Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - Modern Jazz Expressions

Side 1:
01. Dizzy Atmosphere
02. It's The Talk Of The Town
03. Leaping On Lenox
04. This Is Always
05. Bean-O
06. I'll Remember April

Side 2:
01. Moonlight In Vermont
02. Johnny Come Lately
03. You Go To My Head
04. Foggy Day
05. Tenderly
06. The Way You Look Tonight

Download from here:

Modern Jazz Expressions (Mega)

This LP was originally released as King LP 395-506 in 1956:

The LP was re-released in 1960 as "Modern Jazz by Eddie Davis" with a new front cover similar to that used on this 1988 Sing issue.

Original issue on singles of the tracks  from "Modern Jazz Expressions":

Bean-O / This Is Always (King 4801) - Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Trio - May 1955

Punch / It's The Talk Of The Town (King 4813) - Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Trio - July 1955

Together / Foggy Day (King 4863) - Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Trio - December 1955

Scatter / The Way You Look Tonight (King 4904) - Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Trio - March 1956

Tenderly / Dizzy Atmosphere (King 4928) - Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis Trio - June 1956

"Leaping On Lenox," "I'll Remember April," "Moonlight In Vermont," "You Go To My Head" and "Johnny Come Lately" first issued on "Modern Jazz Expressions."

Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis (the nickname came from the way he blew his sax) was born in New York City in 1921. His sax style was what was known as "mainstream", i.e. rooted in the big band swing era yet he played in varied settings, starting with big bands in the early to mid 1940s, especially with Cootie Williams and also in brief stints with Lucky Millinder and Andy Kirk. His first recordings with his own small group were made in May 1946 for Haven. In December 1946 his group recorded with bopper Fats Navarro for Savoy.

Further Eddie Davis small group recordings were made for Apollo in April 1947 and Lenox sometime in 1947 / 48. Somewhat surrealistically some of Eddie's Lenox sides turned up years later under the pseudonym Hen Gates on "rock and roll" compilations issued by the budget Plymouth label.

In 1948 (possibly during the AFM recording ban) Eddie cut four sides for Bob Shad's "Sittin' In With" label. In 1949 Eddie was involved in several R&B leaning sessions: with blues shouter Carl "King Karl" Davis for National; with Jesse Stone ("Cole Slaw") for Victor; with Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson for King; and under his own name ("Mountain Oysters") with Bill Doggett also for King.

Eddie's next few recording sessions in 1950-51 were more on the jazz side with live sessions at Birdland being recorded with Gene Parrish, Miles Davis and Slim Gaillard. In October 1951 he was on a session with trombonist Benny Green for Prestige and both artists featured shortly afterwards on a live recording by a group led by Sonny Criss at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles.

In 1952 Eddie joined the reformed Count Basie big band. A 78 rpm single release of "Paradise Squat" (Mercury 89104) featuring hot soloing by Eddie became a big hit for the Count whose use of the organ rather than the piano pointed the way for future Lockjaw releases.

Eddie's stay with Basie lasted into early 1953 (he would return in 1957) but even before splitting from the Basie outfit Lockjaw started recording with small groups which featured the organ - with Bill Doggett and then with Billy Taylor, both for Roost. Further sessions for Roost in 1953 and 1954 featured Eddie Bonnemere on piano and Charlie Rice on drums with some very tasty sax by Eddie.

In 1954 the Eddie Davis Trio lineup of Eddie on sax, Doc Bagby on organ and Charlie Rice on drums came together, recording "Just Too Marvelous" / "Heartaches" for Roost and sometime in the spring of 1954 the trio plus Sonny Stitt were recorded live at Birdland. Sessions for King commenced on April 11th 1955, with further sessions on April 19th and April 20th. Further King sessions were held in August 1955 and February 1956.

As can be seen from the release details above, these sessions resulted in a string of singles as well as this LP. The singles were reviewed in the R&B section of Billboard, so despite the album title "Modern Jazz Expressions" it is obvious that these sides were aimed at the jukebox crowd who liked to hear some good hot blowing (with the occasional ballad) on mostly easily recognizable standards.

When the next King session was held in July 1956 there was a change in personnel with Shirley Scott replacing Doc Bagby on organ. This was the start of a fruitful collaboration which would last until 1960, but that is a tale for our next post on Be Bop Wino.

Original Rhythm 'N Blues (re-up)

 

Side A:

01. The Bo-Do Rock - Earl Bostic

02. Lavender Coffin - Joe Thomas

03. Typhoon - Cootie Williams

04. Serenade To Twins - Johnny Sparrow

05. Shuffle Express - Eddie Wilcox

06. Blow Mr Low - Joe Williams

07. Charmaine - Burnie Peacock

08. Just Fall In Love - Dan Grissom

Side B:

01. Dungaree Hop - Plas Johnson

02. Honkin' - Jimmy Jackson All Stars

03. Goodnight, Irene - Mighty Man Maxwell

04. Gin And Coconut Milk - Wilburt Harrison

05. Aviator Papa - Lolly Pop Jones And Ethel Morris

06. Rain - Oscar McLollie

07. Pachuco Bop - Mad Mel Sebastian

08. Cherry - Clarence Palmer & The Jive Bombers

Download from here:

http://www111.zippyshare.com/v/v4l0D1Wq/file.html

Original post (October 4th 2009) is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2009/10/original-rhythm-n-blues.html

Re-upped by request. I provided some additional info on each track in the original post, so here is an updated version of that info:

1. The Bo-Do Rock - Earl Bostic
recorded in Los Angeles, April 19, 1956 for King Records. Released on King 4930 in June 1956, credited to Earl Bostic and Bill Doggett.

2. Lavender Coffin - Joe Thomas
recorded for King Records, Linden NJ, May 21, 1949  and released on King 4296 in June 1949. Joe Thomas spent 15 years as tenor sax player and vocalist with the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra. Started his own small band and recorded for King 1949 – 1951.

3. Typhoon - Cootie Williams
recorded for Mercury, December 1947 and released on Mercury 8083 in May 1948. Cootie Williams was for many years trumpeter in the Duke Ellington Orchestra. In the early 1940s he formed his own big band which had Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson”, Sam “The Man” Taylor and Bud Powell in the line up. By the time this side was recorded all of these musicians had left and the band had slimmed down to 9 or 10 pieces. The following year Willis Jackson joined and the band had a hit with the two-parter which gave Jackson his nickname – “Gator Tail”.

4. Serenade To Twins - Johnny Sparrow
recorded for National Records in NYC in March 1950 and released on National 9121 in October 1950. Tenor sax man Johnny Sparrow played in Jay McShann’s band (alongside Paul Quinichette) then in Louis Armstrong’s big band. He replaced Johnny Griffin in Lionel Hampton’s band, playing alongside Morris Lane. In 1949 he left the Hampton outfit to form his own small band known as “Johnny Sparrow and his Bows and Arrows”. He recorded some sides for Melford, including the hit “Sparrow’s Flight”, then signed for National in 1950 and moved on to Gotham in 1952.

5. Shuffle Express - Eddie Wilcox
recorded for Derby Records, New York, June 1951 and released on Derby 766 in August 1951. Another alumnus of the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra, pianist Eddie Wilcox led small bands which recorded for New York based labels Abbey and Victor in 1949-50. In 1951 he signed for Derby Records, acting as an arranger, producer, A&R man and band leader for the label. “Shuffle Express” was originally released as the B-side of Betty McLaurin’s “The Masquerade Is Over”. On this session the band included tenor sax men Freddie Mitchell and Lucky Thompson.

6. Blow Mr Low - Joe Williams
recorded in Chicago, September 1953 with the Red Saunders band. Released on Savoy 1165 in July 1955. Joe Williams was a blues shouter who had spells with the Coleman Hawkins and Lionel Hampton bands and is best remembered for his tenure in the Count Basie band in the 1950s. His biggest hit was “Every Day I Have The Blues.”

7. Charmaine - Burnie Peacock
recorded for King in New York, November 1951, and released on King 4506 in December 1951. Burnie Peacock was a clarinet and alto sax player who played in the big bands of Lucky Millinder, Jimmie Lunceford, Cab Calloway, Lionel Hampton and Count Basie, all in the space of three years from 1945 - 48. He stood in for Earl Bostic when the latter was recovering from a car crash.

8. Just Fall In Love - Dan Grissom
recorded for Million, Los Angeles 1955, released on Million 2011 in May 1955. The vocal group on the record is The Ebb Tones. This was the B-side of “Recess in Heaven”. Dan Grissom was a vocalist and alto sax player with the Jimmie Lunceford Orchestra. He was rather uncharitably nicknamed “Dan Gruesome” by jazz fans who were less than enamoured by his song stylings. From 1945 onwards he made records as a vocalist for various small labels in Los Angeles.

9. Dungaree Hop - Plas Johnson
recorded for the Tampa label in Los Angeles in 1956 and released on Tampa TP-116 in August 1956. Tenor sax man active in R&B and the poppier side of rock and roll in the mid to late 50’s, recording LPs for Capitol and Score. Also active in session work and in the jazz field. That’s his sax work on Henry Mancini’s “Pink Panther Theme.” See plasjohnson.com for much more info on this prolific musician.

10. Honkin' - Jimmy Jackson All Stars
released as RPM 349 in 1952. Evidence from the matrix numbers points towards this recording actually originating from a session by Benny Carter recorded for Modern in 1949 with Ben Webster on tenor sax. Moreover, like “Honkin’”, Carter’s “Cottontail” / “Time Out For The Blues” (released on Modern 858) also has dubbed on crowd noises. If you would like to investigate further then please buy the wonderful Ace (UK) compilation “Let’s Jump! Swingin’ Humdingers From Modern Records” (CD CHD 809). This Billy Vera compiled CD has Benny Carter’s “Cottontail” / “Time Out For The Blues” plus “Deep Purple” which is credited to the Jimmy Jackson All-Stars.

The Jazz West Coast Research blog has a post on the renaming of jazz tracks on the Modern/RPM/Crown labels, including the Benny Carter / Jimmy Jackson tracks. Discographies do list a Jimmy Jackson session in 1952 with musicians such as Billy Hadnott and Devonia Williams taking part,but the master numbers seem to show that the tracks originate from the Carter session of 1949.

11. Goodnight, Irene - Mighty Man Maxwell
recorded for Discovery in Los Angeles on August 9th, 1950. Released on Discovery 524 in September 1950. Billboard announced the recording artist as "Mad Man Maxwell."Discovery was a small jazz label which was taken over by Savoy.

12. Gin And Coconut Milk - Wilburt Harrison
recorded for DeLuxe in Miami, November 1953. B-Side of “Nobody Knows The Trouble” (DeLuxe 6031). Yes, it’s Wilbert Harrison who had the massive hit “Kansas City” for Fury in 1959, and who also recorded “Let’s Stick Together” which was covered by Canned Heat and later by Bryan Ferry.

13. Aviator Papa - Lolly Pop Jones And Ethel Morris
recorded for DeLuxe in New Orleans in 1948. Lollypop Jones “starred” in 3 films in 1946 – two musical shorts, “Chicago After Dark” and “Lucky Gamblers”, and a grade Z all-black horror movie “Midnight Menace” in which he got to sing “Honeysuckle Rose” and “Don’t Sell My Monkey Baby”.

14. Rain - Oscar McLollie
Recorded for Class, Los Angeles, 1953, released on Class 503 in March 1953. Oscar McLollie recorded two singles for Leon Rene’s Class label in 1952/53, his first release being “The Honey Jump”. During 1953 he transferred to Modern Records and recut “The Honey Jump” with his group now called The Honeyjumpers. After a series of good records such as “All That Oil In Texas” and “Lolly Pop”, he recorded briefly for Mercury in 1956. In 1957 he was back recording for Class, including several duets with Jeanette Baker. One of their numbers “Hey Girl - Hey Boy” was covered by Louis Prima and Keely Smith in the film of the same name.

15. Pachuco Bop - Mad Mel Sebastian
recorded for M & S in 1952, probably in Los Angeles. B Side of "Raven Hop." “Mad Mel Sebastian” is a pseudonym for …? Is it Chuck Higgins? Or someone cashing in on Chuck’s “Pachuco Hop”? Does anyone know anything about Mad Mel? A comment on the original post says that he had a disc on the small "R and B" label called "Walkin' On The Ceiling."

16. Cherry - Clarence Palmer & The Jive Bombers
recorded for Savoy (Savoy 1515) in New York in May 1957, released in June 1957. Very similar sound to their 1956 Savoy hit “Bad Boy.” The Jive Bombers were a group whose origins lie back in the 1930s as does “Bad Boy” which descends from Lil Armstrong’s “Brown Gal.” Now that would be worth a post on its own!

Howlin' Wolf - Off The Record

 

Side 1:
01. Shake For Me
02. The Red Rooster
03. You'll Be Mine
04. Who's Been Talkin'
05. Wang-Dang-Doodle
06. Little Baby

Side 2:
01. Spoonful
02. Going Down Slow
03. Down In the Bottom
04. Back Door Man
05. Howlin' For My Baby
06. Tell Me

Download from here:

http://www11.zippyshare.com/v/m94gBK06/file.html


A 1986 Italian re-release of Chess LP 1469 "Howlin' Wolf" which was originally released in January 1962. See below for original front cover:

Also known as "The Rockin' Chair Album."

One of the earliest LPs I ever bought was "The London Howlin' Wolf Sessions" which came out in 1971. Or to be more accurate my mum bought it for my birthday in the original Glasgow Virgin Record Shop in Argyle Street back in the summer of 1971. She also bought me Ten Years After's "Cricklewood Green." To be completely and absolutely accurate she stood in the middle of the hippy hangout shop, purse in hand, while I wandered from record bin to record bin agonizing over which two LPs to choose. Happily my choices proved to be spot on and both LPs provided many years of listening pleasure.

Over the years I bought a few more Wolf LPs and then CDs but the LP I've posted here is a comparatively recent purchase bought second hand somewhere in Glasgow within the last few years. It's a 1980s reissue and some of these reissued Chess albums weren't always in the best sound quality as is occasionally evident on the mp3s I've ripped.

The LP is a compilation of Wolf's early 1960s singles. Recording and release details are given below.

Single releases of the tracks from "Howlin' Wolf" / "Off The Record":

Chess 1750 - Tell Me / Who's Been Talking? - February 1960

Chess 1762 - Spoonful / Howlin' For My Darling - July 1960 re-titled "Howlin' For My Baby" on LP.

Chess 1777 - Wang-Dang-Doodle / Back Door Man - January 1961

Chess 1793 - Down In The Bottom / Little Baby - June 1961

Chess 1804 - The Red Rooster / Shake For Me - October 1961

Chess 1813 - You'll Be Mine / Going Down Slow - February 1962

Recording details:

"Who's Been Talking?" and "Tell Me" -
recorded in Chicago on June 24th 1957. Personnel: Howlin' Wolf (vocal, harmonica); Adolph "Billy" Duncan (tenor sax); Hosea Lee Kennard (piano); Willie Johnson, Otis "Big Smokey"
Smothers (guitars); Alfred Elkins (bass); Earl Phillips (drums)

"Howlin' For My Darling" aka "Howlin' For My Baby" -
recorded in Chicago in July 1959. Personnel: Howlin' Wolf (vocal, harmonica); Abb Locke (tenor sax); Hosea Lee Kennard (piano); Hubert Sumlin, Abraham "Abe" Smothers (guitars); S.P. Leary (drums)

"Back Door Man," "Wang-Dang-Doodle" and "Spoonful" -
recorded in Chicago in June 1960. Personnel: Howlin' Wolf (vocal, harmonica); Otis Spann (piano); Hubert Sumlin (guitar); Willie Dixon (bass); Fred Below (drums)

"Little Baby" and "Down In The Bottom" -
recorded in Chicago in May 1961. Personnel: Howlin' Wolf (vocal, guitar); Johnny Jones (piano); Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Rogers (guitars); Willie Dixon (bass); Sam Lay (drums)

"Shake For Me" and "The Red Rooster" -
recorded in Chicago in May 1961. Personnel: Howlin' Wolf (vocal, harmonica, guitar); Johnny Jones (piano); Hubert Sumlin, Jimmy Rogers (guitars); Willie Dixon (bass); Sam Lay (drums)

"You'll Be Mine" and "Going Down Slow" -
recorded in Chicago in December 1961. Personnel: Howlin' Wolf (vocal, guitar); Henry Gray (piano); Hubert Sumlin (guitar); Jimmy Rogers (bass guitar); Willie Dixon (bass, spoken vocal on Going Down Slow); Sam Lay (drums).

Some recommended Howlin' Wolf CDs:

Howling Wolf Sings The Blues (Ace CD CDCHM 1013) - is an extended version of the Crown LP "Sings The Blues." A collection of Modern / RPM Wolf sides recorded in Memphis and West Memphis between 1951 and 1953. The Wolf was caught up in the complicated battle between Chess and Modern / RPM both of whom released sides recorded at Sam Phillips Memphis Recording service. The booklet contains an essay by Dave Sax which explains the twists and turns in the early recording history of The Wolf.

Come Back Home (SBLUECD017) - a budget Snapper Music collection of unreleased takes recorded at Sam Phillips' Memphis Recording Service on Union Avenue between May 1951 and October 1952. Rough, raw, ragged, but right!

The Genuine Article (MCD 11073) - the starting point for any Howlin' Wolf collection. All the biggies released on Chess, ranging from 1951 sides recorded by Sam Phillips to a version of The Red Rooster from the London Howlin' Wolf sessions recorded in 1970. Excellent sound quality on 25 tracks.

His Best Vol. 2 (Chess 112 026-2) - a good companion volume to "The Genuine Article." 20 tracks from Memphis 1951 to London 1970. Not much duplication between the 2 CDs. Any disc on the Chess The Legendary Masters Series will be in exemplary sound quality.

Recommended read:

Moanin' At Midnight: The Life and Times of Howlin' Wolf by James Segrest and Mark Hoffman. Pantheon Books, New York, 2004. A revised paperback edition (2005) published by Da Capo Press can be bought for a very reasonable price.

Enjoy the unique experience that is Howlin' Wolf!

Hot Lips Page - Lip's Blues

Side 1:
01. Dance Of The Tambourine
02. Uncle Sam Blues
03. Pagin' Mr Page
04. I Keep Rollin' On

Side 2:
01. I Got What It Takes
02. Good For Stompin'
03. Lip's Blues
04. Blooey

Download from here:

http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/HV5KcI8P/file.html

On with the Savoy homemade comp series. With this collection we step back to 1944 which is the year when the Savoy recording operation really started to take off, with Buck Ram producing sessions by jazz musicians from the clubs of 52nd Street and Harlem. Among the artists recorded that year were Tiny Grimes, Lester Young, Pete Brown, Ben Webster, Helen Humes, Viola Wells (Miss Rhapsody), The Five Red Caps (in disguise as The Toppers), Don Byas, Clyde Hart and Earl Warren (really the Count Basie Band minus Basie).

Texas born trumpeter and singer Oran "Hot Lips" Page started his professional music career in the 1920s with Ma Rainey's band, gaining a deep grounding in blues and jazz not only accompanying Rainey but also touring with Ida Cox and Bessie Smith. He was in Walter Page's Blue Devils, a band which originated in Oklahoma but which gravitated towards the wide open scene of Kansas City at the start of the 1930s. Following in the footsteps of Count Basie, Hot Lips Page and Jimmy Rushing left The Blue Devils for another KC band, that of Bennie Moten. When Moten died in 1935 Basie took over as band leader. In 1936 Lips went solo, leaving the Basie band just as it was about to achieve national fame.

Somehow despite his abilities both as a trumpet player and blues singer Hot Lips Page never quite reached the heights that seemed to be his for the asking. He moved to New York, played an important part in the live jazz scene and recorded sides for Decca and Bluebird with small group and big band backing. In the early forties he was with the Artie Shaw band and by 1944 his live club work led to recording sessions for Commodore and Savoy.

The first Savoy session in June 1944 was with a small group which included Harlem and 52nd Street regulars like Don Byas and Big Sid Catlett. For the second Savoy session in September 1944 the backing band was expanded with the addition of such notables as Ike Quebec, Earl Bostic and Tiny Grimes. The eight tracks are good examples of what came to be known retrospectively as "Harlem Jump" i.e. an immediate predecessor of jump blues and R&B which retained a heavy swing influence.

A few years further down the line and we find Lips' bands playing in a more R&B style, especially in the December 1947 sessions for King which included backing Wynonie Harris on numbers like "Blow Your Brains Out," "Good Rockin' Tonight" and "Lollipop Mama." A 2009 CD on El Toro collects sides from various labels including King, Apollo, RCA Victor and Columbia. Entitled "Roll Roll Roll (The R&B Years)", it's worth a punt if you can find a reasonably priced copy.The opening track "Last Call For Alcohol" is perhaps one of the most frantic sides I've ever heard. It's a sort of supercharged amalgam of swing, R&B and even 1920s hot jazz.

Background info on the tracks on "Lip's Blues":

"Dance Of The Tambourine," "Uncle Sam Blues," "Pagin' Mr Page" and "I Keep Rollin' On" recorded in NYC on June 14th, 1944. Personnel: Hot Lips Page (trumpet, vocals); Floyd "Horsecollar" Williams (alto, tenor sax); Don Byas, George Johnson (tenor saxes); Clyde Hart (piano); John Simmons (bass); Sidney Catlett (drums).

Uncle Sam Blues / Paging Mr. Page released on Savoy 520 in August 1944.

Dance Of The Tambourine / I Keep Rollin' On released on Savoy 521 in November 1944.

The above singles by Hot Lips Page's Swing Seven.

"I Got What It Takes," "Good For Stompin'," "Lip's Blues" and "Blooey" recorded in NYC on September 12th, 1944. Personnel: Jesse Brown, Joe Keyes (trumpets); Hot Lips Page (trumpet, vocals); Vic Dickenson (trombone); Earl Bostic, Floyd "Horsecollar" Williams (alto saxes); Don Byas, Ike Quebec (tenor saxes); Clyde Hart (piano, celeste); Tiny Grimes (guitar); Al Lucas (bass); Jack Parker (drums).

Lip's Blues / I Got What It Takes released on Savoy 529 in December 1944. This single was re-released on Savoy 700 as Double Trouble Blues / I Got What It Takes in August 1949.

"Good For Stompin'" and "Blooey" were unreleased until Savoy LP "The Changing Face Of Harlem" (SJL 2208) in 1976.

Hot Lips Page died in New York in 1954 aged 46, following a heart attack.

The Beale Street Gang - Back Alley Blues

Side 1:
01. Lights Out
02. Raising The Roof
03. Jelly Roll Jan
04. Jumpin' In Jack's House
05. Teddy Bear

Side 2:
01. Fatstuff Boogie
02. Lazy Joe
03. Back Alley Blues
04. Red, Red Wine
05. Boogie Grunt

Download from here:

http://www15.zippyshare.com/v/YeZYVGw1/file.html

If you like your R&B stripped down to the basics, if you dig a late night smoky club atmosphere with a small group groovin' on lowdown blues and boogie, if Sonny Thompson's "Long Gone" is your bag, then this is the stuff for you.

"The Beale Street Gang" (occasionally "The Beale Street Boys") was the moniker of several small groups led by pianist Milt Buckner which recorded for Savoy in 1946-48 and again in 1951. While recording these sessions Milt's main musical activity was with the Lionel Hampton big band of which he was an original member, having joined as pianist and arranger in 1941. In 1949 and early 1950 Milt recorded for MGM with his own short lived big band (the sides had a similar sound to that of Hamp), but by October 1950 Milt was back with the Hampton outfit.

The sides on this little comp could therefore be regarded as very much a "side project" and they certainly have a spontaneous feel about them as they consist mainly of basic blues riffing and boogies. It's R&B the way I like it!

In 1952 Milt changed over from piano to the Hammond organ and embarked on a long career playing small group jazz. In the 1950s into the early 1960s he cut material for Capitol, Argo and Bethlehem. From 1966 until his death in 1977 he recorded many LPs for European labels, especially the French label Black & Blue.

The Beale Street Gang sides represent a brief outbreak of raw R&B in between Milt's more well known stints as big band arranger / pianist and organ combo leader. Here's the details, groovers:

"Lights Out" and "Raising The Roof" were recorded in NYC on October 28th, 1946. Personnel: Milt Buckner (piano) with: Pazzuza Simon (tenor sax); Curly Russell (bass); Arthur Herbert (drums).

Lights Out / Raising The Roof was issued on Savoy 653 in July 1947. Credited to The Beale St. Boys then on later issues to The Beale Street Gang.

"Jelly Roll Jan," "Raisin' The Roof" and "Teddy Bear" were recorded in NYC on December 8th, 1947. Personnel: Milt Buckner (piano) with: unknown (trumpet); Ray Abrams (tenor sax); possibly Curly Russell (bass) and possibly Arthur Herbert (drums).

Jelly Roll Jan / Jumpin' In Jack's House was issued on Savoy 669 in August 1948.

"Teddy Bear" was issued as the B Side of Regent 129, probably in October 1948, credited to The Beale Street Gang. The A Side was "Killer Diller" by Gene Coy And His Killer Dillers. This disc was very popular in Jamaica where it was released on Savoy 5555 and later as a 45 on Top Rank.

"Fatstuff Boogie," "Lazy Joe" and "Back Alley Blues" were recorded in NYC on July 11th 1948. Personnel: Milt Buckner (piano) with unknown trumpet, tenor sax, bass and drums.

Fatstuff Boogie / Lazy Joe was issued on Savoy 693 in May 1949.

"Back Alley Blues" was issued as the B Side of "Double Crossin' Blues" by the Johnny Otis Quintette on Savoy 731 in February / March 1950. The original review issue of this disc had "Ain't Nothin' Shakin'" by Leon Sims coupled with the Johnny Otis side, but this seems to have been quickly replaced by The Beale Streeters' opus.

"Double Crossin' Blues" which featured Little Esther and The Robins was a number 1 R&B hit in March and April 1950. In May 1950 it was replaced at the top of the R&B charts by another Johnny Otis disc - "Mistrustin' Blues" which featured Little Esther and Mel Walker.

"Red, Red Wine" and "Boogie Grunt" were recorded in NYC on April 5th, 1951. Personnel: Milt Buckner (piano, vocal) with: Tyree Glenn (trombone); Harold Clark (tenor sax); Reuben Phillips (baritone sax); Aaron Bell (bass); Tim Kennedy (drums).

Red, Red Wine / Boogie Grunt was issued on Savoy 785 in May 1951. Credited to Milton Buckner And His Beale Street Gang.

I first came across The Beale Street Gang when I was reading up on the background to the Savoy LP "Rhythm and Blues Volume 1" which had "Lights Out" credited to Milton Buckner. Read that post for details of how "Lights Out" reappeared in 1954 as "Blue Nights" credited to The Hot Shots.

For an in depth look at this phase of Milt Buckner's career see this website:

http://www.jazzdocumentation.ch/buckner/discography/buckner1.html

For listening it has to be this CD:

Classics 5032. Now out of print but you may be able to pick up a second hand copy. Or visit a certain blog by a certain French uncle and search around!