Bowler-hatted, cigar-chomping, the Harlem stride pianist and composer Willie ‘The Lion’ Smith – the nickname came from his prowess as a WW1 US soldier – addressed the keyboard with a kind of imperious disdain, its master in every way. An early mentor to Duke Ellington, who dedicated his composition ‘Portrait of the Lion’ to him, Smith, cited by some as ‘a celebrated braggart’, lived long enough to make his mark in Europe and left a vast legacy of recordings. These the Acrobat quality control team have sifted and selected (or at least that proportion of them in the public domain) over four CDs.

The opening tracks from the 1920s are testimony to Smith’s immersion in the Harlem recording scene, his busy, ragtime style shining through in among the various jug bands and the like. This is, by any definition, ‘hot’ jazz, with invigorating solos, notably by the early virtuoso trombonist Jimmy Harrison, segueing into small group swing led by Smith on Decca, his band usually called his Cubs, stompy piano and vocals paramount. Novelties, hokum too, show-off music often. Long forgotten soloists like trumpeter Ed Allen and reedman Cecil Scott shine, Smith’s strong stride patterns and filigree touches always evident. Later sides include the likes of Frankie Newton and wheezy altoist Pete Brown, the accent on neat charts and punchy solos. Then come the array of 1939 solo sides from the Commodore label, these serving to move Smith from a Harlem club player into the mainstream, this eventually leading to his later fame as a travelling soloist. Arrogant he may have been but, my, how he could play. Broad-minded collectors should get this – its like may not come your way again.