Luke Jones & Red Mack - West Coast R&B 1947-1952 Re-upped

Side A:

01. Jump The Boogie - Luke Jones

02. Feelin' Low Down - Luke Jones

03. Four Or Five Times - Luke Jones

04. Graveyard Blues - Luke Jones

05. Shufflin' Boogie - Luke Jones

06. Worryin' Anyhow Blues - Luke Jones

07. Disc Jockey Blues - Luke Jones

08. What You Bet - Luke Jones

Side B:

01. If You Love Me Baby - Red Mack

02. Black Man's Blues - Red Mack

03. Mr Big Head - Red Mack

04. Just Like Two Drops Of Water - Red Mack

05. Midnight Blues - Luke Jones

06. Ditch Diggin' Daddy - Luke Jones

07. I Love You Love Me Too - Luke Jones

08. She's My Baby - Luke Jones

Download from:

http://www5.zippyshare.com/v/AMXqpxn9/file.html

Original post (26th January 2010):

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/luke-jones-red-mack-west-coast-r-1947.html

From the original post:

Here’s a 1987 Krazy Kat LP which features some rollicking West Coast jump blues from the mid 1940s. All of theses sides were recorded for the Atlas label between early 1946 and mid 1947 with the exception of Red Mack’s single “Just Like Two Drops of Water” / “Mr Big Head” which was recorded for Mercury in early 1951. Wynonie Harris recorded a storming cover version of “Just Like Two Drops of Water” for King, but the original version is the one by Red Mack.

This collection centres on Luke Jones, bandleader, alto and baritone sax player and clarinettist who was born in Louisiana but as an infant moved to Los Angeles. From the late 1930s he was involved in the LA scene, playing for Lionel Hampton and Roy Milton before forming his own jump trio with pianist Betty Hall Jones and drummer / blues shouter George Vann. At the Atlas sessions the trio was augmented by trumpeter and vocalist Red Mack and bass player Chuck Barksdale. Two of the early 1946 sides were credited to Red Mack: “If You Love Me Baby” and “Black Man’s Blues.”

The music is the standard jump band mix of the 1940s – blues, boogies, shuffles and the occasional ballad. The contributions of Betty Hall Jones and George Vann are particularly fine. Miss Jones pounds out some great boogie while George Vann is a good blues shouter. This is yet another LP which has languished unplayed for a decade or two in my dusty vinyl vault. I’m glad I dusted it down for the blog – it’s a cracking little comp which spotlights musicians who perhaps weren’t up there with the bands of Louis Jordan, Roy Milton or Joe Liggins, but who nevertheless made music which still sounds good sixty years later.

Additional information:

All sides recorded for Atlas Records, Los Angeles, 1946 - 1947, except "Just Like Two Drops Of Water" / "Mr Big Head", recorded for Mercury in Los Angeles, 1951.

1. Jump The Boogie - Luke Jones (Atlas 122A, 123, 160) vocal - Joe Alexander & band

2. Feelin' Low Down - Luke Jones (Atlas 116) vocal - George Vann

3. Four Or Five Times - Luke Jones (Atlas 116) vocal - George Vann

4. Graveyard Blues - Luke Jones (Atlas 122) vocal - George Vann

5. Shufflin' Boogie - Luke Jones (Atlas 122, 122A, 160) vocal - Joe Alexander & band

6. Worryin' Anyhow Blues - Luke Jones (Atlas 123, 160) vocal - George Vann

7. Disc Jockey Blues - Luke Jones (Atlas 144) vocal - Joe Alexander

8. What You Bet - Luke Jones (Atlas 115) vocal - Red Mack

9. If You Love Me Baby - Red Mack (Atlas 117) vocal - Red Mack

10. Black Man's Blues - Red Mack (Atlas 117) vocal - Helen Andrews

11. Mr Big Head - Red Mack (Mercury 8217) vocal - Red Mack

12. Just Like Two Drops Of Water - Red Mack (Mercury 8217) vocal - Red Mack

13. Midnight Blues - Luke Jones (Atlas 135) vocal - Clarence Williams

14. Ditch Diggin' Daddy - Luke Jones (Atlas 134) vocal - Clarence Williams

15. I Love You Love Me Too - Luke Jones (Atlas 134) vocal - Red Mack

16. She's My Baby - Luke Jones (Atlas 135) vocal - Clarence Williams

Atlas 115 - Goin' Down Slow / What You Bet - Luke Jones & His Five Joes

Atlas 116 - Feelin' Low Down / Four Or Five Times - Luke Jones & His Five Joes

Atlas 117 - Black Man's Blues / If You Love Me Baby - Red Mack & His Orchestra

Atlas 122 - Graveyard Blues / Shufflin' Boogie - Luke Jones with Joe Alexander's Highlanders

Atlas 122A - Jump The Boogie / Shufflin' Boogie - Luke Jones with Joe Alexander's Highlanders

Atlas 123 - Worryin' Anyhow Blues / Jump The Boogie - Luke Jones with Joe Alexander's Highlanders

Atlas 134 - Ditch Diggin' Daddy / I Love You Love Me Too - Luke Jones & His Five Joes

Atlas 135 - Midnight Blues / She's My Baby - Luke Jones & His Five Joes

Atlas 144 - Disc Jockey Blues / Me Love - Luke Jones & His Orchestra

Mercury 8217 - Mr.Big Head / Just Like Two Drops Of Water - Red Mack and His Trumpet

Find more Betty Hall Jones on the blog here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/those-great-blues-girls-from-40s.html

George Vann features on disc 4 of the JSP Jack McVea boxset "Rarely Was Honkin' Sax So Much Fun." 22 tracks on the CD are credited to George 'The Blues Man' Vann with The Sepia Tones, Joe Alexander's Highlanders, The Sprits Of Rhythm, Four Joes And a Jane, Johnny Alston, and Sylvester Scott. In addition there are 4 Alton Redd tracks. All of these tracks were recorded in LA 1944 - 1947. The other 3 CDs in the set have 76 Jack McVea tracks recorded between 1944 and 1947.

If you're interested in early West Coast jump, this is a great purchase!

Those Great Blues Girls From The 40's (re-up)

In response to a request for a re-up, here's this 1985 Pathe Marconi collection of tracks originally released on Philo / Aladdin, Capitol and Imperial. Betty Hall Jones is very much the star here. Her combination of piano tinkling, sophisticated wit and dry vocal delivery is reminiscent of Julia Lee and Nellie Lutcher.

The original post and write up from January 2010 is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/those-great-blues-girls-from-40s.html

The new download link is here:

http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/89p0cMAj/file.html

Tracklist:

Side 1
1. Rose Mitchell - Baby Please Don't Go
2. Cleo Brown - Cleo's Boogie
3. Addie Williams - Maybe Someday
4. Helen Humes - Stop Jivin' Around
5. Helen Humes - Please Let Me Forget
6. Tina Dixon - Hello Baby
7. Tina Dixon - Don't You Know I Want To Love You

Side 2
1. Betty Hall Jones - You Got To Have What It Takes
2. Betty Hall Jones - If I Ever Cry (You'll Never Know)
3. Betty Hall Jones - This Joint's Too Hip For Me
4. Betty Hall Jones - Thrill Me
5. Betty Hall Jones - Buddy Stay Off That Wine
6. Betty Hall Jones - That's A Man For You
7. Betty Hall Jones - I Never Miss The Sunshine (I'm So Used To The Rain)

Luke Jones & Red Mack - West Coast R&B 1947-1952

Here’s a 1987 Krazy Kat LP which features some rollicking West Coast jump blues from the mid 1940s. All of theses sides were recorded for the Atlas label between early 1946 and mid 1947 with the exception of Red Mack’s single “Just Like Two Drops of Water” / “Mr Big Head” which was recorded for Mercury in early 1951. Wynonie Harris recorded a storming cover version of “Just Like Two Drops of Water” for King, but the original version is the one by Red Mack.

This collection centres on Luke Jones, bandleader, alto and baritone sax player and clarinettist who was born in Louisiana but as an infant moved to Los Angeles. From the late 1930s he was involved in the LA scene, playing for Lionel Hampton and Roy Milton before forming his own jump trio with pianist Betty Hall Jones and drummer / blues shouter George Vann. At the Atlas sessions the trio was augmented by trumpeter and vocalist Red Mack and bass player Chuck Barksdale. Two of the early 1946 sides were credited to Red Mack: “If You Love Me Baby” and “Black Man’s Blues.”

The music is the standard jump band mix of the 1940s – blues, boogies, shuffles and the occasional ballad. The contributions of Betty Hall Jones and George Vann are particularly fine. Miss Jones pounds out some great boogie while George Vann is a good blues shouter. This is yet another LP which has languished unplayed for a decade or two in my dusty vinyl vault. I’m glad I dusted it down for the blog – it’s a cracking little comp which spotlights musicians who perhaps weren’t up there with the bands of Louis Jordan, Roy Milton or Joe Liggins, but who nevertheless made music which still sounds good sixty years later.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

Download from here:

http://www5.zippyshare.com/v/AMXqpxn9/file.html

1. Jump The Boogie - Luke Jones (Atlas 122, 123, 160)
2. Feelin' Low Down - Luke Jones (Atlas 116)
3. Four Or Five Times - Luke Jones (Atlas 116)
4. Graveyard Blues - Luke Jones (Atlas 122)
5. Shufflin' Boogie - Luke Jones (Atlas 122, 123, 160)
6. Worryin' Anyhow Blues - Luke Jones (Atlas 123, 160)
7. Disc Jockey Blues - Luke Jones (Atlas 144)
8. What You Bet - Luke Jones (Atlas 115)
9. If You Love Me Baby - Red Mack (Atlas 117)
10. Black Man's Blues - Red Mack (Atlas 117)
11. Mr Big Head - Red Mack (Mercury 8217)
12. Just Like Two Drops Of Water - Red Mack (Mercury 8217)
13. Midnight Blues - Luke Jones (Atlas 135)
14. Ditch Diggin' Daddy - Luke Jones (Atlas 134)
15. I Love You Love Me Too - Luke Jones (Atlas 134)
16. She's My Baby - Luke Jones (Atlas 135)

Those Great Blues Girls From The 40's

Happy New Year folks and here’s the first post of 2010! And let’s get back into true Be Bop Wino territory – the mid to late 1940’s when rhythm and blues was developing out of swing and jump and it was hard to tell where jazz left off and R&B began. Of the artists on this LP, Cleo Brown, Helen Humes, Betty Hall Jones and Addie Williams were all swing era veterans.

Pianist / vocalist Cleo Brown’s recording career stretched back to the mid 1930s with Decca Records. Singer Helen Humes’ recording career began in 1927. After a spell with a band led by Big Al Sears, she joined the Count Basie band in 1938 and remained with them until 1941. She moved to the West Coast during the war and in 1945 recorded with the Bill Doggett Octet for Philo / Aladdin, having a moderate hit with “He May Be Your Man” and a massive hit with “Be-Baba-Leba.” The two sides on this collection were recorded for Philo / Aladdin in December 1945 with backing provided by a band featuring Lester Young and Maxwell Davis. The bluesy “Stop Jivin’ Around” was unreleased.

As for Addie Williams – all I know is that she was active in Kansas City in the mid 1930s when she worked with Betty Hall Jones who is very much the star of this collection. Other artists here of whom I know next to nothing are Rose Mitchell whose powerhouse performance of “Baby Please Don’t Go” dates from 1954 and may be backed by the Dave Bartholomew band; and Tina Dixon who may or may not be the “Auntie Tina Dixon” who recorded raunchy “party” LPs for Laff Records. Check out the covers on lpcoverlover.com here and here, and judge for yourselves.

The whole of side B of this LP is devoted to sophisticated piano playing chantoozy and comedienne Betty Hall Jones. If you like Julia Lee or Nellie Lutcher then you’ll like the work of Miss Jones. Her career began in the 1920s in California, continued in Kansas City in the mid 1930s with the Bus Moten band, and then back to California and a spell with an early line up of the Roy Milton band between 1937 and 1942. In 1946 and 1947 she recorded with the jump band of Luke Jones for Atlas Records. The seven sides on this collection were recorded over two sessions in 1949 for Capitol. The backing bands were led by guitarist Tiny Webb and included Bumps Myers, Dave Cavanaugh, Jesse Price and Maxwell Davis.

Miss Jones’ music provides hip and humorous commentary on life’s vicissitudes in a style similar to that of Louis Jordan. Perhaps the highlight is “This Joint’s Too Hip For Me” in which Miss Jones laments the stylistic excesses of beboppers Howard McGhee, Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie and states her preference for more mainstream musicians like Louis Armstrong, Louis Jordan, Coleman Hawkins, Count Basie and Jack Teagarden.

This LP was issued on the Pathe Marconi label in 1985. The recordings were originally made for Philo / Aladdin, Capitol and Imperial.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

Download from here:

http://www21.zippyshare.com/v/89p0cMAj/file.html

1. Baby Please Don't Go - Rose Mitchell
2. Cleo's Boogie - Cleo Brown
3. Maybe Someday - Addie Williams
4. Stop Jivin' Around - Helen Humes
5. Please Let Me Forget - Helen Humes
6. Hello Baby - Tina Dixon
7. Don't You Know I Want To Love You - Tina Dixon
8. You Got To Have What It Takes - Betty Hall Jones
9. If I Ever Cry (You'll Never Know) - Betty Hall Jones
10. This Joint's Too Hip For Me - Betty Hall Jones
11. Thrill Me - Betty Hall Jones
12. Buddy Stay Off That Wine - Betty Hall Jones
13. That's A Man For You - Betty Hall Jones
14. I Never Miss The Sunshine (I'm So Used To The Rain) - Betty Hall Jones

Recommended Purchase:



Blue Moon is a label which I don’t think I’ve mentioned on the blog so far. They have released many CDs of 1940s / early 1950s jump and R&B, including a 22 tracker of Betty Hall Jones called “Complete Recordings 1947-1954.” The complete Blue Moon R&B catalogue is well worth investigating if you are of the Be Bop Wino persuasion.