Another overlooked musical genius. London-born Reginald Foresythe (1907–1958) was a sublime composer whose idiosyncratic works were recorded by dozens of popular bands and artists during his life. Eugene Chadbourne, at AllMusic, wrote: "In his native land, Foresythe floundered in the British dance band scene, where his efforts were often described as avant-garde, probably not what was desired by that posh audience. In his later years he was not able to secure gigs above the level of a lounge pianist." Yet in between, he found some commercial and critical success in the United States.

Foresythe was born to a lawyer from Sierra Leone and an Englishwoman of German descent. Having played piano since childhood, he gravitated to work in the late 1920s as a pianist and accordionist for dance bands in Paris, Australia, Hawaii, and southern California (in that order). While in Hollywood, he composed a score for the D. W. Griffith 1930 film "Abraham Lincoln," played piano for the Los Angeles-based Paul Howard's Quality Serenaders, and arranged for Duke Ellington, before moving to Chicago, then to New York.

Like Raymond Scott (who he preceded by a few years), Foresythe applied to his works colorful and illustrative titles, often tinged with humor. His deft arrangements generally favored woodwinds over brass. Also like Scott, despite the jazz trappings, Foresythe preferred tight compositions over improvisation. Both composers also drew on classical repertory, adapted for "chamber jazz." Yet Foresythe's appeal to jazz musicians was undeniable. He composed and wrote arrangements for Earl Hines, "Wild Bill" Davison, and Paul Whiteman, and his works were covered by Louis Armstrong, Stuff Smith, Fats Waller, John Kirby, Lew Stone, Adrian Rollini, and Hal Kemp, among others. He often accompanied vocalists, who admired his style. Singer Judy Shirley noted, "Everyone knew he'd always make you sound good."

Returning to London, Foresythe assembled a studio ensemble to which he assigned the unwieldy but confident name, The New Music of Reginald Foresythe. Between 1933 and 1936, this band recorded for British Columbia and Decca, spotlighting his jazzy tone poems. A contemporary, Dutch pianist/bandleader Theo Masman, called Foresythe's "Serenade for a Wealthy Widow" a "record that should be taken seriously," describing it as "an entirely new way of making music, that is basically presented under the rubric of jazz, which it really isn't." Masman cautioned: "You can either detest everything [in it] that isn't jazz, or take something like this, which is closely related to jazz, and simply accept it as an attempt to improve jazz."

In 1935, Foresythe booked a one-off session in New York which featured Benny Goodman and Gene Krupa recording four of his original compositions. Foresythe also recorded many piano solos, as well as piano duets with Scotsman Arthur Young, several of which are included in this collection. However, by the 1940s he had lost his creative momentum. He evinced little interest in embracing such evolving jazz styles as bebop, hard bop, and Third Stream.

He served in the Royal Air Force during World War II, and occasionally entertained troops on the continent. However, his lust for the high life — parties, drinking, socializing — took its toll. By the 1950s—relegated to obscurity—he mostly accompanied vocalists and played solo piano in London pubs and dives. He died from an accident (falling downstairs) in 1958.

Upon his death, Maurice Burman, in the UK's Melody Maker, wrote that Foresythe "was musically before his time. He caused a sensation with his new sounds in the '30s by being the first to use woodwinds, flute, clarinet, bassoon, [and] oboe as a full front line. The music was more futuristic than modern, and its strength lay in the originality of its compositions rather than in a pure jazz content."