For the most part this 8 CD set features the standard line-up of George Lewis's Ragtime Band of the 1950s: Howard, Robinson, Purnell, Marrero, Pavageau and Watkins. This was the key revivalist ensemble that spread the Bunk Johnson gospel to the world after the trumpeter's death in 1949. Indeed we hear an example of Lewis on his world travels in a set from Scandinavia with Papa Bue and his Viking band. Made up of broadcasts and concert recordings, there are no studio sessions in this box to compare with the finest Blue Note and Climax records, but the band could always play well in front of a crowd. Among Lewis collectors, the tracks here that comprise the Ohio State sessions and the Bakersfield concert (which dovetails with a live session released by Blue Note) are most prized. The Club Hangover sets from radio broadcasts have also been seen as excellent representations of the band at work. Consequently having all this material together in one place is a bonus, and gives one the opportunity to trace Lewis's remarkable consistency across most of a decade with a band of (actually not as old as they looked) veterans, who were imitated from Stockholm to Tokyo and from London to Berlin. In among the many tracks by the regular band are a few surprises. There's an excellent session led by trumpeter Percy Humphrey, notable for its more measured tempos, and for the fiery trumpet later to be familiar from thousands of Preservation Hall concerts. This might surprise diehard New Orleans fans for being a banjo-free zone and swinging better as a result. Lizzie Miles is the pick of the guest vocalists, although both Howard and Watkins are liberally featured singing on the broadcasts, no doubt to make the music as acceptable as possible to a non-specialist audience. Overall, 10 hours and a bit of the most famous revival band of the 1950s at its very best is a treat to treasure.