The research into music programming for concerts at Jazz at Lincoln Center has always been top-notch, providing important informational fodder for reviewers. Perhaps none has been as significant and revelatory as the material used for the February 25-26 concerts with a truly seminal group—Voices of Mississippi.

The origin and nature of the blues and folklore musics that African-Americans produced throughout Mississippi from the Delta to the Northern border has always been difficult to parse. Because so many disparate sources have gone into its construction and development, history books have too often been sketchy resulting in myriad problems for scholars and reviewers. What is the origin of the blues? This question has long plagued all who seek to learn about a form so pivotal in the history of American music.

So it was very special that the jazz audience at the Appel room was able to gain enormous insight into these musics rendered by Voices of Mississippi—a group whose performers were not only brilliant interpreters but also descendants of early Mississippi masters. Major credit for this show goes to Dr.