Jimmy Blythe

Returning to our series of the first reissues of early blues and jazz records, here is a Riverside LP of Chicago pianist Jimmy Blythe.

These records were made for the legendary Paramount label of Wisconsin in 1924, 1925, and 1928, a time when Blythe was active for the company, mostly as an accompanist. The sides here, in contrast, are primarily a showcase for Blythe's considerable solo skills.

The LP begins with 1924's Chicago Stomps (or Stomp, as it usually is given), which is reputedly the first recorded boogie-woogie tune, although elements of the style can be found in earlier records. These and the 1925 efforts sound to be acoustic recordings, with their limited frequency range. It's not until the final two items, made under the name of the Dixie Four in 1928 and electrically recorded, that you can fully hear Blythe's ringing tone. But even in the acoustic items, his rhythmic drive and vivid imagination are quite startling. This is compelling playing, full of the joy of living. Sadly, Blythe lived only a few more years after these sessions, dying in 1931 of meningitis. He was only 30.

Although this is a Riverside record, it was produced by the Bill Grauer-Orrin Keepnews team that did the "X" Records reissues that I have been presenting. The cover artist (Paul Bacon) is the same, as well. However, the Riverside item is pressed on red vinyl. I just love colored vinyl, although I am not sure why.

The LP sound was somewhat filtered, probably to lessen some of the noise of Paramount's poor quality shellac. I have opened out the sound, at the cost of bringing forward some of the grunge. I think it's worth it to hear a facsimile of what Blythe must have sounded like. Blythe also made many piano rolls, and I checked this record of Chicago Stomp(s) against a reissue of his piano roll of the same tune. The sound is much better on the latter, of course, but something is missing - even if it's only my emotional reaction to listening in on a great recording session some 85 years later.

REMASTERED VERSION - MARCH 2015

Kings of the Blues

This is a follow-up post to our item on Ida May Mack and Bessie Tucker. That was Vol. 2 in Label "X"'s Backgrounds of Jazz series, and this is Vol. 3. (Don't have Vol. 1.)

Remarkably, most of these sides were recorded in Memphis during the same week of August 1928 as the Mack and Tucker recordings.

As with the earlier LP. this must be one of the first albums ever devoted to reissuing the blues records of the 1920s. I should mention, though, that many of these sides are not really blues, strictly speaking.

Jim Jackson and Frank Stokes were experienced medicine show entertainers. Furry Lewis lasted long enough to appear with the Rolling Stones. He even showed up on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Ishman Bracey may be the least known of the group, having produced only 16 sides.

The two Jim Jackson songs on this record may be familiar to those who grew up in the 60s because they were rerecorded by two good-timey folk rock bands - I'm Wild About My Lovin' by the Lovin' Spoonful and This Mornin' She Was Gone by the Youngbloods (under the title Grizzly Bear). I wonder if those groups knew this album.

The cover is by Paul Bacon, who also did the cover of the Mack-Tucker LP, in a much different style.

LINK

Ida May Mack and Bessie Tucker

Reissued blues records are very common today, but not so in 1955 when this record of two obscure blues artists appeared. This rare record made available eight recordings cut by two Texas women in Memphis eighty years ago next week.

The singers are Ida May Mack and the somewhat rougher Bessie Tucker, both of whom were accompanied by pianist K. D. Johnson. Little is known about any of these artists, except that the singers are believed to be from the Dallas area, and the pianist from Memphis.

The performances are quite good, as are the recordings, although it does sound like the 1950s engineers added some reverb (some things never change). The records were made for the Victor Company, and the reissue was by Label "X," a short-lived RCA Victor subsidiary that put out many excellent records. This was in a series called Backgrounds of Jazz. At that time, reissues sold mainly to jazz collectors who valued the performances as much for their relationship to jazz as for their intrinsic merits.

Mack recorded these sides, and, I believe, a few others. Tucker recorded enough so that her records have been collected into a Document CD. The latter singer has something of a following for her strong voice and intensity. There is a interesting page here that speculates on her background based on clues in some of these recordings.

I don't find this record's artwork to be especially attractive, but it is an example of the skills of Paul Bacon, a distinguished designer who did many book jackets and jazz record covers, and who was a jazz musician himself.