Although a tribute to the music of the legendary cornetist Bix Beiderbecke, the ten selections on this 1955 LP are really jam sessions with no attempt to recreate Beiderbecke's recordings or solos. Condon's band on this occasion features Wild Bill Davison or Bobby Hackett on cornet, trombonist Cutty Cutshall, Dick Cary on alto horn, clarinetist Edmond Hall and a fine rhythm section. Highlights include "At the Jazz Band Ball," "I'll Be a Friend with Pleasure," "Fidgety Feet" and "Royal Garden Blues."

Eddie Condon's second LP for Columbia (and his first not to be shared with another band) is a side of Columbia's jazz output that's appreciated too little today - the label may not always have recorded enough, or enough of its artists the right way doing the right repertory, but with Condon they got it right. The goal here was to capture Condon and his band jamming as they might at his club, with various friends joining in, working in the optimized setting of Columbia's 30th Street Studio in Manhattan. Peanuts Hucko (clarinet), Lou McGarity (trombone), Bud Freeman (tenor sax), Dick Cary (alto horn), and Billy Butterfield (trumpet) were the guests on the two sets of sessions held one week apart. Of the five resulting numbers, the 13-minute "How Come You Do Me Like You Do" is the highlight, with a killer horn solo by Cary and beautiful solos by Cutty Cutshall, McGarity, and Freeman as well…

This is how traditional Chicago-style jazz sounded in New York during the mid-1940s. When he wasn't brusquely emceeing these bands on-stage at Town Hall, guitarist and organizer Eddie Condon presented this music on the air and in the recording studio. The phonographic evidence, chronologically arranged and carefully documented, makes for enjoyable listening. Three V-Disc sides for the armed forces have Hot Lips Page lined up next to Sterling Bose, Miff Mole and Pee Wee Russell. This interesting blend of musicians from radically different social and ethnic backgrounds is typical of Condon. Lips sings on a nearly four-and-a-half-minute version of the "Uncle Sam Blues," a wry ode to military conscription…

Here is a particularly tasty portion of old-fashioned Chicago-style jazz, calmly dished out by some of Condon's very best bands. "Jackson Teagarden and his trombone" deliver the nicest portrait of "Diane" ever painted. "Serenade to a Shylock" slowly ambles through Mr. T's vocal and suddenly kicks up into a stomp, sharpened at the edges by Pee Wee Russell's gloriously filthy clarinet. Bud Freeman glides effortlessly into "Sunday" and "California." Bud's relaxing influence bathes the entire band in rosy light even during upbeat finales. On August 11, 1939, Davey Tough actually made it into a recording studio. While George Wettling and Lionel Hampton had each served ably on the preceding tracks, it's invigorating to hear Mr. Tough driving the band the way he did…

For many, Eddie Condon's name is synonymous with swing-infused Chicago-style Dixieland, which he embodied in almost every way. Although not considered a great technician, Condon was a great section man, a guitarist who provided a solid rhythmic root. More than that, he was an organizer who sponsored and influenced innumerable musicians. These eight CDs feature groups led by players associated with Eddie Condon. Although Condon only performs on a handful of the tracks, his spirit is pervasive, and the collection is unified not only by style but also by something more ethereal as well. As is common with the Mosaic box sets, there is a commitment to quality recording that often begins with long-forgotten original masters…

Eddie Condon and his band - including Wild Bill Davison (cornet), Cutty Cutshall (trombone), Edmond Hall (clarinet), Gene Schroeder (piano), Walter Page (bass), Dick Cary (trumpet), Lou McGarrity (trombone), Peanuts Hucko (clarinet), Cliff Leeman (drums), and George Wettling (drums) for the extended "Jam Session Blues" - cut four tracks for this LP (which they shared with the Rampart Street Paraders). The four Condon numbers are extraordinary pieces, capturing a working band that played nightly at Condon's during their peak, and though they're in the studio they might as well have been playing live for all of the spirit and verve captured on these sides…

Here's a package that defines traditional Chicago-styled jazz from the roots on up. Closely patterned after the style of Bix Beiderbecke, four hot stomps recorded for the OKeh label in December of 1927 form a handsome keystone to the Eddie Condon chronology. It's the Austin High Gang, appearing on record as McKenzie & Condon's Chicagoans, and they swing hard. What a great front line: Frank Teschemacher, Jimmy McPartland, and Bud Freeman. Gene Krupa kicks like a mule. Legend has it Mezz Mezzrow played cymbals, although Condon claimed all Mezz did was hold on to the bass drum so Krupa wouldn't knock it across the room…