Wilson died aged 40. The group struggled on briefly but soon folded. The 23 tracks gathered here contain some of the finest acapella gospel recordings ever made.
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