This collection of rare short performance films, produced as the sound era arrived, spotlights a gallery of important musical pioneers — Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, Billie Holiday, and many others — strutting their stuff at Harlem's famed Cotton Club and elsewhere. You'll take a peek back in time and see some of the Jazz Age greats in their youthful prime.

Rescued from the Paramount vaults, these hard-to-find gems (shot between 1929 and 1941) finally see the light of day on this swingin' compilation devoted to the artistry of America's most important early jazz and R&B performers. Apart from Armstrong's rendition of "Rhapsody in Black and Blue" and Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'" the disc also features a dynamite rave-up from the lesser-known Don Aspiazu and His Famous Cuban Orchestra. Snap to this excellent showcase!