(3-CD set) Recorded in New York, Berlin, Barcelona, and Paris. A contemporary of Duke Ellington and Fletcher Henderson, Sam Wooding left the US in the early 20s to bring jazz to Europe and the Soviet Union. In his eight years abroad he and his star-studded orchestra were pivotal in spreading and popularizing jazz all over Europe and Russia. During this time he paid repeated visits to recording studios in Germany, Spain and France. All of the European discs he recorded are now mythically rare collectors' items. His recordings, including several previously unissued alternate takes, are now available for the first time in their entirety. Extensive liner notes in the 60-page booklet are by renowned research Rainer Lotz.