Old Jazz, New Bottles

The Times has a piece this morning about the “Savory collection”-a series of radio broadcasts from the ’30s, many never heard since, recorded by engineer William Savory and including performances from Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Coleman Hawkins, Lester Young and Bunny Berigan, among others. The collection has been acquired by the National Jazz Museum in Harlem, which is now digitizing the performances. This is the kind of thing that makes jazz fans moisten their undergarments, and for good reason: Take a listen to the four minute blues improvisation by Armstrong, Fats Waller and Jack Teagarden available here and imagine what else this 1000-disc collection is going to yield. Get excited.