Acclaim and 5-Star Reviews Roll In From NY Times, NPR, Wall Street Journal, MOJO, Financial Times (UK), Etc.
Louis Armstrong House Museum To Host Event with Liner Note Writer David Sager Sept. 17
Ma Rainey: Mother Of The Blues, The Complete Paramount Recordings 1923-1928 Represents Major Leap Forward In Audio Quality
5CD, 118-Track Box Set Includes Four Previously Unreissued Recordings; Never-Before-Published Photos;
100+ Page Book With In-Depth Biography, Track-By-Track Liner Notes, Discography, And More
The complete recordings of Blues queen Gertrude “Ma” Rainey — who was portrayed by Viola Davis in the 2020 OSCAR-winning 2020 film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (Netflix) and by Mo’Nique in the 2015 film Bessie (HBO); explored in Angela Davis’ landmark book Blues Legacies & Black Feminism; inducted into both the Rock & Roll and Blues Halls of Fame; and recipient of a 2023 GRAMMY Lifetime Achievement Award recipient — were released in by-far the best audio quality to date. Black Swan Records / George H. Buck Jazz Foundation put out Mother of the Blues, The Complete Paramount Recordings, 1923-1928 on July 24. The New York Times ran a feature on the set; MOJO Magazine gave the set five stars; and NPR Weekend Edition interviewed foreword writer Dom Flemons about the box set.
Hear/share “Barrel House Blues” (take 1) here.
The Louis Armstrong House Museum in Queens, NY will host an event entitled The Restored “Ma” Rainey, Mother of the Blues: Her Life, Career & The Definitive New Box Set With liner note writer David Sager on September 17. Learn more about the event here or RSVP to nick.losseaton@gmail.com to attend. Sager and foreword writer Gaye Adegbalola will appear on WNYC All Of It on September 16.
Here’s what the press is saying:
“Working from archives and private collections, engineers restored notes and uncovered previously unheard details for a compilation that displays Rainey’s wide-ranging impact.”
– Emma Madden, New York Times, July 29, 2026
“This set resurrects the gold-neck woman whose rich voice dominated early 20th century popular music, with beautifully restored versions of her essential golden-age sides.”
– Ann Powers, NPR Music, July 25, 2026
“A music legend made brilliantly clear… This watershed boxed set features cutting-edge remasters of the singer’s 1920s recordings, substantiating her centrality in blues and beyond.”
–Barry Mazor, Wall Street Journal, July 20, 2026
“Uncovers nuance within that powerful voice and hidden details in her musical support.”
–Mike Hobart, Financial Times (UK), August 13, 2026
“Triumphantly reasserts Ma Rainey’s place in the blues pantheon… Her voice carried the weight and authority of an artist who knew the world she described, and how to make it bearable for the people who had to live there.”
–Tony Russell, MOJO Magazine, September, 2026, 5 stars (out of 5)
“It’s a lot to take in, but well worth the deep dive into one of the most impressive and influential artists in blues history.”
–Grant Britt, No Depression, August 3, 2026
“‘Now, you heard the rest, boys, I’m gonna show you the best’ she told us in the intro to her 1927 recording of ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’. The boast was not an idle one… the dynamic power and command of her rugged and earthy voice, moaning and shouting in a rich contralto that hardly required a microphone”
–Nigel Williamson, UNCUT, August 6, 2026
“Impressive booklet… Producer and engineer Doug Benson has done a meticulous job of getting the clearest possible sound from these discs… he does achieve a better result than I’ve heard.”
–Paul Slade, Songlines Magazine (UK), August, 2026
“Rainey never received a proper critical reappraisal due to the poor sound quality of her original shellac 78s.The five-disc Ma Rainey: Mother of the Blues, The Complete Paramount Recordings, 1923-1928 from the historic Harlem label Black Swan Records and the George H. Buck Jazz Foundation, changes that at last… It is essential for pre-War blues fans.”
–Thom Jurek, All Music, July 26, 2026
“This release is a major event… This compilation, which consists of Rainey’s entire known Paramount recorded output (including several previously unreleased alternate takes and test pressings), is more than a long-overdue tribute—it’s a modern-day masterpiece, worthy of equal consideration alongside the music it documents.”
–David Whiteis, Living Blues Magazine, September, 2026
“Ma Rainey’s Mother of the Blues: The Complete Paramount Recordings 1923-1928 is a treasure trove that fully lives up to both of Rainey’s famous sobriquets… hearing these recordings in something like a pristine state was a revelation. Even someone familiar to Rainey from streaming sites or older CDs will have their ears opened by the newly accessible detail, range, and sheer force of many of these tracks.”
–David Pike, PopMatters, July 16, 2026, 10 (out of 10) review
“The package’s audio is generally surprisingly good. Its 12”x12” 100-page paperback book has song lyrics, sessionography, and essays including detective work to separate fact from fiction in her legend.”
–Bruce Sylvester, Goldmine Magazine, June 19, 2026
“A vital, breathtaking masterpiece that firmly re-establishes Ma Rainey in her rightful artistic position… By stripping away decades of surface noise, the audio restoration team has effectively unlocked Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey’s voice from the cheap shellac that long obscured her authentic voice, bringing it from quaint nostalgia to a living, revealing document. Listeners can finally appreciate the full weight of her booming contralto, her precise comedic and dramatic timing, and the intricate, swinging brilliance of her backing bands. In an era where her lyrical courage feels more modern than ever, this box set ensures that Rainey is no longer just a footnote in textbooks or a distant myth. For both devoted blues scholars and casual historians, this collection stands as the definitive testament to a woman who didn’t just sing the blues; she gave them their blueprint.”
–C. Michael Bailey, All About Jazz, July 18, 2026
The release re-contextualizes Rainey’s importance within their own time. While Son House, Robert Johnson, and Charley Patton are much better known today due to name-checks and cover songs by rock & roll artists, Rainey’s record sales and jukebox plays far outstripped them. Unlike in the film, the box set also restores her credits as her own manager for nearly thirty years and a songwriter or co-writer on at least one third of her recordings, according to registered copyrights. The box set includes four previously unreissued alternate takes.
The meticulously-researched accompanying book by three-time GRAMMY-nominee David Sager, includes never-before-published photographs of Rainey and her band members; an in-depth biography; newspaper clippings; sheet music; contracts; marriage license; copyrights; advertisements; track-by-track liner notes; a complete discography; fully transcribed lyrics; credits; forewords by Dom Flemons and Gaye Todd Adegbalola.
Doug Benson oversaw detailed audio restoration, beginning with compiling the best surviving 78s of all 118 songs he could find. He then began a comprehensive remastering effort. In a few instances, he chose to leave in surface noise if removing it would have adversely affected the music. The decision was made to remaster rather than de-mix and remix the audio for two major reasons: one, that de-mixing software doesn’t work well on acoustical recordings, which make up about half of this set; and two, to be faithful to the original releases as they were presented at the time. His previous restoration work includes Louis Armstrong Paramount sides for Black Swan as well as a GRAMMY-nominated set for King Oliver (Archeophone Records).
Soon-to-be jazz and blues icons Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Fletcher Henderson, Blind Blake, Tampa Red were among her accompanying musicians on record. Sunnyland Slim and T-Bone Walker toured in her band. The box set shines a light on another female pioneer, frequent accompanist pianist Lovie Austin. Thomas A. Dorsey, before he became a gospel pioneer, often recorded with her. He said, “As far as I’m concerned, Ma was the greatest of the blues singers.”
Rainey, most likely born April 26, 1882 in Russell County, AL (per census records), first heard the blues in 1902 in rural Missouri and began incorporating it into her shows more and more as audiences responded to it. By that point, she was already performing in tent shows, singing both minstrel songs and then the more contemporary vaudeville styles. She toured with her husband William “Pa” Rainey until his illness and subsequent passing in 1919. She was known for her opulence, often decked out in jewelry and wearing a gold tooth. In 1926, at the peak of her popularity, she bought a Mack bus for $13,000 that would transport her and the twenty other performers in her traveling shows. She performed for audiences of blacks and whites, though they were segregated within the tents and theaters. In 1939, legendary A&R exec John Hammond went looking for her for his legendary Carnegie Hall concert From Spirituals To Swing but she had retired, passing away that same year.
Her label throughout her recording career was Paramount Records. By 1923, J. Mayo Williams, formerly distributor for black-owned Black Swan Records, moved to Paramount as Recording Director (something like A&R). Paramount was chiefly a furniture company that sold records in order to sell more record players and they did not care particularly about the quality of the recordings or the shellac 78s. Even after switching from acoustical recording to electrical recording in 1926, the quality still lagged behind that of other labels, such as the Bessie Smith catalogue on Columbia Records.
Memphis Minnie wrote a song “Ma Rainey” in her honor in 1941. In 1992, restoration of Ma Rainey’s house in Columbus, Georgia began. BB King aided efforts, headlining a benefit concert. The house is now the Ma Rainey House & Blues Museum. August Wilson wrote the play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (which later became the film) in 1982. The Library of Congress added recording of “See See Rider,” accompanied by Louis Armstrong, to the National Recording Registry in 2004.
Now, longtime fans and new listeners are able to experience the power of her music in the best audio quality to date.
