Louis Vasnier

Thirty years before some fiddlers from Texas, Oklahoma, and Georgia started recording a new genre of music called “hillbilly,” a Creole of color from the Seventh Ward of New Orleans named Louis Vasnier (1858–1902) beat them to the punch. Recorded in 1891, “Thompson’s Old Gray Mule” is the most raucous version of a song that, better known as “Johnson’s Old Gray Mule,” would enter the country music canon. But Vasnier did more than give us what is arguably the oldest country record in existence. For the short-lived Louisiana Phonograph Company he also waxed sermons by a fictional preacher named Brudder Rasmus, and “Adam and Eve and de Winter Apple” joins “Thompson” on this 45-rpm vinyl single. Vasnier’s two surviving cylinders are the earliest extant sounds from New Orleans. In them, he summons up the atmosphere and the culture of the Crescent City during the time Buddy Bolden was still a teenager. This collection includes a 16-page booklet with notes and new research by Richard Martin that provides a deeper understanding of these recordings, the history of the Louisiana Phonograph Company, and significant new findings on the life and times of Louis “Bebe” Vasnier. Read more
List price: $17.99

Fifty-four tracks by 43 artists, and 60 pages of in-depth commentary and analysis: Lost Sounds is a monumental achievement that stretches back to the faint beginnings of commercial recordings and travels to the brink of the Jazz Age to trace the contributions of black artists on American records. Sometimes noisy and raucous, sometimes quiet and austere, these recordings demonstrate the deep involvement and lasting influence of African Americans in the nascent recording industry. Read more
List price: $29.99

The 1923 recordings by King Oliver’s working Chicago band are the stuff of legend. Nothing like them had ever been heard on record before, and nothing in jazz would be the same afterward. Here, for the first time, all 37 sides are presented—in release order—on two LPs and two CDs, along with 55 additional tracks (on CDs 3 and 4) that allow us to understand these musical giants not only as innovators but also as products of the acoustic-era recording industry. With all-new restorations and remastering by Richard Martin, these selections have never sounded better. Further, there’s an 80-page book included, where GRAMMY-winning author Ricky Riccardi insightfully tells the story of the relationship between “Papa Joe” Oliver and “Little Louis” Armstrong and gives detailed notes on the tracks. Produced by Archeophone’s Meagan Hennessey and Richard Martin, GRAMMY-winning producers of Lost Sounds. Celebrate the 100th anniversary of these landmark records!  Read more
List price: $114.95  Sale price $109.95