Cootie Williams & His Orchestra - Gator Tail

Side 1:
01. You Talk A Little Trash
02. Typhoon
03. I Love You, Yes I Do (vocal - Billy Matthews and The Balladeers)
04. Smooth Sailing
05. Gator Tail, Part 1
06. Gator Tail, Part 2
07. Let 'Em Roll (vocal - Bob Merrill)
08. Slidin' And Glidin'

Side 2:
01. Mercenary Papa (vocal - Eddie Mack)
02. You Got To Pay Those Dues (vocal - Eddie Mack)
03. Doin' The Gator Tail
04. Shotgun Boogie (vocal - Eddie Mack)
05. Divorce Me C.O.D. (vocal - Eddie Mack)
06. Steam Roller Blues (vocal - Eddie Mack)
07. Beauty Parlor Gossip (vocal - Eddie Mack)

Download from here:

http://www61.zippyshare.com/v/WLBB5j4p/file.html

As promised, here's a homemade comp which takes a look at the final recording years of the Cootie Williams Orchestra as an R&B act. I've given the cover a similar appearance to one of my favourite reissue labels, Jonas Bernholm's "Saxophonograph." The faux "Saxophony" label is also a tribute to one of my favourite CDs, "Saxophony: Jubilee Honkers & Shouters" on the Sequel label.

This late period in the recording career of the Cootie Williams Orchestra was described in the original 2010 post of "Typhoon," including a brief look at the careers of Bob Merrill and Eddie Mack. Since then I've managed to acquire some more of the tracks Willis Jackson recorded with Cootie, hence the appearance of this comp.

Towards the end of 1947 Cootie slimmed down his big band to a small group and signed on with Mercury Records for whom he recorded under his own name and also occasionally as a backing group for Dinah Washington. The first Mercury session took place on the eve of the AFM recording ban, with the band laying down 4 tracks under their own name, and also backing Dinah Washington on tracks which included "Record Ban Blues."

The next recording session wasn't until March 1949 by which time young tenor sax sensation Willis Jackson had joined the band. The two parter "Gator Tail" was a honking, squealing sensation among fans of the "muscular" approach to tenor sax playing and now makes its long awaited first appearance on the blog. The unreleased "Doin' The Gator Tail" from a September 1949 session is probably even better.

The Cootie Williams band (still featuring Willis Jackson and blues shouter Eddie Mack) signed with the Derby label at the very end of 1950 (announced in "Cashbox" on December 30th 1950). Their only recording session for the label probably took place in January 1951 and produced 4 sides, all vocal outings for Mack, which were released on 2 singles in the first half of that year. These sides mark the end of the Williams outfit as an R&B recording act, and eventually Cootie would return to the swing / jazz idiom.

Willis Jackson started recording under his own name while still a member of Cootie's band. His first sides were recorded for Apollo in January 1950. In July 1951 he recorded sides for Atlantic and went on to feature in many sessions for that label, particularly with his wife Ruth Brown and with The Clovers. Towards the end of the 1950s he started recording small group sides for Prestige in what has come to be known as the "Soul Jazz" style. His groups featured Hammond organ players such as Brother Jack McDuff, Freddie Roach and Carl Wilson, and guitarist Bill Jennings. I'm a big fan of this style of jazz or r&b or soul or whatever you want to call it, but it lies outwith the usual scope of this blog.

Willis Jackson - "Mad Man of the Saxophone"

Back to the 1940s and early '50s - here's the lowdown on the fine vibes on this comp:

Track info and release details:

Side 1, tracks 1-4, "You Talk A Little Trash," "Typhoon," "I Love You, Yes I Do," and "Smooth Sailing" were recorded in New York City on December 27th, 1947.

Personnel: Cootie Williams (trumpet) with - Bob Merrill (trumpet); Rupert Cole (alto sax, clarinet); Bill "Weasel" Parker (tenor sax); Arnold Jarvis (piano); Mundell Lowe (guitar); Leonard Swain (bass); Sylvester "Vess" Payne (drums); Billy Matthews (vocal); The Balladeers (vocal group)

I Love You, Yes I Do / Smooth Sailing - released on Mercury 8073, March 1948

You Talk A Little Trash (And I'll Spend A Little Cash) / Typhoon - released on Mercury 8083, May 1948.

Side 1, tracks 5-8, "Gator Tail, Part 1," "Gator Tail, Part 2," "Let 'Em Roll," and "Slidin' And Glidin'," were recorded in New York City on March 2nd, 1949.

Personnel: Cootie Williams (trumpet) with - Bob Merrill (trumpet, vocal); Rupert Cole (alto sax); Willis Jackson (tenor sax); Lester Fauntleroy (piano); Leonard "Heavy" Swain (bass); Gus Johnson (drums)

'Gator Tail - Pt. 1 / 'Gator Tail - Pt. 2 - released on Mercury 8131, May 1949.

Let 'Em Roll / Slidin' and Glidin' - released on Mercury 8143, August 1949.

Side 2, tracks 1-3, "Mercenary Papa," "You Got To Pay Those Dues," and "Doin' The Gator Tail" were recorded in New York City on September 20th, 1949.

Personnel: Cootie Williams (trumpet) with - Eddie Mack (vocals); Bob Merrill (trumpet); Rupert Cole (alto sax;) Willis Jackson (tenor sax); Lester Fauntleroy (piano); Leonard "Heavy" Swain (bass); Gus Johnson (drums)

Mercenary Papa / You Got To Pay Those Dues - released on Mercury 8168, March 1950.

Doin' The Gator Tail - not released.

Side 2, tracks 4-7, "Shotgun Boogie," "Divorce Me C.O.D.," "Steam Roller Blues," and "Beauty Parlor Gossip" were recorded in New York City, early 1951.

Personnel: Cootie Williams (trumpet) with - Eddie Mack (vocals); Rupert Cole (clarinet, alto sax); Willis Jackson (tenor sax); Arnold Jarvis (piano); Richard Fullbright (guitar); Ed Thigpen (drums)

The Shot Gun Boogie / Divorce Me C.O.D. Blues - released on Derby 756, January / February 1951.

Steamroller Blues / Beauty Parlor Gossip - released on Derby 784, March 1951.

Cootie Williams & His Orchestra - Typhoon (re-up)

Side One:
1. Typhoon
2. Saturday Night (vocal – Tony Warren)
3. I Can't Get Started
4. Save The Bones For Henry Jones (vocal – Bob Merrell)
5. Ooh La La (vocal – Bob Merrell)
6. I Want To Be Loved (vocal – Billy Matthews)
7. Divorce Me COD Blues (vocal – Eddie Mack)

Side Two:
1. Shotgun Boogie (vocal – Eddie Mack)
2. You Talk A Little Trash
3. If It's True (vocal – Billy Matthews)
4. I Shoulda Been Thinkin' Instead Of Drinkin' (vocal – Bob Merrell)
5. Sound Track
6. Inflation Blues (vocal – Bob Merrell)
7. I'm Beginning To See The Light (vocal – Tony Warren)

Download from here:

http://www79.zippyshare.com/v/4vRkReoE/file.html

Original post (19th September 2010) is here:

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2010/09/cootie-williams-his-orchestra-typhoon.html

That post includes an in-depth look at the Cootie Williams Orchestra after the departure of Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson plus information and recommended purchases of CDs for the blues shouters who filled the Vinson gap: Bob Merrill and Eddie Mack. The period covered by this compilation (1945 - 1950) saw the downsizing of the Williams outfit from a big band to a small jump combo.

Recording dates and personnel are on the back cover of the LP.

Additional release info on the tracks:

I'm Beginning To See The Light / Saturday Night (Is The Loneliest Night Of The Week) - Hit 7131 / Majestic 7131 - March 1945

I Want to Be Loved / I Can't Get Started - Majestic 1136 - May 1947

Inflation Blues / Sound Track - Majestic 1150 - June 1947

Ooh, La-La / If It's True - Majestic 1165 - September 1947

Save The Bones For Henry Jones / I Should A' Been Thinkin' Instead Of Drinkin' - Majestic 1172 - October 1947

You Talk A Little Trash (And I'll Spend A Little Cash) / Typhoon - Mercury 8083 - May 1948

Divorce Me C.O.D. Blues / Shotgun Boogie - Derby 756 - early 1951

Our next post will be a new look at the final years of the Cootie Williams Orchestra as an R&B outfit, featuring the introduction of Willis Jackson as the band's wild man of the tenor sax.

Cootie Williams & His Orchestra – Typhoon

Side One:
1. Typhoon
2. Saturday Night (vocal – Tony Warren)
3. I Can't Get Started
4. Save The Bones For Henry Jones (vocal – Bob Merrell)
5. Ooh La La (vocal – Bob Merrell)
6. I Want To Be Loved (vocal – Billy Matthews)
7. Divorce Me COD Blues (vocal – Eddie Mack)

Side Two:
1. Shotgun Boogie (vocal – Eddie Mack)
2. You Talk A Little Trash
3. If It's True (vocal – Billy Matthews)
4. I Shoulda Been Thinkin' Instead Of Drinkin' (vocal – Bob Merrell)
5. Sound Track
6. Inflation Blues (vocal – Bob Merrell)
7. I'm Beginning To See The Light (vocal – Tony Warren)

Here’s the follow up to the previous Cootie Williams post, “Echoes Of Harlem.” This LP compiles tracks drawn from the years when star vocalist and alto sax player Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson had left the band. There are only four instrumental tracks here, so we get a good sample of vocal performances in contrasting styles by a variety of singers. The bulk of the tracks are from 1947, the year in which Cootie had to cut down the big band to a small combo, plus there are a couple of tracks from early 1945 (when Vinson was temporarily absent from the band) and a couple of 1950 tracks featuring the blues shouter Eddie Mack.

“Saturday Night (Is The Loneliest Night Of The Week) and “I’m Beginning To See The Light” date from a February 1945 session for Majestic. Both are vehicles for the Sinatra style singing of Tony Warren, with good swinging backing from the band.

Between May 1945 and September 1946 the Cootie Williams Orchestra recorded for Capitol Records, with Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson leaving after the July 1945 session. By January 1946 trumpeter and singer Bob Merrell (real name: Merrill) had joined the band and contributed three vocal performances in a July 1946 session for Capitol. In the final Capitol session in September 1946 he cut two more vocals for the band – “Ain’t Got No Blues Today” and “Bring ‘Em Down Front.”

In early 1947 the band was back with Majestic Records, recording four tracks – “I Can’t Get Started,” which is a tremendous instrumental showcase for Cootie’s trumpet playing, “Sound Track”, a rousing flagwaver, “Inflation Blues” on which Bob Merrell does a reasonable imitation of Louis Jordan, and “I Want To Be Loved” which is a lachrymose, lugubrious performance by Eckstine style warbler Billy Matthews.

In July 1947 The Cootie Williams Orchestra recorded their final session for Majestic and for the last time as a big band. There was another mournful oh-my-God-I’m –gonna-cut-my wrists track from Billy Matthews in “If It’s True” but also three rousing hoarse-voiced R&B shouters from Bob Merrell in “Ooh La La”, “Save The Bones For Henry Jones” and “I Shoulda Been Thinkin’ Instead Of Drinkin’.”

In December 1947 the now slimmed down Cootie Williams band had signed for Mercury and their first session for their new company included the blasting “Typhoon” which featured frantic sax action from Bill “Weasel” Parker. A few days later the band backed label mate Dinah Washington as the record companies frantically stockpiled sides before the start of the second AFM strike on 1st January 1948.

The recording ban was probably the main reason why the seven piece band’s next session for Mercury didn’t take place until March 1949. By this time Weasel Parker had left and had been replaced by Willis Jackson. From this session came the record that would earn Jackson his nickname – “Gator Tail Parts 1 and 2” – a frantic two part honkathon which unfortunately is not only not on this LP, it isn’t in my collection in any format whatsoever.



Willis "Gator Tail" Jackson



Eddie Mack aka "Pigmeat Peterson"

At the next and last Mercury session in September 1949, blues shouter Eddie Mack was added to the personnel. He was also present along with Willis Jackson at the November 1950 session for Derby. Included here are Eddie’s spirited renditions of two covers of country hits – Merle Travis’s “Divorce Me C.O.D.” and Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Shotgun Boogie.” That was effectively the end of the R&B years for Cootie Williams and thus he fades from the annals of Be Bop Wino. In the late 1950s he returned to the jazz scene and in 1962 rejoined the Duke Ellington Orchestra, even staying on as a band member after the death of Duke. Cootie Williams died in New York City in September 1985.

Ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

Download from here:

http://www79.zippyshare.com/v/4vRkReoE/file.html

1. Typhoon
2. Saturday Night
3. I Can't Get Started
4. Save The Bones For Henry Jones
5. Ooh La La
6. I Want To Be Loved
7. Divorce Me COD Blues
8. Shotgun Boogie
9. You Talk A Little Trash
10. If It's True
11. I Shoulda Been Thinkin' Instead Of Drinkin'
12. Sound Track
13. Inflation Blues
14. I'm Beginning To See The Light

Recommended purchases:

Eddie Mack – The Complete Recordings 1947-1952 (Blue Moon BMCD 6026)


Eddie Mack’s real name was Mack Edmondson or Edmundson. He is remembered as being part of a lively Brooklyn blues scene centred on the Baby Grand Club. In 1949-50 he recorded three sessions for Apollo with the Bobby Smith band, which consisted mainly of musicians from the Erskine Hawkins Orchestra, plus Willis Jackson at the first of these sessions. During this time he also recorded several sessions with the Cootie Williams band. In 1952, under the name Pigmeat Pedersen, he recorded “Please Be Careful” with Lucky Millinder for King Records. He also recorded a couple of sides as Pigmeat Peterson for the King subsidiary Federal. His last recordings were for Savoy in July 1952.

Bob Merrill – The Complete Recordings 1943 – 1961 (Blue Moon BMCD 6041)


In April 1947 Bob Merrell (Merrill) recorded under his own name for Aladdin, backed by a combo which included Count Hastings and Sonny Payne, – “You Took My Woman” / “Blues Without Booze” (Aladdin 3002). In early 1949 he recorded three sides for Apollo with a small group featuring Ike Quebec – “I’ll Always Be In Love With You,” “Baby I’m Tired” and “I Want A Little Girl” released in various combinations as Apollo 404 and 410. In March 1949 he recorded a single for Abbey backed by Sam “The Man” Taylor and His Orchestra (including Paul Quinichette) – “Low Down Groove” / “The Blues Is Here Tonight” (Abbey 3010). Probably from the same session, he was also on a single credited to Sam “The Man” Taylor – “Pyramid Boogie” / “Rinky Dinks” (Abbey 62.) He was last heard of recording for Bargain in 1960-61 as Bobby “Mr Blues” Merrell – “I Ain’t Mad At You” / “I’m Gonna Set You Free” (Bargain 5002.)