In addition to the nine performances of
Handy songs included on this Blues Foundation of Memphis-produced document, there is also a wealth of interview excerpts from 1950 to 1955. The music is wide-ranging, from a 1923 instrumental "Memphis Blues" cut by
Handy's Orchestra up to a 1962
Louis Armstrong remote. Also included is a 1934 aircheck vocal take of the aforementioned "Memphis Blues" sung by
Mae West with
the Duke Ellington Orchestra, as well as the 1929 film soundtrack to
Bessie Smith's St. Louis Blues.
–
Jason Ankeny, Rovi