Marvelous Reissue of Albums By George Lewis and Jimmy Yancey albums

One of the unexpected pleasures of the recent Sony Box set celebrating 50 years of Preservation Hall was the inclusion of some selections from a series of albums issued on Atlantic shortly after that fabled venue opened. It led to my checking into the availability of these albums. They have been issued on the Collectables label in a series of two albums on one CD. One CD, includes an album by a band led by The George Lewis Band of New Orleans, Jazz at Preservation Hall, reissued with an album Pure Blues, by legendary blues and boogie pianist Jimmy Yancey. Included are the original liner notes by Rev. A.L. Kershaw for Lewis and Ralph Gleason, George Hoefer and Art Hodes for the Yancey (with Hodes personal memories being quite moving).

The George Lewis Band of New Orleans included Kid Howard on trumpet; Jim Robinson on trombone; Alcide ‘Slow Drag’ Pavageau on bass; Emmanuel Sayles on banjo; and Joe Watkins on drums. On a few tracks the personnel include Snookum Russell on pianol “Papa John’ Joseph on bass; and Joe Watkins on drums. Lewis is amongst the greatest clarinetists of New Orleans jazz with his simple, blues-drenched style and he also was recorded extensively. This album of his is amongst the best recorded and contains a number of staples of his repertoire including Salutation March, Down By the Riverside, Careless Love, Burgundy Blues and St. Louis Blues along an amiable version of Jelly Roll Morton’s Winin’ Boy Blues. The selections with a full group are marvelous with the interplay between Lewis’ clarinet, Howard’s trumpet and Robinson’s tailgate trombone. Then there is Burgundy Blues, with the other horns sitting out on what is perhaps Lewis’ most celebrated number. The spare backing helps contribute to the melancholic tone of a stunning blues performance. This is amongst the best sounding as well as best recordings of George Lewis that I have heard.

Jimmy Yancey was a ground keeper for the Chicago White Sox (during World War I he played in the Negro Leagues) and also one of the greatest blues and woogie woogie pianists that one might fine playing rent and house parties in Chicago. He was a pioneer in the boogie woogie idiom and an influence on Albert Ammons and Meade Lux Lewis. Atlantic recorded Yancey and his wife Mama Estelle Yancey in 1951 a few months before he passed away. These would be his last recordings although he had been recorded by Jazz Information, Solo Art , Session, Victor and Vocalion. 

One aspect of these performances, on which bassist Israel Crosby lends a light touch, is the focus on slow blues instrumentals (and accompaniments), while his earlier recordings had more in the nature of stomps and boogie woogies marked by his immediately recognizable touch and endings. Yancey’s Bugle Call comes closest to illustrate this aspect of his music, but much of this focus on on his atmospheric slow blues like on Mournful Blues or the musical poetry of his rendition of Leroy Carr’s How Long How Long Blues. The spare left-hand bass supplements the treble runs which focus on feeling and not flash. This same mood is present for another version of this heard here on which Mama Yancey so movingly sings. It is one of five vocals by Mama Yancey heard here which also include her take on the traditional, Make Me a Pallet On The Floor, again with Jimmy Yancey’s simple, moody backing. These vocals, like Yancey’s instrumental performances, are blues performances of the highest order and like the Lewis album would be easy to recommend if they had been issued separately. To have these combined on one release makes this album even easier to recommend.

I purchased this. Here is a video from 1962 of George Lewis performing.

Walter Payton 1942-2010

20050428-2005_JazzFest_jpegs_-129, originally uploaded by NoVARon.

Word came that Walter Payton, veteran bass player on the New Orleans sceen who played on classic rhythm and blues recordings by Aaron Neville and Lee Dorsey as well as with Preservation Hall, passed away on October 28, 2010 after a lengthy illness.

Let me quote Keith Spera's obituary from the Times-Picayune

"Mr. Payton, the father of Grammy-winning trumpeter Nicholas Payton, was an exceptionally versatile musician in possession of an exceptionally engaging persona. A student of music theory and music history, he could easily switch from electric bass to upright acoustic bass, from rhythm & blues to traditional jazz to modern jazz. His recording credits include Aaron Neville's "Tell It Like It Is" and Lee Dorsey's "Working in a Coal Mine." He was also an accomplished classical musician who, for many years, kept a grand piano in his parlor."

I refer you to Mr. Spera's full obituary:

I had the pleasure to see him perform several times at JazzFest. I took the above picture at the 2005 JazzFest, and I saw him this past April as well. His Snap Bean and Gumbo File combos brought great joy to listeners. Albums of him as a leader are available on a variety of labels. I particularly like the one on the 504 label from an in-store show at the Louisiana Music Factory that has Evan Christopher on clarinet. Many of the New Orleans musicians whether playing traditional style jazz or modern jazz, like his son, have been touched by this gentleman. I am sure they will have quite a second-line to celebrate his life.

Sweet Emma and Her Preservation Hall Jazz Band

Preservation Hall has in its years achieved iconic status, but alas today the musicians for who it was established have passed on being replaced by musicians whose musical backgrounds are perhaps a bit more modern and while they may pay homage with their performances, it is not quite the same. Preservation Hall though has plenty of musical memories that have been archived from a variety of performances. A typical one is the double CD, “Sweet Emma and Her Preservation Hall Jazz Band” (Preservation Hall Recordings) that was remastered in 2004 from a 1964 Minnesota concert with a band that included Sweet Emma Barrett on piano and vocals; Alcide ‘Slow Drag’ Pavageau on bass; Emanuel Sayles on banjo; Joseph ‘Cie’ Frazier; Jim Robinson on trombone; Willie Humphrey on clarinet; and Percy Humphrey on trumpet. Despite the crediting of Sweet Emma, a case could be made for Percy Humphrey as leader as he makes some of the introductions and chats with the audience (he was also leader of the legendary Eureka Brass Band at the time). But that isn’t a significant issue as annotator William Russell notes Bunk Johnson’s observation, “That all real New Orleans musicians know this style, and at a moment’s notice can play with one another anywhere they meet. Yet most New Orleans Bands also have their own unique style.”

In any event the music on this CD is a pretty solid and representative sample of traditional New Orleans jazz as would have been heard during the sixties and seventies. The repertoire is standard even including “The Saints,” but there is a spirited “Chimes Blues” that King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band recorded in 1923 taken at a nice relaxed tempo along with the spiritual “Closer Walk With Thee,” with a vocal from Sweet Emma, followed by a spirited “Didn’t He Ramble,” with the Humphrey Brothers handling the vocals on a song that would be played coming back from the cemetery after a funeral. Throughout Sweet Emma plays her rollicking, percussive piano style reinforced by Sayles clipped banjo with Willie Humphey’s serpentine clarinet lines contrasting with Jim Robinson’s gruff tailgate trombone and Humphrey’s growling trumpet (especially on “Panama”). Even when the tempo is quick, there is a relaxed rhythmic feel to the performances even during the most frantic and frenzied ensemble sections such as with the rendition of “Little LIza Jane,” with its second line rhythms. In contrast, St. James Infirmary,” taken at a slow parade tempo. Of course “When The Saints Come Marching In,” drew an enthusiastic audience response.

This is not cerebral music, but music of the heart. There are sour notes heard and the ensemble portions have a sweet and sour flavor, and the vocals may sound amateurish. This does not detract from the soulfulness and feeling in the performances coming through and one’s feet are tapping the floor throughout This is music that will lift your spirits if you are in a funk. I purchased this CD several years ago and I happily note that it still is in print. Among other sources, it is available from amazon and Preservation Hall’s own website.