The late Paul Gayten was probably the key figure in the early emergence of New Orleans Rhythm & Blues, as it evolved in the years immediately after World War II. He wasn't the only Crescent City bandleader of the period to make his mark on black American music - but as both an artist and a local A&R man for the important de Luxe label, Paul was able to get many legendary artists and musicians into a studio and onto a 78 for the first time ever. His own trio and big band records for that imprint included many huge sellers that are part of the foundation on with R&B was built. Sadly the CD reissue market has hitherto neglected them, and this important new Jasmine project thus covers an area of Paul's career that has not been anthologised in any form for almost 40 years. Included among the tracks are smooth ballads, cool and jumping 'cocktail R&B' and blasting instrumentals by bigger groups of musicians featuring Paul's piano, collectively providing a panorama of how the local New Orleans scene sounded before Fats Domino came along at the end of the 1940s to firmly define the Crescent City Sound. Many of the musicians who played on Fats' great records were first heard on Gayten instrumentals that are included in this collection, including saxophone legend Lee Allen. Brought to you in an audio quality that's vastly superior to the original, poorly pressed 78s, and with notes that tell you much about the man himself and the recording scene that he helped to midwife, this is a collection that no lover of early R&B can afford to be without - or will want to.