Various 40th Anniversary Jazz CD

(1993/Delmark Records) 13 tracks, Delmark 40th Anniversary: Jazz reflects the company's diversity, but not as well as it could have. That isn't to say that the bop selections are anything to be ashamed of; inspired performances by Ira Sullivan ("Wilbur's Tune"), Jimmy Forrest ("All the Gin Is Gone"), and tenor saxman Lin Halliday ("My Foolish Heart") demonstrate that Koester has excellent taste in the bop department. But again, Delmark isn't just a bop label -- it was one of the first labels to document Chicago's avant-garde AACM, and plenty of worthwhile Dixieland, classic jazz, and swing recordings can be found in Delmark's catalog. There are no dull moments on this CD; every track is respectable -- but even so, the compilation sells Delmark short by over-emphasizing bop.