Louisiana-born Rufus Perryman gets things underway. Known as Speckled Red--he was an albino--he was based in St Louis at the time of the recordings. The first of three original tunes is the instrumental "Dad's Piece," which has a sound that appears rooted in the classic ragtime era, whilst the heritage of the two vocal pieces, "Early In The Morning," and "Oh Red" appears more recent, judging by the former's strong boogie woogie underpinnings.

Doug Suggs, who was born in St. Louis, fills the second slot. The first of two tracks, "Doug's Jump," is a classy steady rolling blues instrumental, with Suggs' left hand providing an excellent illustration of the walking bass line. Things are slowed down a little for Claude Brown's "Sweet Patootie," but the playing remains very fine. Suggs then gives way to another Louisiana born St. Louis settler, the prolific James "The Bat" Robinson. Both of Robinson's songs, "Bat's Blues" and "Four O'Clock" are what the majority of people would most readily recognise as blues.

Female piano virtuoso Billie Pierce dominates the newly discovered tracks. These start with a couple of classics: "Keep A Knockin'," done a bit slower than Little Richard, and "See See Rider," which features an extended piano introduction. After the slow original, "Florida Blues," Billie Pierce shares the mic with husband Dede as they take things to the church for a couple of takes of "Bye and Bye." The first positively rattles along, before the pace is cooled a little for the second.

Doug Suggs reappears to do a great job as closer. The delightful rolling blues instrumental, "Smoke Like Lightning," is followed by another classy piece, "Slow and Low," which rounds off the musical part of the album. All that remains is for Suggs to provide some insights into his musical career with a little prompting from Erwin Helfer.

"Primitive Piano" is a fine album. Lovers of piano playing will find much to admire here. There is a range of styles on display that crosses the borders between blues and jazz, once more showing the close links between them. The quality of the recordings is very good, with the exception of one or two patches early on during the interview. In addition to being full of fine piano playing, "Primitive Piano" provides an interesting historical snapshot of who was in and around St. Louis scene almost 50 years ago.

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