The dual purpose of each of these two compilations is to be didactic while providing good entertainment value. The educational component is the focus of the bilingual 24-page accompanying booklet, while the CD itself offers prime of the genre under study. The Blues CD features three tracks by Jimmy Rushing & Count Basie, and two each by Hot Lips Page, Cousin Joe, Sonny Boy Williamson, and Big Bill Bronzy, as well as nine tracks by others artists, all released prior to 1951. The booklet contains an essay by Jacques Morgantini on the notable stages in the history of the genre, as well as explanations of the 12-and eight-bar blues forms. The Jazz set is a little more problematic. The 21 tracks include seven by Duke Ellington and three each by Louis Armstrong and Count Basie. Morgantini does a good job explaining the makeup, of the jazz band and the genre itself, but the most recent track is from 1954, and the various ways the form has evolved since they are barely acknowledged, let alone explained. PEC – DIRTY LINEN
