Search - Jay Wilbur :: Sing Baby Sing 1934-1939

THE CREAM OF LONDON'S SESSION MUSICIANS

Barry McCanna | Normandy, France | 05/03/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jay Wilbur deserves to be better known, because his output was quite prodigious, first for Dominion then, from mid-1930, for Crystalate. As the studio director he could call upon the cream of London's musicians and vocalists, so his recordings bear comparison with the best. Furthermore to begin with Crystalate produced cut-price records which were sold exclusively in Woolworth's. The reason for his relative obscurity is that to give the impression of a roster of bands they were issued under a variety of pseudonyms.



So he is long overdue proper recognition, and this first volume spans the mid to late thirties, with just one 1940 track included. It's a well-balanced compilation, embracing a variety of styles and vocalists and enabling us en route to hear musicians of the calibre of Max Goldberg, Ted Heath and Freddy Gardner, to name but a few. The records may have been cut-price, but there was nothing cheap about the performances."