Eddie Lang
did not lead many sessions during his short life, and the great majority are on this
Yazoo
collection. The most in-demand guitarist of 1925-1933,
Lang
's rare opportunities to head his own dates put the focus on his single-note lines and gave him a chance to be in the spotlight rather than making other players sound good. This album has two unaccompanied solos (including
Rachmaninoff
's
Prelude
), duets with pianists
Frank Signorelli
,
Arthur Schutt
, and
Rube Bloom
, and three of his famous collaborations with fellow guitarist
Lonnie Johnson
. However, the most memorable tracks are
's two exciting duets with guitarist
Carl Kress
:
"Pickin' My Way"
and an alternate take of
"Feeling My Way."
This is highly recommended music from the best
jazz
guitarist prior to the rise of
Django Reinhardt
. ~ Scott Yanow