Take 5 With Jimmy Witherspoon

While I only had the pelasure to see Jimmy Witherspoon perform once live, I was long a fan of his recordings. while often compared to his idol, Big Joe Turner, he was also a terrific Ballad singer. For this short playlist, I start with what was a major hit for him, "Ain't Nobody's Business," with Jay McShann on piano.

Spoon was one of the blue singers who often was backed by some of the greatest jazz players. His recordings with tenor saxophonist Ben Webster were special. He heis live at the Renaissance Club in LA with Jimmy Rowles on piano and Gerry Mulligan on baritone sax doing Leroy Carr's "How Long How Long Blues."

 The first Jimmy Witherspoon album I purchased was "Evenin' Blues," on Prestige. The session included T-Bone Walker on guitar and Clifford Scott on tenor sax. Here is "Money Is Getting Cheaper," a remake of "Times Getting Tougher Then Tough," which I believe was the first track of this album.

I would be remiss if I did not include a selection from his recordings with blues-rock guitarist, Robben Ford. What might have seemed an unlikely partnership, was actually one that worked quite well. Here they do a song spoon had recorded a number of times before that was also a hot for Big Joe Turner, "S.K. Blues."

Finally, here is a set of Spoon with a group led by former Count Basie saxophonist, Earle Warren, live in Europe. Enjoy.

Solid Swinging Zoot Suite

One of the albums that gives this writer much pleasure is Zoot Sims’ Pablo release, If I’m Lucky, which had a terrific band of Jimmy Rowles on piano, George Mraz on bass and Mousey Alexander on drums. A wonderful, swinging album, Sims sounds so warm on his tenor and the band complements him like the band has been together all of their lives.


The same band is heard on what is believed to be a 1973 Caribbean recording that HighNote has just released, Zoot Suite. Its not a high fidelity recording and Rowles piano and the rhythm section especially comes off a bit tinny at times. Despite any audio limitations, Sims plays energetically on the opening Jitterbug Waltz with echoes of Lester Young in his playing before Rowles handles a solo with repeated ascending lines. The sound quality perhaps lends a somewhat harsh tone to Sims’ reading of Do Nothing Till You Hear From Me, while Lester Young’s influence is again evident on Young’s Tickle Toe, with a rollicking solo from Rowles before Sims trades fours with Alexander. Other ballads like I Want It Bad and That Ain’t Good and My Old Flame are wonderfully handled, while the band gets rocking on Honeysuckle Rose and Rockin’ in Rhythm (with Sims playing soprano on the latter number).


Plenty of fervor in these performances even if this recording lacks some of the wistful romanticism that made If I’m Lucky so special. If one can get past the tinny recoding, there is some fine music here.


This review originally appeared in the October 2007 Jazz & Blues Report (Issue 298), from whom I received my review copy.