Joan Selects, Volume 18 – Joan’s New Orleans Jazz Fest Special

(This post originally appeared on the old Bebopwino on April 3rd 2009.) The best yet! I’m not going to say anything except that this selection had me bouncing around the house and almost weeping with pleasure as rhythmic delight after rhythmic delight boomed out of my hi-fi. Over to Joan:

It is one of those unintended confluences that Joan Selects, Volume 18 - Joan's Jazz Fest Special appears just several weeks from the start of the 40th annual New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival www.nojazzfest.com/. You can thank your blog host for the great timing for this post.

All the music in Joan Selects - Volume 18, emanates from the musical gold-mine that is New Orleans. In fact most all the selections here-in presented were recorded at the legendary J & M recording studios under the astute and gifted direction of Cosimo Matassa.

America's sweethearts, Shirley and Lee lead off Volume 18, with a song that's been recorded in various forms by a whole host of artists, Let The Good Times Roll (Laisse Les Bons Temps Rouler) for the Mesners’ Aladdin record company.

A New Orleans slant on an old 1930's blues theme Stagger Lee, is provided by Archibald (Leon Gross) for Lou Chudd's Imperial Label. Imperial and Aladdin made heavy use of New Orleans artists through out the late 1940's and 1950's.

James "Sugarboy" Crawford, with Snooks Eaglin on guitar, provides one of two Mardi Gras standards - "Jock-A-Mo", recorded for the Checker Label. Producer and band leader Dave Bartholomew, in addition to the other artists he produced and orchestrated, chipped in with occasional recordings of his own - two of which are presented here: "Who Drank My Beer While I Was In The Rear" on Imperial and the privately recorded "Good Jax Boogie" actually an early 1950's advertisement for the Jackson Brewery's main beer: Jax Beer.

The luminary Roland Byrd, more commonly known as Professor Longhair is rep-resented by three selections, here spanning from the earliest for the Mercury recording label: "Bald Head", to the other of the Mardi Gras staples herein presented "Going To The Mardi Gras" and finally the amazingly complex hand stretching piano workout from Professor Longhair, on the Watch Label, "Big Chief, Parts One and Two".

The immensely gifted Aaron Neville is included here with a magical ballad "Every Day" recorded on the Minit Label. Neville's vocal dexterity must be heard to be believed, as he closes out Jazz Fest annually with Amazing Grace.

Several (certainly not enough, in my estimation) zydeco selections are included in volume 18, Clifton Chenier's "Ay-Tete-Fee" (Et Petite Fille) from Art Rupe's Specialty marque is a hard moving accordion based beauty of a song, and from Louisiana's home grown Goldband label comes Cleveland Crochet with "Sugarbee" featuring the vocals of Jay Stutes.

Speaking of vocals New Orleans balladeer Johnny Adams is also a mandatory Volume 18 selection, with his huge hit: "I Won't Cry". New Orleans Doo Wop groups - Chuck Carbo and the Spiders, Bobby Mitchell and The Toppers, and the Pelicans are included (all from the Imperial label).

And of course, Antoine “Fats” Domino, who embodies New Orleans and the 9th Ward, where he continued to live right up until Hurricane Katrina, is represented with one of his major Imperial hits: "I'm Walkin".

Hope that these representative 33 cuts impart some sense of the gifted and multi-talented musicians from New Orleans = The Music City!

Thank you, Joan, for an outstanding selection of New Orleans music and also for a folder of 31 (!) label scans.

Ripped from vinyl at mostly 128 kbps. Password = greaseyspoon

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01 Shirley and Lee - Let The Good Times Roll - Aladdin 45-3325
02 Huey Smith and the Clowns - Having A Good Time - Ace 548
03 Earl King - Those Lonely, Lonely Nights - Ace 509
04 Archibald - Stack-a-Lee, Pts. 1 & 2 - Imperial x5358
05 Sugarboy - Jock-A-Mo - Checker 787
06 Wee Willie Wayne - Travellin' Mood - Imperial X5355
07 Paul Gayten - The Music Goes Around and Around - Argo 5257
08 The Hawkettes - Mardi Gras Mambo - Chess 1591
09 Dave Bartholomew - Who Drank My Beer While I Was In the Rear - Imperial 5210
10 Bobby Mitchell and the Toppers - 4 - 11 = 44 - Imperial 45-4250
11 Roy Byrd - Bald Head - Mercury 8175-X45
12 Eddie Bo - We Like Mambo - Ace 515
13 Larry Darnell - For You My Love - Regal 3240 (11/1949)
14 Fats Domino - I'm Walkin' - Imperial 5428
15 Chris Kenner - Sick and Tired - Imperial X5448
16 Jewel King - 3 x 7 = 21 - Imperial 5055 (3/1950)
17 Professor Longhair - Going to The Mardi Gras - Ron 329
18 Dave Bartholomew - Good Jax Boogie - JAX 1-2
19 Johnny Fuller - Sister Jenny - Imperial X5382
20 Frankie Ford - Roberta - Ace 554
21 The Spiders - Witchcraft - Imperial X5366
22 Aaron Neville - Every Day - Minit 612
23 Bobby Charles - Put Your Arms Around Me Honey - Chess 1647
24 Clifton Chenier - Ay-Tete-Fee - Specialty XSP-552-45
25 Johnny Adams - I Won't Cry - Ric 961 RIC
26 Smiley Lewis - Shame, Shame, Shame - Imperial X5418
27 Roland Cook - I've Got A Girl -
29 The Pelicans - Chimes - Imperial x5307
30 Lee Allen - Rockin' At Cosimo's - Aladdin 45-3334
31 Cleveland Crochet - Sugarbee - Goldband S-1055
32 Rod Bernard - This Should Go On Forever - Jin 45-101
33 Professor Longhair - Big Chief 1 and 2 - Watch 45-1900