Ike Quebec - Swing Hi Swing Lo (1999)

This 22-track collection features all of the masters recorded by Ike Quebec as a leader for both Blue Note and Savoy -- sadly, far too few. Definitive's collection adds three bonus tracks to the original American release. Here Quebec is heard in fine hard jump swinging settings from July of 1944 through August of 1945, with sidemen that include stalwarts such as J.C. Heard, Milt Hinton, Tiny Grimes, Oscar Pettiford, Jonah Jones, Grachan Moncur III, Buck Clayton, and Johnny Guarnieri, among others. Some of the master takes here include signature tunes such as "Tiny Exercise," "Indiana," "Blue Harlem," "Zig Billion," "I.Q. Blues," and "Jim Dawgs." It's not as complete as the Mosaic set, but it's really an astonishing 22 cuts that sound fabulous and offer a wide-angle view of the many sides of Quebec's blue methodology on the horn.