King Oliver and his Orchestra, 1929-1930

Otra recopilación impecable avalada por el buen hacer del ingeniero John RT Davies que -es opinión ya muy extendida- hizo un servicio a los clásicos hot de los años 20 mucho más adecuado que el de las propias compañías oficiales americanas. Se trata de grabaciones de la orquesta de King Oliver fechadas entre enero de 1929 y septiembre de 1930, donde pese al deterioro de su salud (y también de su carrera profesional) el maestro deja aún abundantes pruebas de su dominio de la trompeta ("Sweet Like This", "Nelson Stomp", "What You Want Me To Do", "Too Late"), acompañado por algunos de los más reputados músicos de aquellos años: los trompetistas Louis Metcalf, Punch Miller,Red Allen y Bubber Miley; los trombonistas Jimmy Archey y Clyde Bernhardt; los saxofonistas Teddy Hill, Charlie Holmes y Omer Simeon; los pianistas James P. Johnson y Louis Russell, entre otros.
Algo más de la mitad de estas grabaciones aparecieron hace años en un doble álbum RCA, pero amén de la superioridad sonora, aquí tenemos también la totalidad de las tomas alternas, incluida la rarísima tercera toma de "Nelson Stomp", ordenadas, por cierto, todas en el segundo disco para mayor comodidad. Algunos trabajos orquestales francamente insuperables en composiciones propias ("Too Late", "I Must Have It", "You're Just My Type"), y también alguna que otra magnífica versión de clásicos muy conocidos ("St James Infirmary", "Frankie And Johnny"), en el que resulta probablemente, junto a la recopilación de sus grabaciones de 1923, el testamento sonoro definitivo del maestro de Nueva Orleans.

-Jay Bee Rodríguez

Disco 1:

01. West End Blues 3:32
02. I've Got That Thing 3:23
03. Freakish Light Blues 3:08
04. Call Of The Freaks 3:21
05. The Trumpet's Prayer 3:12
06. Can I Tell You? 3:09
07. My Good Man Sam 2:55
08. What Do You Want Me To Do? 3:11
09. Sweet Like This 3:26
10. Too Late 3:10
11. I'm A Lonesome Sweetheart 2:44
12. Want You Just Myself 2:54
13. I Can't Stop Loving You 2:50
14. Everybody Does It In Hawaii 3:04
15. Frankie And Johnny 3:07
16. New Orleans Shout 2:39
17. St. James Infirmary 3:39
18. When You're Smiling 3:21
19. I Must Have It 2:54
20. Rhythm Club Stomp (Cursihip Glide) 2:54
21. You're Just My Type 2:26


Disco 2:

01. West End Blues (alt.) 3:35
02. I've Got That Thing (alt.) 3:22
03. Freakish Light Blues (alt.) 3:10
04. Call Of The Freaks (alt.) 3:16
05. The Trumpet's Prayer (alt.) 3:11
06. Can I Tell You? (alt.) 3:09
07. My Good Man Sam (alt.) 2:50
08. Everybody Does It In Hawaii (alt.) 2:52
09. Frankie And Johnny (alt.) 3:08
10. Edna 2:41
11. Boogie Woogie 3:08
12. Mule Face Blues 2:56
13. Struggle Buggy 3:00
14. Don' You Think I Love You? 2:48
15. Olga 3:25
16. Shake It And Break It 2:32
17. Stingaree Blues 3:12
18. What's The Use Of Living Without Love? 3:25
19. You Were Only Passing Time With Me 2:56
20. Nelson Stomp 1 3:09
21. Nelson Stomp 2 3:11
22. Nelson Stomp 3 3:10
23. Stealing Love 3:20

part 1 - part 2 - part 3

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King Oliver's "I Must Have It" (1930) on guitar

by Jay Bee Rodríguez
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James P. Johnson: Father of the Stride Piano 1923-1939

One of the great jazz pianists of all time, James P. Johnson was the king of stride pianists in the 1920s. He began working in New York clubs as early as 1913 and was quickly recognized as the pacesetter. In 1917, Johnson began making piano rolls. Duke Ellington learned from these (by slowing them down to half-speed), and a few years later, Johnson became Fats Waller's teacher and inspiration. During the '20s (starting in 1921), Johnson began to record, he was the nightly star at Harlem rent parties (accompanied by Waller and Willie "The Lion" Smith) and he wrote some of his most famous compositions during this period. For the 1923 Broadway show Running Wild (one of his dozen scores), Johnson composed "The Charleston" and "Old Fashioned Love," his earlier piano feature "Carolina Shout" became the test piece for other pianists, and some of his other songs included "If I Could Be with You One Hour Tonight" and "A Porter's Love Song to a Chambermaid."

Ironically, Johnson, the most sophisticated pianist of the 1920s, was also an expert accompanist for blues singers and he starred on several memorable Bessie Smith and Ethel Waters recordings. In addition to his solo recordings, Johnson led some hot combos on records and guested with Perry Bradford and Clarence Williams; he also shared the spotlight with Fats Waller on a few occasions. Because he was very interested in writing longer works, Johnson (who had composed "Yamekraw" in 1927) spent much of the '30s working on such pieces as "Harlem Symphony," "Symphony in Brown," and a blues opera. Unfortunately much of this music has been lost through the years. Johnson, who was only semi-active as a pianist throughout much of the '30s, started recording again in 1939, often sat in with Eddie Condon, and was active in the '40s despite some minor strokes. A major stroke in 1955 finished off his career.


This LP gives one a good all-round introduction into pianist James P. Johnson's music although it does not list the recording dates. There are piano solos from 1921, 1923, 1927 and 1939, a humorous vocal/piano duet with Clarence Williams ("How Could I Be Blue") and four selections from a 1939 septet session with trumpeter Red Allen and trombonist J.C. Higginbottham. Most of this music has since been reissued in more complete fashion on CD. ~ Scott Yanow, Rovi

Original Columbia and OKeh recordings. Japanese Exclusive Release. 20 Bit Dsd Remastered

01.If Dreams Come True
02.Fasination
03.Ronsume Revoly
04.Mule Walk
05.Blue Blueberry Ryhme
06.Snowy Morning Blues
07.All That I Had Is Gone
08.How Good I Be Blues
09.Swinging at the Rodeo
10.Having a Ball
11.Hungry Blues
12.Old Fashioned Love 13.Memories For You
14.Worry & Ransom Blues
15.Weaping Blues
16.Carolina Shout


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Jabbo Smith's Rhythm Aces: 1928-29

Updated post and link / post y enlace actualizados (2016):
http://hotjazzandcoolblues.blogspot.com.es/2016/11/jabbo-smiths-rhythm-aces-1929-1938.html



Although only 20 years old, trumpeter Jabbo Smith cut virtually all of his finest recordings in 1929, when he was touted as a competitor to Louis Armstrong. Smith's 19 sides with his Rhythm Aces (all of which are on this essential CD) are some of the most exciting recordings of the era. Often teamed in a quintet with Omer Simeon (on clarinet and alto), pianist Cassino Simpson, banjoist Ikey Robinson, and the tuba of Hayes Alvis (subs appear on a few numbers), Jabbo's reckless and explorative trumpet flights are often thrilling. Highlights include "Jazz Battle," "Till Times Get Better," "Ace of Rhythm," and "Band Box Stomp," but all of the performances (including Smith's trombone solo on "Lina Blues" and his occasional and effective vocals) are well worth hearing. The CD concludes with Jabbo Smith's four-song 1938 session, which is disappointingly tame. Strange as it seems, Smith was past his prime by 1930 when he was only 21. Except for some early sideman appearances and forgettable efforts in later years (plus one previously unissued Rhythm Ace side from 1929 that was unearthed in the mid-'90s by the Retrieval label), this CD essentially contains Jabbo Smith's entire legacy, although he would live until 1991. -Scott Yanow


During the 1920s, Jabbo Smith was a promising young cornetist whose versatility and chutzpah invited comparison with Duke Ellington's first-chair soloist Bubber Miley. Both men suffered from the disease of alcoholism, and Bubber, who also contracted tuberculosis, perished when he was only 29 years old. Although Jabbo survived and would live past the age of 80, he was inactive for most of his life and never came anywhere near matching the triumphs of his youth, many of which are documented on Pearl's Ace of Rhythm, a 25-track sampler of recordings made between November 1927 and February 1938. Unlike Smith's entry in the Classics Chronological Series, Ace of Rhythm contains numerous examples that were not issued under his name. This allows for a pleasantly varied overview as Jabbo is heard filling in for Bubber with Duke Ellington's Orchestra and participating in an unusual chamber jazz session with the Louisiana Sugar Babes (a quartet that included pianist James P. Johnson, pipe organist Fats Waller, and multi-reedman Garvin Bushell) and with a scruffy little outfit operating under the nominal leadership of Banjo Ikey Robinson; during the lusty opus bearing the title "Got Butter on It," Smith delivers a handsome scat vocal in the manner of Louis Armstrong. All of this serves as a prelude to 16 marvelous performances by Jabbo Smith's Rhythm Aces (also known as Four Aces and the Jokers), a sturdy little group whose variable personnel included Robinson, clarinetist and tenor saxophonist Omer Simeon, tubists Hayes Alvis and Lawson Buford, and pianists Cassino Simpson and Earl Frazier.

The interplay between Smith and Simeon is particularly exciting, and "Jazz Battle" is probably the best record that this group or its leader ever made. "Rub Me Some More" was recorded in 1930 by Lloyd Smith & His Gut-Bucketeers. (Discographical evidence indicates that the cornetist on this tune is not Smith at all but Clarence "Count" Rich.) Finally, the producers of this collection were wise enough to include only the instrumental number from Jabbo's Decca session of February 1, 1938, by which time he had switched to using the trumpet. There are numerous options available to those who are curious about Jabbo Smith's early recorded works. EPM Jazz Archives beat them all with a double-disc set packed with 48 tracks representing pretty much every recording made between 1928 and 1938 involving Jabbo Smith. Dipping back to 1927 to include the Ellington sides and carefully choosing some real gems from the cornetist's heyday, Pearl's Ace of Rhythm is an excellent compromise between the exactitude of the Classics compilation and the thoroughness of EPM's ultra-complete edition. ~ arwulf


01.Jazz Battle
02.Little Willie Blues
03.Sleepy Time Blues
04.Take Your Time
05.Sweet And Low Blues
06.Take Me To The River 07.Ace Of Rhythm
08.Let's Get Together
09.Sau-sha Stomp 10.Michigander Blues
11.Decatur Street Tutti 12.Til Times Get Better
13.Lina Blues
14.Weird And Blue15.Croonin' The Blues
16.I Got The Stinger
17.Boston Skiffle
18.Tanguay Blues
19.Band Box Stomp
20.Moanful Blues
21.Rhythm In Spain
22.Absolutely
23.More Rain, More Rest
24.How Can Cupid Be So Stupid?Recorded between 1928 and 1929.

Personnel: Jabbo Smith (trumpet); Banjo Ikey Robinson (guitar, banjo); Connie Wainwright (guitar); Fred Guy (banjo); Garvin Bushell (clarinet, bassoon, alto saxophone); Harry Carney (clarinet, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Omer Simeon (clarinet, alto saxophone); Rudy Jackson (clarinet, tenor saxophone); Otto Hardwick (soprano saxophone, alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Willard Brown (alto saxophone, baritone saxophone); Ben Smith , Leslie Johnakins (alto saxophone); Sam Simmons (tenor saxophone); Louis Metcalf (trumpet); Joe "Tricky Sam" Nanton (trombone); Duke Ellington, James Reynolds , William Barbee, Cass Simpson, James P. Johnson (piano); Fats Waller (organ); Alfred Taylor, Walter Bishop, Sr., Sonny Greer (drums).




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Bessie Smith: Nobody's Blues But Mine

Continuamos con el indispensable songbook de la Emperaora. De nuevo hemos mantenido la programación del LP doble Columbia, y los escaneados interiores y exteriores, pero recurriendo al audio en fuentes digitales mucho más recientes. Se trata ahora de grabaciones correspondientes a los años 1925 a 1927, que nos presentan su magistral voz acompañada por algunos estelares intrumentistas, como el trombonista Charlie Green (el preferido de Bessie), el clarinetista Don Redman, el cornetista Joe Smith y, la crême de la crême: el pianista James P. Johnson (temas 29 y 30, los clásicos Preachin' The Blues y Back Water Blues) y, naturalmente, Louis Armstrong. Incluso tenemos aquí a la única vocalista que llegó a grabar con Bessie, Clara Smith, que hace lo que buenamente puede en My Man Blues frente a su imponente contrincante (sep. 1925).
No hay aquí, lógicamente, nada que desmerezca las espectativas, incluidas esas insuperables versiones de temas no blueseros bien trillados ya a lo largo de los años, como After You've Gone o Alexander's Ragtime Band, que Bessie convierte en blues al ciento por ciento como era de esperar. Pero si he destacar una o dos grabaciones entre tánta maravilla, me quedaría con sus estremecedoras lecturas de Careless Love (con Louis) y I Ain't Got Nobody. Qué pedazo de voz. No podemos decir nada más, sólo (volver a) escucharla.

-Jay Bee Rodríguez

01. Careless Love Blues
02. J.C Holmes Blues
03. I Ain't Goin' To Play No Second Fiddle
04. He's Gone Blues
05. Nobody's Blues But Mine
06. I Ain't Got Nobody
07. My Man Blues
08. New Gulf Coast Blues
09. Florida Bound Blues
10. At The Christmas Ball
11. I've Been Mistreated And I Don't Like It
12. Red Mountain Blues
13. Golden Rule Blues
14. Lonesome Desert Blues
15. Them "Has Been" Blues
16. Squeeze Me
17. What's The Matter Now ?
18. I Don't Like It Second Hand
19. Jazzbo Brown From Memphis Town
20. The Gin House Blues
21. Money Blues
22. Baby Doll
23. Hard Driving Papa
24. Lost Your Head Blues
25. Hard Time Blues
26. Honey Man Blues
27. One And Two Blues
28. Young Woman's Blues
29. Preachin' The Blues
30. Back Water Blues
31. After You've Gone
32. Alexander's Ragtime Band

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