Wynonie Harris- Rockin' The BLues

 

Wynonie Harris - Rockin' the Blues - Proper

Along with Big Joe Turner and Jimmy Rushing, Wynonie Harris is generally regarded as the greatest of the blues shouters. Harris was one of the most popular and influential artists in the first years after World War II, scoring a number of hits. First emerging on record with Lucky Millender's Big Band, Harris' vocal Who Threw The Whiskey In The Well was a success for the Millender band. For several years, he recorded for various labels, including Philo/Aladdin, Apollo, Hamptone, and Bullet, before signing with King in July 1947. With King, he enjoyed his greatest success. A singer with a booming voice and an extravagant stage presence, The British Proper label has put together a four-disc box, Rockin the Blues, which contains 81 recordings through 1950. 

It is handy to have all of Harris Philo/Aladdin and Apollo recordings, along with the rarities from Hamptone and Bullett and his first thirty-seven recordings for King. Included are classic recordings like Wynonie's Blues, Somebody Changed the Lock on My Door, In the Evenin' Blues, Mr. Blues Jumped the Rabbit, and the two-part Battle of the Blues with Big Joe Turner. Other recordings reissued in this set include: Good Morning Mr. Blues, Good Rockin' Tonight (his version eclipsed Roy Brown's original), Grandma Plays the Numbers, I Feel That Old Age Coming On, I Like My Baby's Pudding, Rock Mr. Blues, and Good Morning Judge (a version of a country hit). 

Harris was accompanied by bands that included some of the finest jazz players of the postwar era. Among the accompanists are Howard McGhee, Teddy Edwards, Illinois Jacquet, Charles Mingus, Jack McVea, Gene Phillips, Arnett Cobb, and Milt Buckner. Sun Ra is credited as pianist on the four sides recorded for Bullett in Nashville in March/April 1946. Other notable musicians who played on his recordings include Tab Smith, Bill Doggett, Hot Lips Page, Hal Cornbread Singer, Tom Archia, Buddy Tate, Sonny Thompson, and Cat Anderson. This is quite a roster of musicians, and they provide Harris with terrific support. 

It has been over thirty years since Harris died, and, thus, he never was able to enjoy the type of career revival that Big Joe Turner enjoyed in the seventies and eighties. The level of the music on these is consistently first-rate. Wynonie Harris may have been a bit of a bragger when he called himself Mr. Blues, but few shouted the blues with the power and skill that he did. 

I purchased this. I wrote this review in mid-2001, and it likely appeared in the DC Blues Society newsletter at the time. I do not know if it still is in print, but it should be available on Amazon, eBay, and other sources. Here is his classic rendition of "Good Rockin' Tonight."

Charles Mingus Speaks

Mingus Speaks
John F Goodman
photos by Sy Johnson
2013: University of California Press

Charles Mingus was one of the singular figures of jazz from the fifties through the seventies. As a bassist, composer, and band-leader, he was a formidable figure and person who left behind some of the most memorable body of compositions and recordings. He was thoughtful, intense, blunt, outspoken, humorous and, sometimes, volatile. John F Goodman was a writer for Playboy who did a number of jazz features for that publication who reviewed Mingus’ 1972 comeback concert and got intimate with him and some of his musical associates. The result is Mingus Speaks from the University of California Press.

Goodman interviewed Mingus a number of times and the conversations on a variety of topics are what this book is centered around including the comeback concert, jazz and his own music, his dealings with musicians and club owners, his personal troubles, the publication of his book Beneath the Underdog, his relationships on women and his viewpoints on issues of race. Goodman supplements these with interviews and commentary from Mingus’ associates including arranger Sy Johnson (also an accomplished photographer whose photos illustrate the book), Sue Mingus, Teo Macero, George Wein, Max Gordon (Gordon’s recollection of dealing with Mingus include when Mingus tore off the Village Vanguard’s front door and punched Jimmy Knepper), Paul Jeffrey,  and Bobby Jones.

We get discussions relating to the recording of artists and Mingus’ preparations for major concerts and the chaos relating to some of them. For example, Johnson notes that somewhat chaotic preparation for the comeback concert at Carnegie Hall as Mingus would be continuing to revise the charts up until the actual performance. Mingus was not a fan of the avant-garde artists like Ornette Coleman (and I note Bradford Marsalis recently made similar comments) asserting they could not play straight stuff. He expressed a similar antipathy to fusion and rock music, being particularly outraged by the declining visibility of jazz on the radio. The interviews and commentary from others round out and provide context for the conversations presented.

Mingus Speaks is an invaluable addition to the literature on Charles Mingus, aand jazz literature in general. Goodman’s assembly of this material fleshes out this larger than life legend while providing insight into his working methods and his life. It is a valuable supplement to Beneath the Underdog and Gene Santoro’s Mingus biography, Myself When I Am Real.

I received my review copy from the publisher.

Herb Wise Photographed Legendary Musicians

People You’d Like To Know: Legendary Musicians Photographed
By Herb Wise
Omnibus Press 2010

Herb Wise was an editor for Oak Publications who published Sing out as well as various books on folk and blues (Samuel Charters’ The Bluesman was originally published by Oak), when photographer David Gahr took him outside gave him a camera and had him start shooting pictures. While his initial efforts were not productive, it led to him becoming a fixture with his camera at festivals and concerts throughout North America documenting a wide spectrum of music, focusing on folk, bluegrass with some blues, country and jazz mixed in from Mariposa in Toronto, the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the American Folk Life Festival, and the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.

This is a coffee table sized volume of his photos. There is an amiable quality to many of these which are often informal portraits although there are some very fine performance images included. Graham Vickers includes brief descriptions of the artists depicted and sometimes the circumstances the photos were made of. Striking images of Richard Havens, Sam Chatmon, Jaco Pastorious, Professor Longhair (one great picture with reflections showing in his sunglasses) , Chuck Berry, Charles Mingus, Saul Broudy, Jim & Jesse McReynolds, Frank Zappa, Jackson Browne (great portrait), Sonny Terry (reclining against a trailer), Joan Baez & Kris Kristofferson, Joe Zawinul, Arlo Guthrie, Ray Charles, Doc Watson, Leon Redbone, Stephane Grappelli, Bob Dylan with the Band, an early Taj Mahal and Koko Taylor sitting in front of her van at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival. Its a pretty diverse group of images, and some are devoted to showing dancers at the festival while a young Rosanna Arquette is seen at the 1971 Philadelphia Folk Festival. Blue Lu Barker and Danny Barker are seen in their living room, while Roosevelt Sykes is backstage at the 1981 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival.The pictures mostly come from the sixties and seventies. 

The reproduction (with a slight sepia tint) seems quite satisfactory and there is a wealth of performers captured here, some famous, others less so. People You’d Like To Know is a book you might skim through when you first get it and return to look at the images again and again. It is reasonably priced with a list price of $34.95, should be reasonably easy to fine and makes a nice addition to one’s collection of music photography books.

This review originally appeared in the September 2010 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 329).  I received a review copy from a publicist. Needless to say this would make a great holiday gift for music lovers.

Happy Thanksgiving

Inspired by Marc Myers and his blog at jazzwax.com, I have put together a playlist that might inspire a nice Thanksgiving Feast.

Robert Lighthouse “Turkey Leg Woman” from his album “Deep Down In the Mud” on Right on Rhythm Records and originally done by Dr. Ross and available on the Arhoolie CD “Boogie Disease.”

“Eat That Chicken” by Charles Mingus from Atlantic album “Oh Yeah”

“I Ate Up the Apple Tree” by Dirty Dozen Brass Band

“Beans and Corn Bread” Louis Jordan

“Corn Bread” by Hal Singer Sextette and reissued on the Bear Family CD, “1948:Blowing The Fuse-28 R&B Classics”

“Cornbread And Butter Beans” by the Carolina Chocolate Drops from the CD “Heritage.”

“Cabbage Greens” by Champion Jack Dupree available on JSP 4 CD box set of Dupree’s early recordings.

“Hey Sweet Potato” by Buddy Johnson from CD collection “The R&B Years - 1947”

“Sweet Potato Man” by Willie King from CD “One Love.”

“Red Beans” by Snooks Eaglin from his “Teasin’ You” CD

“Cherry Pie” by Marvin and Johnny and also by Swamp Pop artist Jay Randall (Reissued on “Swamp Gold Vol. 2”. Here is link to Marvin & Johnny’s original, reissued on English Ace label. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RhfNJASU7NM

“Sweetie Cakes” Count Basie from the “April in Paris” CD

“Do Fries Come With That Shake” Tommy Brown from the BoneDog CD “Rockin’ My Blues Away.”

Of course, Thanksgiving in great part is about "Family," as recorded by Jim Hall and Bill Frisell from their CD "Hemispheres," on ArtistShare.

I hope all of you who celebrate Thanksgiving have a wonderful day and celebrate the things thatv really matter.

Jazz Journalists Association Jazz Awards 200

The awards can be found on the Jazz Journalists Association's webpage, www.jazzhouse.org.

Some notable winners include:

Record of the year - Sky Blue - Maria Schneider Orchestra - Artists Share
Reissue/Historical release of the year - Cornell 1964 - Charles Mingus Sextet -Blue Note
Reissue/Historical Box Set of Year - A Life In Time: The Roy Haynes Story - Dreyfus Jazz
Arranger of year & Composer of year - Maria Schneider
Trumpeter of the year - Terence Blanchard
Tenor Saxophonist of year - Sonny Rollins
Soprano Saxophonist of year - Jane Ira Bloom
Baritone saxophonist of the year - James Carter
Clarinetist of the Year - Anat Cohen
Drummer of year - Roy Haynes
Pianist of the year - Hank Jones

A fairly amorphous group with some not so obvious winners.

Mingus' Complete Town Hall Concert

1994 saw Blue Note release Charles Mingus, The Complete Town Hall Concert. As long a fan of the late bassist, composer and leader, it certainly was a delight to listen to and here is a review from the November 1994 Jazz & Blues Report.

Blue Note’s CD reissue of Charles Mingus’ Town Hall concert provides a more complete view than the previous releases of this material. The posthumous performance of Epitaph created some interest in hearing more of this concert, which contained some of the big band scores that formed the basis for the latter suite. The concert has a reputation of being a low point in Mingus’ career, in part because of the prior, less complete releases of this material. While rough edges are obvious, the recovery and release for the first time of much of this is revelatory. This is Mingus at his more exploratory with the turbulent, almost explosive, ensembles, shifting tempos and flavors, and searching solos perhaps best exemplified by Epitaph Part 1 with its echoes of Mingus’ Pithecanthropus Erectus at the beginning, with suggestions of Ellington later, with Eric Dolphy, Clark Terry and Britt Woodland among those featured.The relatively melodic Peggy’s Blue Skylight provides a contrasting mood. Some of the others present include Ernie Royal, Jimmy Cleveland, Charles McPherson, Buddy Collette, Zoot Sims, Pepper Adams, Jaki Byard and Milt Hinton. It should be caveated that this is not an album for those new to Mingus who would be better served by the Rhino double compact disc set, or Charles Mingus Presents Charles Mingus on Candid.