Jimmy Rushing The Bluesway Sessions

Jimmy Rushing
The Bluesway Collection
Charly (UK)

The present collection from English Charly puts into one double record package, the two ABC-Bluesway albums Rushing recorded in the sixties and these are among his last studio recordings. (He did record a later album for RCA) but show no diminution in his vocals. Ten titles come from a session that the late Oliver Nelson produced and include such notable sidemen as Clark Terry on trumpet, and fellow Basie
alumni Dickie Wells on trombone.

Nelson provided some interesting arrangements with a somewhat modernistic touch trying to provide a more up-to-date sound. Rushing is in heard on some standard fare including a swaggering ‘Everyday I Have the Blues’, "Berkeley Campus Blues" (an updating of “Harvard Blues” from Rushing days with Basie that also was an attempt at topicality with comments on then current student demonstrations and having the Berkeley Blues with Ronnie Reagan around the bend), and “You Can’t Run Around”
which features a nice trombone solo from Wells and some nice playing on the organ.

The remaining sides come from a session that Bob Thiele produced and included Dickie Wells,
tenor saxophonist Buddy Tate (another Basie alumni,) pianist Dave Frishberg, and guitarists Wally Richardson and Hugh McCracken. Rushing is in good form on his classic "Sent For You Yesterday", and their is some fine band work and ancxcellent Buddy Tate solo on "Tell Me I'm Not Too Late”. On
"Crying Blues”, the playing by one of the guitarists and Frishberg behind Rushing is splendid. The last selection "We Remember Pres" is an instrumental tribute to the great saxophonist Lester Young.

In summary, some very rewarding listening that I do not regret buying, and a release that those with a taste for swinging sounds would do well to check out. It is interesting that this was released on Charly as opposed to the sister label Affinity which specializes in jazz releases.

This review dates from 1986 or so when this vinyl reissue came out. I may have written this for Cadence  but am not positive.  You may find this on ebay or similar sources of used recordings. Here is "Everyday I Have the Blues.

I have 'retired' from writing reviews for publication, but I will try to rescue some of my older reviews as well as briefly comment on things that interest me in the blog in the future.