Bartholomew's Belles: New Orleans R&B Women 49-57

From the late 1940s to the mid-1960s, and as a singer, trumpeter, arranger, songwriter and producer, the late Dave Bartholomew was without question New Orleans's leading talent scout and hitmaker. If Fats Domino had been Dave's only protégé, he still would be regarded as a legend. But Dave discovered, nurtured and produced dozens of Crescent City artists, and was THE man where such things were concerned until Allen Toussaint claimed the crown from the early 60s onwards. Solo male artists and vocal groups were undoubtedly what Dave did best, but he also recorded some of New Orleans' finest female vocalists of the era. They were not as commercially successful as their male counterparts overall, but the quality of their records was every bit as good by comparison. 'Bartholomew's Belles' collects every issued master (and a couple of originally unissued ones) by every female vocalist that Dave recorded for Imperial Records between 1949 and 1957. The most famous of these is undoubtedly Jewel King who, but for a possessive husband, might have become the female Fats Domino in terms of success. But there are also those gals whose recordings have gone on to become cult classics in more recent times, Rose Mitchell and Blanche Thomas for example. Dave's high standards of professionalism make every track here a winner in it's own way. This is a high-quality addition to Jasmine's ongoing and ever-building catalogue of New Orleans R&B from the 40s and 50s, including recent collections by Jesse Allen, Sugar Boy Crawford, Paul Gayten, Annie Laurie and our double CD of Dave's own Imperial recordings as an artist, 'Jump Children'. The songs here are presented chronologically, and as ever the CD booklet features a wealth of illustrations and as detailed a note on these mostly great unknowns as you would expect from a Jasmine release. 'Bartholomew's Belles' is truly vintage female R&B at it's very best.