The Boswell Sisters (Connie, Martha and Vet) were arguably the greatest jazz vocal group of all time, ranking at the top with the Mills Brothers of the 1930s, Lambert, Hendricks & Ross, and Manhattan Transfer. The Boswells, who recorded one exciting gem after another during 1930-36, were quite innovative. They had beautiful and very complementary voices, often explored several moods and tempos within the three minutes of a 78, scatted at a high level, could really dig into the lyrics, and were constantly full of joyful surprises. Not only were their harmonies advanced for the era but sometimes they were improvised on the spot with the sisters taking turns in the lead.
Two books and an eagerly awaited documentary tell the story of the Boswell Sisters.
Back in 2014, Vet Boswell’s granddaughter Kyla Titus wrote what was then the definitive book on the group, The Boswell Legacy. A decade later, the second edition of The Boswell Legacy (which lists Kyla’s late mother Chica Boswell Minnerly as co-author) has been published and even those who own the original book will want this version. While the first edition was 196 pages, the new one is 324 pages. The main text is not that much different, growing by 24 pages, but there are many more photos this time around, some of which were colorized, and selected recordings from each year receive a lengthy analysis by Paul Chiten. The main a
