The granddaddy of jazz piano – mentor of Fats Waller and hero to Thelonious Monk – has received a worthy tribute in this set, which covers his epoch-making solo stride classics as well as his stomping rhythm-section work in a variety of settings. Because he was also prized as a vocal accompanist, there’s a quantity of singers, ranging from the barely competent (e.g. songwriter-producer Clarence Williams) to the majestic Bessie Smith, for whom James P provides the backing on no fewer than 14 tracks, beginning with the famous ‘Back Water Blues’. The 20 solo sides here also start with a classic in ‘Carolina Shout’, though some others are equally impressive, even those that were originally unissued. The band sessions are a mixed bag in the positive sense – look at that list of the trumpeters involved – but their quality (as well as the sound quality) improves noticeably after the Depression years. Strangely enough, this is partly because of the early jazz critics Hugues Panassie and John Hammond who, between them, produced six 1938-39 sessions for the emerging fans who wanted to hear ‘the real thing’. Even though James P is less front- and-centre here, he’s a powerful force at all times and needs to be reckoned with.