AMG Review of Eddie Condon & Friends

Greg Adams
All Music Guide

The 23 radio transcriptions on Eddie Condon and Friends were recorded in 1943-1944 for the World Broadcasting System, all of which include Condon as rhythm guitarist and official or unofficial leader. Eleven tracks are credited to Eddie Condon and His Band and include a handful of vocal tracks with Jack Teagarden, Lee Wiley, and Red McKenzie, plus a couple of brief-but-swinging jam sessions. Five of the remaining cuts are from a session billed to cornetist Wild Bill Davison but with essentially the same group as the Condon Band tracks. The remaining eight transcriptions find trumpeter Max Kaminsky fronting a very different combo on a program that spotlights his solid if unspectacular leads. Condon devotees will appreciate this archival collection of noncommercial recordings, well-mastered and well-annotated for maximum collector appeal.