Beating The Petrillo Ban. The Late December 1947 Modern Sessions (2013)

Tracklist
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CD1
01. Waterboy (Take 1) - The Ebonaires
02. I'll Never Do It Again (Take 4) - The Ebonaires
03. The Old Folks At Home (Take 1) - The Ebonaires
04. Poor Butterfly (Instrumental Take 1) - Hadda Brooks
05. Old Fashioned Love (Instrumental Take 3 master) - Hadda Brooks
06. Take Me (Take 1) - Hadda Brooks
07. The Best Things In Life Are Free (Take 1) - Hadda Brooks
08. This Will Make You Laugh (Take 3) - Hadda Brooks
09. Gravels In My Pillow (Take 1) - Al "Cake" Wichard Sextette & Duke Henderson
10. His Majesty's Boogie (Take 1) - Al "Cake" Wichard Sextette & Duke Henderson
11. Cake Jumps (Instrumental) - Al "Cake" Wichard Sextette
12. T.B. Blues (Take 2 master) - Al "Cake" Wichard Sextette & Jimmy Witherspoon
13. Snuff Dipping Mama (Take 1) - Gene Phillips And His Rhythm Aces
14. Gene's Guitar Blues (Take 2) - Gene Phillips
15. Broke And Disgusted (Take 1) - Gene Phillips And His Rhythm Aces
16. Royal Boogie (Take 1) - Gene Phillips And His Rhythm Aces
17. A Sailboat In the Moonlight (Take 10) - Hadda Brooks
18. Why Was I Born (Take 1) - Hadda Brooks
19. Mary Lou (Instrumental Take 1) - Hadda Brooks
20. Moonlight On The Ganges (Take 1 Instrumental) - Hadda Brooks
21. The Glory Of Love (Take 2 master) - Art Shackelford Sextette
22. Play Fiddle Play (Take 2 master) - Art Shackelford Sextette
23. The Jazz Me Blues (Take 4 master) - Art Shackelford Sextette
24. Beatin' The Ban (Take 1 master) - Art Shackelford Sextette
CD2
01. Connie Lee Blues (Take 2 master) - Al "Cake" Wichard Sextette & Jimmy Witherspoon
02. Big Fine Girl (Take 1) - Al "Cake" Wichard Sextette & Jimmy Witherspoon
03. That's Your Red Wagon (Take 3) - Al "Cake" Wichard Sextette & Jimmy Witherspoon
04. Sweet Lovin' Baby (Take 1) - Al "Cake" Wichard Sextette & Jimmy Witherspoon
05. Grandma Grandpa (Take 1) - Al "Cake" Wichard Sextette & Jimmy Witherspoon
06. Geneva Blues (Take 1) - Al "Cake" Wichard Sextette & Jimmy Witherspoon
07. Piece Of Cake (Take 2 Instrumental) - Al "Cake" Wichard Sextette
08. Boogie Woogie Baby (Take 2 master Instrumental) - Al "Cake" Wichard Sextette
09. Anna Lucasta (Take 3) - Hadda Brooks
10. I Can't Get Started (Take 5 master) - Hadda Brooks
11. I'll Get By (Take 2 master) - Hadda Brooks
12. Little Willie's Boogie (Take 1) - Little Willie Jackson
13. Shasta (Take 1) - Little Willie Jackson
14. Baby (Take 1) - Little Willie Jackson
15. Someday, Somehow, Somewhere (Take 2) - Little Willie Jackson
16. My Feet's Too Big (Take 2 master) - Butch Stone & his Orchestra
17. Put Your Brakes On Mama (Take 5 master) - Butch Stone & his Orchestra
18. Little Girl (Take 1 master) - Butch Stone & his Orchestra
19. Baby Face (Take 4 master) - Butch Stone & his Orchestra
20. Lonesome Road Blues (Take 1) - Madam Ira Mae Littlejohn
21. He'll Make The Way (Take 2 master) - Madam Ira Mae Littlejohn
22. What More Can Jesus Do (Take 1) - Madam Ira Mae Littlejohn
23. Go, Devil, Go (Take 1 master) - Madam Ira Mae Littlejohn
24. See Jesus (Take 1) - Madam Ira Mae Littlejohn
25. My Record Will Be There (Take 1 master) - Madam Ira Mae Littlejohn
During the first years of his nearly two-decade tenure as the president of the American Federation of Musicians, James Petrillo was instrumental in organizing a strike of musicians that effectively halted the recording industry from 1942 to 1944. Concerned that juke boxes were severely undercutting live revenue for touring musicians -- and that recorded music would similarly replace live radio sessions for professional musicians -- the AFM went on strike, leading to no recording company recording a musician they had under contract, either as leaders or as support for singers. This two-year strike hurt the recording industry, and so when the threat of another strike surfaced toward the end of 1947 -- this time, the point of contention was distribution of funds to musicians losing work due to juke boxes and radio -- the labels decided to stockpile tons of recordings, just in case this second strike lasted as long as the first. It didn't. This second strike only lasted throughout 1948 and when it ended, many musicians wanted to record new material, leaving labels with a surplus of recordings that eventually trickled out over the years. Ace's 2013 double-disc set Beating the Petrillo Ban: The Late December 1947 Modern Sessions rounds up 49 of these sessions, many of them alternate takes of cuts that were released elsewhere. This reliance on unheard material does mean there aren't so many unearthed classics, but that's also the pleasure of the set: it's the sound of working musicians working, knocking out songs in their repertoire or quickly running through new tunes because they know the clock is ticking. There is a looseness on these recordings, something that surfaces no matter what group is playing, probably because the artists had to produce so much music while under the gun. They're just hammering out the takes, and so while there's nothing exceptional, the consistency is rather remarkable: whether it's Hadda Brookes laying back with his trio or Gene Phillips jumping with his Rhythm Aces, or the Al "Cake" Wichard Sextet tearing it up with Jimmy Witherspoon, this is heartfelt groove music, everything relying on feel, not improvisation. And that's why this, even if it is admittedly second-tier and the kind of music that didn't make the cut the first time around, is so enjoyable: it's robust, swinging, humorous R&B, gospel, and jump blues. That it isn't exceptional almost makes it easier to cherish, because you wish that you could walk into any club and hear music this good.
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