Charlie Parker - The Complete Savoy Sessions Volume 1 (1944-1945)

Side 1:
01. Tiny's Tempo (take 1) - Tiny Grimes Quintette
02. Tiny's Tempo (take 2) - Tiny Grimes Quintette
03. Tiny's Tempo (take 3) - Tiny Grimes Quintette
04. I'll Always Love You Just The Same (take 1) - Tiny Grimes Quintette
05. I'll Always Love You Just The Same (take 2) - Tiny Grimes Quintette
06. Romance Without Finance (take 1) - Tiny Grimes Quintette
07. Romance Without Finance (takes 2 and 3) - Tiny Grimes Quintette

Side 2:
01. Romance Without Finance (takes 4 and 5) - Tiny Grimes Quintette
02. Red Cross (take 1) - Tiny Grimes Quintette
03. Red Cross (take 2) - Tiny Grimes Quintette
04. Billie's Bounce (take 1) - Charlie Parker's Reboppers
05. Billie's Bounce (takes 2 and 3) - Charlie Parker's Reboppers
06. Warming Up A Riff (take 1) - Charlie Parker's Reboppers

The Complete Savoy Sessions Volume 1 (Mega)

The Complete Savoy Sessions Volume 1 (Zippy)

Be Bop starts here (sort of)! I posted the first two volumes of  "Charlie Parker - The Complete Savoy Sessions" back in the earliest days of the blog, and here they are again, with new cover and label scans. First up is Volume 1 which covers Charlie's first official small group session - with swing guitarist Tiny Grimes, plus the start of Charlie's second Savoy session featuring his own band which included a young Miles Davis on trumpet and a guest / support appearance by Dizzy Gillespie on piano and trumpet.

The LPs feature the complete sessions including multiple takes and occasionally aborted takes. The post includes information on which of the takes were released as singles. The Grimes session includes two vocal efforts by Tiny, the dreadfully square "I'll Always Love You Just The Same" and the half-heartedly hip "Romance Without Finance." The main interest in this session centres on the swinging instro "Tiny's Tempo" and the Parker composition "Red Cross."

Background to the Savoy Sessions

In 1944 Savoy Records started recording sides by the jazz musicians who jammed in the clubs of Harlem and 52nd Street. Ben Webster, The Count Basie Band (under Earl Warren's name), Lester Young, Hot Lips Page, Pete Brown, Don Byas, Miss Rhapsody and Cozy Cole were among the artists who were recorded. The Hot Lips Page band which recorded a session on September 12th included Earl Bostic, Ike Quebec and guitarist Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes in its lineup. Three days later Tiny Grimes was back leading a small group which had Clyde Hart on piano, Jimmy Butts on bass, Doc West on drums and on alto sax one Charles Parker Esq, late of Kansas City whence he had arrived in the Big Apple with the Jay McShann Orchestra back in January 1942.

When the McShann outfit headed back to K.C. in the summer of '42, Charlie Parker elected to remain in N.Y.C. and play the clubs. At the end of the year he was recruited into the Earl Hines Orchestra at the suggestion of Billy Eckstine and Benny Harris. Also in the band were Sarah Vaughan and Dizzy Gillespie.

In April 1944 Eckstine formed a new band which included Parker, Gillespie, Vaughan, Wardell Gray and Art Blakey. In August 1944 the Eckstine band played a 2 week residency in St Louis where an 18 year old Miles Davis sat in to replace an ill Buddy Anderson. The band then played a week long engagement at the Regal Theatre in Chicago. Charlie Parker quit when the band returned to NYC. Shortly afterwards he was at the Onyx Club in 52nd Street where he worked with Ben Webster. He then appeared at another 52nd Street club, the Three Deuces, in a band which had Howard McGhee on trumpet, Dizzy Gillespie having decided to stick with the Eckstine band.

Just a few doors down 52nd Street from the Three Deuces was the Downbeat Club, where Charlie would drop in to jam with the band led by guitarist Tiny Grimes. On the 14th September Savoy asked Tiny to record a session for them. The following day he turned up with a group which included Charlie Parker. The complete session is on this LP, taking up the whole of Side 1, plus the first three tracks on Side 2.

Five 78 rpm discs were generated from this session. The same takes of each track were used on all of these singles -

Tiny's Tempo (take 3) and I'll Always Love You Just The Same (take 2), were released on Savoy 526.

Romance Without Finance (take 5) and Red Cross (take 2) were released on Savoy 532.

Red Cross (take 2) and Tiny's Tempo (take 3) were released on Savoy 541 credited to Charlie Parker.

I'll Always Love You Just The Same (take 2) and Red Cross (take 2) were released on Savoy 563, credited respectively to Tiny Grimes and Charlie Parker.

Romance Without Finance (take 5) and I'll Always Love You Just The Same (take 2) were released on Savoy 613 credited to Tiny Grimes Quintette.

It would be more than a year before Charlie Parker recorded another Savoy session. This time it would be under his own name. The time between the sessions was a busy one with Charlie involved in recording sessions with inter alia "Clyde Hart's All Stars" (featuring Don Byas) for Continental, Red Norvo, Sarah Vaughan (for Continental) and Sir Charles Thompson's All Stars (including Dexter Gordon) for Apollo. His most important recordings and live appearances were as a member of the small group featuring himself and Dizzy Gillespie. In February 1945 they recorded "Groovin' High," "All The Things You Are" and "Dizzy Atmosphere" for Guild. In May 1945 they recorded "Salt Peanuts," "Shaw 'Nuff," " Hot House" and "Lover Man" (with Sarah Vaughan on vocal) also for Guild. The Gillespie - Parker combo had a residency at the Three Deuces on 52nd Street from March until July 1945.

When the Three Deuces residency finished Dizzy Gillespie formed a big band for a Southern tour. Charlie attended a few rehearsals then split to form his own combo which opened at the Three Deuces in early August. In October the combo was at The Spotlite, also on 52nd Street, with the line up pictured below - Charlie Parker (alto sax), Miles Davis (trumpet), Dexter Gordon (tenor sax), Sir Charles Thompson (piano), Leonard Gaskin (bass) and Stan Levey (drums).

On 26th November Charlie Parker arrived at WOR studios in NYC for his Savoy session where he was accompanied by Miles Davis (trumpet), Argonne Thornton aka Sadik Hakim (piano), Curly Russell (bass), Max Roach (drums) and Dizzy Gillespie (piano, trumpet).

The first 3 takes of "Billie's Bounce" are on this LP, but it would be take 5 (on Volume 2) which would be the released take. Before proceeding to takes 4 and 5 the group improvised on the harmonies of "Cherokee" with what was later named "Warming Up A Riff" which was eventually released on Savoy 945 b/w "Thriving On A Riff" from later in the same session. Volume 2 which will be posted soon has the remainder of this session, including more takes of "Billie's Bounce," "Now's The Time" and "Koko." Stick around for more bop!

Elsewhere on the blog:

Jay McShann - Hootie's K.C. Blues

Info on Tiny Grimes here:

Tiny Grimes - Flying Home Parts 1 & 2

John Hardee with Tiny Grimes - Bad Man's Blues

In the next thrilling episode - "Now's The Time" and "Is This The Way To Camarillo?" Bird and Diz head out West and meet up with Slim Gaillard. Vout-o-roonie!

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.

John Hardee - Bad Man's Blues

Side 1:

01. Tiny's Boogie Woogie - Tiny Grimes' Swingtet

02. Hardee's Partee - John Hardee's Swingtet

03. Idaho - John Hardee's Swingtet

04. Tired - John Hardee's Swingtet

05. River Edge Rock - John Hardee's Swingtet

06. Bad Man's Bounce - John Hardee Quintet

07. Baby Watch That Stuff - John Hardee Quintet

Side 2:

01. Lunatic - John Hardee Quintet

02. Can't Help Loving That Man - John Hardee Quintet

03. Profoundly Blue - Tiny Grimes Quintet

04. Boogie Woogie Barbecue - Tiny Grimes Quintet

05. That Old Black Magic - Tiny Grimes Quintet

06. Blue Harlem - Tiny Grimes Quintet

Download from here:

John Hardee Bad Man's Blues (Mega)

Our little tribute to the Saxophonograph label (Saxophony!) continues with a homemade comp of Texas tenor man John Hardee who was an important part of the New York recording scene of the mid to late 1940s. He is often referred to as the "forgotten" tenor sax man, mainly because his career as a full time professional musician was short when compared to those of many of his contemporaries. This was not due to any lack of ability. In fact as you will hear, he was an outstanding musician whose tough tenor work was often highly praised. The reason for the brevity of his recording career was that he left New York some time in the early 1950s to take up a career as a music teacher in Texas.

John Hardee was born in Corsicana, Texas, in December 1918. He came from a musical family and while still living at home he played for local group Dan Carter's Blue Moon Syncopators. He enrolled as a music student at Bishop College in Marshall, Texas, but gave up his studies temporarily to tour with one of the major Texas territory bands, the San Antonio based Don Albert Band which at one time billed itself as "America's Greatest Swing Band." John joined in 1938, replacing Jimmy Forrest as a featured tenor sax player. In the summer of 1939 John left the band to resume his studies at Bishop, graduating in 1941.

During his military service (1941 - 1944) John was stationed at Nyack, New York, on the Hudson River, and during this time started to participate in jam sessions at Minton's in Harlem and at clubs on 52nd Street. On his discharge he and his wife set up home in Harlem and John's musical career soon took off. He is always associated with guitarist Tiny Grimes, with whom he recorded for Blue Note and Atlantic in 1946 and 1947 but he played on quite a few New York recording sessions for various important artists in the years 1946 - 1950.

His first recording session may have been for the Signature label with Dickie Thompson and his Blue Five some time in late 1945 (or perhaps 1946). This was the same Dickie Thompson who later recorded the original "Thirteen Women And One Man" which Bill Haley memorably revived. The two singles which resulted from the session, "Hand In Hand Blues" / "Tailor Made Gal" and "Swing Song" / "Stardust" weren't released until August 1946 and July 1947 respectively.

John's spell with Tiny Grimes on Blue Note kicked off in February 1946 with a John Hardee Swingtet session (with Tiny featured on guitar) which produced two singles, "Tired" / "Blue Skies" and "Idaho" / "Hardee's Partee". The latter single was outstanding with Jesse Stone's "Idaho" being given the full treatment by the guitar / sax duo of John and Tiny. John's own composition "Hardee's Partee" was a terrific mood piece.

On May 31st the John Hardee Swingtet recorded again for Blue Note ("River Edge Rock", "What Is This Thing Called Love?" inter alia) but this time without Tiny Grimes. The two were reunited at Blue Note on August 14th 1946 at a Tiny Grimes Swingtet session which resulted in "C Jam Blues"/ "Tiny's Boogie Woogie" and a frantic two part version of "Flying Home."

In August 1946 Blue Note released an album of three John Hardee 78 rpm singles called "John Hardee Tenor Sax" (BN 101). The album consisted of "Idaho" / "Hardee's Partee," "What Is This Thing Called Love" / "Nervous From The Service," "River Edge Rock" / "Sweet And Lovely."

Cover shot from Discogs.com

In the meantime John was also featured on several Earl Bostic sessions for Gotham. In March 1946 the Bostic band, with Cousin Joe on vocals on some tracks, recorded several sides, including a powerful version of "That's The Groovy Thing." John was on further Bostic sessions with Cousin Joe in May and August with the resulting product being released either as by Cousin Joe, or in the case of several sacred sides (the August session), as by "Brother Joshua."

John played on two sessions for the "Hot Record Society", one in September 1946 as part of a group led by Billy Kyle, Billy Kyle's Big Eight which included Buddy Rich on drums, and later in the year for a group led by Russell Procope. On October 25th the Tiny Grimes Swingtet (including John Hardee) backed blues shouter Gatemouth Moore at a session for National with "Love Doctor Blues" being the outstanding track.

Another Tiny Grimes Swingtet backing session featuring Hardee, this time on Signature for shouter Walter Brown (late 1946 or early 1947), had a rather controversial outcome when a cover version of "Open The Door Richard" was withdrawn from sale by the record company because of allegedly blue lyrics. The story was reported in "Billboard" on 8th March 1947 with Signature prexy Bob Thiels being quoted as saying that he couldn't estimate the loss involved in view of the pressings already sold.

On April 2nd 1947 John played in Buck Clayton's Orchestra which backed Helen Humes on a session for Mercury. "Jet Propelled Papa," "Blue And Sentimental," "I Just Refuse To Sing The Blues" and "They Raided The Joint" were the resultant meisterwerks. In October he played on a Dan Burley and his Skiffle Boys session for Arkey - "Chicken Shack Shuffle" and "Skiffle Blues" were perhaps less than masterpieces, but John's contribution did somehow fit into the deliberately primitive (not to say archaic) goings on. We should pause briefly to note that activist, writer and entertainer Dan Burley wrote "The Harlem Hand Book Of Jive."

The John Hardee Quintet recorded a good session for Savoy in November 1947. "Baby Watch That Stuff" featured a Hardee vocal which was relaxed and pleasant. Two singles came from the session - "Baby Watch That Stuff" / "Bad Man's Bounce" (issued on Regent) and "Lunatic" / "Can't Help Loving That Man."

As 1947 drew to a close and the AFM recording ban loomed ever closer, the Tiny Grimes Quintet, complete with John Hardee, recorded four sides for new kid on the block Atlantic Records. The first single from the 29th December session was "Boogie Woogie Barbecue" backed with a revival of "Blue Harlem," the classic track that Tiny had recorded with Ike Quebec for Blue Note back in 1944. The follow up single was "Profoundly Blue" backed with a particularly rousing Hardee performance on "That Old Black Magic." Both "Blue Harlem" and "That Old Black Magic" sold reasonably well and helped Tiny Grimes to be numbered 47th best selling R&B artist in 1948.

When the Tiny Grimes Quintet returned to the studio in May 1948, John Hardee was no longer the featured tenor sax man as his place had been taken by Red Prysock. John featured in only two recording sessions in 1948. The first (in August or October) was a Clyde Bernhardt session for Savoy which produced one single - "Pretty Mama Blues" / "My Heart Belongs To Daddy." However the second session was a John Hardee Quartet session for Sittin' In With with two singles resulting - "Prelude To A Kiss" / "Bop In B Flat" (credited to The Four Bops) and "Man With A Horn" / "Cobblestones."

These were the last singles released under John Hardee's name. His recording activity was winding down and it is possible that he had moved back to Texas before the 1940s were out. In 1949 he was on one session for the Billy Taylor Quintet on Savoy. These were unusual recordings for the time as they featured both piano and organ. Recorded on November 20th 1949, the four sides remained unreleased for many years but two of them ("Misty Blues" and "Take The A Train") emerged decades later on a Savoy 2LP set, both credited to John Hardee.

In 1950 John was on two sessions for King Records. On September 12th he joined a small group of musicians from the Erskine Hawkins band to back singer Jimmie Mitchell. Other musicians present included Bobby Smith, Haywood Henry, Julian Dash, Rene Hall and Sonny Payne. On October 18th John took part in another King session, this time playing in the Lucky Millinder Orchestra backing Wynonie Harris. Two classic Wynonie sides resulted from the session - "Oh Babe!" and "Teardrops From My Eyes." Another product of the session was the famously risque Lucky Millinder track "Silent George" memorably hollered by Myra Johnson.

It is likely that John's last session in the 1940s / 1950s era was a reunion with Tiny Grimes for Gotham, either in late 1950 or 1951. By now the Grimes group was billed as Tiny Grimes and his Rocking Highlanders, complete with cod Highland dress - kilts, Tam O' Shanters and Prince Charlie jackets. One hopes that John Hardee was not required to appear in that get-up. Singles resulting from the session were - "Hawaiian Boogie" / "My Baby's Cool," ""Rockin' And Sockin'," / Howling Blues," and "St Louis Blues" / "1626 Blues."

And that was almost the end of John Hardee's recording career. He moved back to Texas at some point in the late '40s or early '50s and took up a teaching post in Wichita Falls. In 1955 he moved to Dallas where he taught at Oliver Wendell Holmes High School until his retirement in 1976. He continued to play locally as a reminiscence in a YouTube comment vividly describes.

In 1975 he played at the Nice Jazz Festival in France and recorded an LP, "A Little Blue" for the French Black & Blue label on the 26th July 1975 in Antibes.

John Hardee passed away in Dallas on the 18th of May, 1984.

The tracks on "Bad Man's Blues" -

"Tiny's Boogie Woogie" was recorded in New York City on August 14th, 1946. Personnel: Trummy Young (trombone); John Hardee (tenor sax); Marlowe Morris (piano); Tiny Grimes (guitar); Jimmy

Butts (bass); Eddie Nicholson (drums).

released on Blue Note 525 b/w "C Jam Blues" by Tiny Grimes' Swingtet  in November 1946.

"Hardee's Partee," "Idaho," and "Tired" were recorded in NYC on 28th February 1946. Personnel: John Hardee (tenor sax); Sammy Benskin (piano); Tiny Grimes (guitar); John Simmons (bass); Sidney Catlett (drums).

"River Edge Rock" was recorded in NYC on 31st May 1946. Personnel: John Hardee (tenor sax); Bill Bivens (vibraphone); Sammy Benskin (piano); Jimmy Shirley (guitar); Gene Ramey (bass); Sidney Catlett (drums).

"Tired" / "Blues Skies" by John Hardee's Swingtet released on Blue Note 513 in July 1946.

"Idaho" / "Hardee's Partee" by John Hardee's Swingtet released on Blue Note 514 and on Blue Note album BN-101 (John Hardee Tenor Sax) in August 1946.

"River Edge Rock" / "Sweet And Lovely" by John Hardee's Swingtet released on Blue Note 521 and on Blue Note album BN-101 (John Hardee Tenor Sax) in August 1946.

"Bad Man's Bounce," Baby Watch That Stuff," "Lunatic," and "Can't Help Loving That Man" recorded in NYC in November 1947. Personnel: Ludwig Joe Jordan (trumpet); John Hardee (tenor sax,vocal); Billy Kyle (piano); John Simmons (bass); Cozy Cole (drums).

"Baby Watch That Stuff" / "Bad Man's Bounce" by the John Hardee Quintet released on Regent 121 in July 1948.

"Lunatic" / "Can't Help Loving That Man" by the John Hardee Quintet released on Savoy 703 in August 1949.

"Profoundly Blue," "Boogie Woogie Barbecue," "That Old Black Magic," and "Blue Harlem" were recorded in NYC on the 29th December 1947. Personnel: John Hardee (tenor sax); George Kelly (piano, celeste); Tiny Grimes (guitar); Lucille Dixon (bass); Sonny Payne (drums).

"Boogie Woogie Barbecue" / "Blue Harlem" by the Tiny Grimes Quintet released on Atlantic 854 in February 1948.

"Profoundly Blue" / "That Old Black Magic" by the Tiny Grimes Quintet released on Atlantic 858 in June 1948.

Sources:

Bruyninckx Discography; Big Band Jazz - Albert McCarthy; Texas State Historical Association; Billboard magazine.

Dance The Rock & Roll (Atlantic LP 8013)

Side 1

1. Willis Jackson - Gator's Groove

2. Chuck Calhoun - Hey Tiger

3. Tommy Ridgley - Jam Up

4. Arnett Cobb - Flying Home Mambo

5. Joe Morris - Wow!

6. Arnett Cobb - Mr Pogo

7. Frank Culley - Gone After Hours

Side 2

1. Arnett Cobb - Light Like That

2. Joe Morris - Weasel Walk

3. Frank Culley - Culley Flower

4. Willis Jackson - Rock! Rock! Rock!

5. Frank Culley - Hop 'N' Twist

6. Chuck Calhoun - Barrel House

7. Tiny Grimes - Midnight Special

LP cover from the PopBopRockTilUDrop blog.

LP originally released in 1958

Download from:

Dance The Rock & Roll (Mega)

Ah yes, there's nothing like a bit of rock 'n' roll exploitation to bring in the money, and here's as fine an example as any, although with a lot more class than budget label "Hen Gates" albums. Atlantic Records, despite being the premier R&B label in the land, wasn't above recycling its back catalogue under a slightly misleading cover. They even had a Ray Charles twist album, and to describe the tracks on "Dance The Rock & Roll" as, well, rock 'n' roll, was surely stretching things a bit.

That said, from a 21st century perspective this is a fine collection of R&B sax tracks. They date from 1948 through to 1955. No doubt some of them could be considered to be genuine rock 'n' roll or as near as dammit, but Tiny Grimes, Joe Morris and Frank Culley surely don't come under that description. Fifty six years later, however, arguing over which tracks can be described as R&B, rock 'n' roll, or even jazz just doesn't seem to matter any more. It's a cracking collection of New York Big Beat Honk with, as well as the credited artists, Hal Singer, Sam "The Man" Taylor, Red Prysock, Lee Allen (on temporary transfer from New Orleans) and Johnny Griffin on board. "Chuck Calhoun" is the pseudonym of Jesse Stone who was very much the creator of the backbeat based Atlantic sound of the 1950s.

This is a reconstruction of the original LP. Twelve of the fourteen tracks are from the "Atlantic Honkers" double LP set. The exceptions are the Tiny Grimes and Tommy Ridgley tracks which are from the first two volumes of the double LP series "Atlantic Rhythm And Blues 1947 - 1974." The cover is from the admirable PopBopRockTilUDrop blog. It is probably the worst designed LP cover in the entire history of recorded music, but don't let that put you off. Download this latest episode of the Big Beat Honkfest and play loud, loud, loud!

The tracks:

1. Willis Jackson - Gator's Groove

2. Chuck Calhoun - Hey Tiger

3. Tommy Ridgley - Jam Up

4. Arnett Cobb - Flying Home Mambo

5. Joe Morris - Wow!

6. Arnett Cobb - Mr Pogo

7. Frank Culley - Gone After Hours

8. Arnett Cobb - Light Like That

9. Joe Morris - Weasel Walk

10. Frank Culley - Culley Flower

11. Willis Jackson - Rock! Rock! Rock!

12. Frank Culley - Hop 'N' Twist

13. Chuck Calhoun - Barrel House

14. Tiny Grimes - Midnight Special

Recording details:

Willis Jackson (tenor sax) - "Gator's Groove" and "Rock! Rock! Rock!" recorded in NYC on May 23rd, 1952. Rest of personnel unknown. "Rock! Rock! Rock!" originally released on Atlantic 976. "Gator's Groove" originally issued on Atlantic 975.

Chuck Calhoun and his Atlantic All-Stars - "Hey Tiger" and "Barrel House" recorded in NYC on 24th June, 1955. Personnel: Jesse Stone, aka "Chuck Calhoun" (leader, arranger); Hal Singer, Sam "The Man" Taylor (tenor saxes); Mickey Baker (guitar), rest unknown. Both sides originally released on Atlantic 1120.

Tommy Ridgley - "Jam Up" recorded in NYC, August 8th 1954. Personnel: Lee Allen (tenor sax); Alvin "Red" Tyler (baritone sax); rest unknown. Originally released on Atlantic 1039.

Arnett Cobb - "Mr Pogo" recorded NYC, 19th April, 1954. Personnel: Ed Lewis (trumpet); Al Grey (trombone); Arnett Cobb (tenor sax); Charlie Ferguson (tenor and baritone saxes); George Rhodes (piano); Walter Buchanan (bass); Al Walker (drums); Bill Sanford (arranger). Originally released on Atlantic 1042.

"Light Like That" and "Flying Home Mambo" recorded in NYC on January 19th, 1955. Personnel same as for "Mr Pogo". Both sides originally released on Atlantic 1056.

Joe Morris - "Wow!" recorded in NYC on September 19th, 1948. "Weasel Walk" recorded in NYC on December 22nd, 1948. Personnel on both tracks:  Joe Morris (trumpet); Matthew Gee (trombone); Johnny Griffin (tenor sax); Bill McLemore (baritone sax); Elmo Hope (piano); Percy Heath (bass); Philly Joe Jones (drums). Both sides originally released on Atlantic 870.

Frank Culley - "Hop 'n' Twist" (aka "Fish Tail") recorded in NYC, September 1949. Personnel: Frank Culley (tenor sax); Harry Van Walls (piano); rest unknown. Originally released on Atlantic 902.

"Gone After Hours" recorded in NYC, August 12th, 1950. Personnel as for "Hop 'n' Twist." Originally released on Atlantic 922.

"Culley Flower" recorded in NYC on 27th February, 1951. Personnel: Wallace Wilson (trumpet); Walter "Phatz" Morris (trombone); Frank Culley (tenor sax); Randy Weston (piano); Count Edmondson (bass); Connie Kay (drums). Originally released on Atlantic 935.

Tiny Grimes - "Midnight Special" (aka "See See Rider") recorded in Cleveland on May 1st, 1948. Personnel: The Tiny Grimes Quintet -  Red Prysock (tenor sax); Jimmy Saunders (piano); Tiny Grimes (guitar), Ike Isaacs (bass); Jerry Potter (drums). Originally released on Atlantic 865 (B side of "Annie Laurie"). 

Love Doctor Blues / They Can't Do This To You (National 4015) - Gatemouth Moore

Released June, 1947.

"They Can't Do This To You" recorded in New York, November 15th, 1945.

Personnel: "Gatemouth" Moore (vcl), acc by Al "Budd" Johnson's Orchestra : Dick Vance (tp); Jimmy Hamilton (cl); Budd Johnson (ts); Harry Carney (bar,as); Sam Benskin (p); Al Hall (b); J.C. Heard (d).

"Love Doctor Blues" recorded in New York, October 25th, 1946.

Personnel: Dwight "Gatemouth" Moore (vcl), acc by Tiny Grimes Swingtet : Russell Royster (tp); Herman Flintsall (as); John Hardee (ts); Sam Benskin (p,celeste); Tiny Grimes (g); Al "Junior" Raglin (b); Eddie Nicholson (d).

Thought I'd post another "snapshot" of early R&B history with this fine example of jump blues featuring blues shouter and future reverend, Gatemouth Moore. The tracks are ripped from vinyl, specifically from the Savoy 2 LP set "The Shouters", hence no label shots.

The A Side, "Love Doctor Blues" is a sly, slinky variation on the well used blues theme of super stud acting as "doctor" to cure the ladies of whatever ails them. There's cracking backing from The Tiny Grimes Swingtet with nice guitar from Tiny and subtle tenor horn from John Hardee.

John "Bad Man" Hardee

The uptempo B Side "They Can't Do This To You" also features a first class backing group, that of sax player Budd Johnson.

The disk received a favourable review in Billboard on June 7th, 1947:

"The gusty and groovey blues singing of Gatemouth (Dwight) Moore lets loose in free-swinging rock 'n' rhythm style for both of these Harlemese selections. And with the jam-packed bands behind him bringing up a tasty musical dish, the spinning is something to occupy the attention. Spinning solid and spicey is Doc Pumus's "Love Doctor Blues," Gatemouth telling of his office hours from sundown till the break of dawn with no fees charged for his fem patients. Guitarist Tiny Grimes leads the musical aggregation for this grooving which gives forth some of John Hardee's fine tenor sax blues blowing. Takes his own blues novelty, a jive fashioned "They Can't Do This To You," at a faster clip, with tenor saxist Budd Johnson, who rounds up the accompanying hot men, giving forth some of his sax smoke."

The Billboard reviewer's verdict was: "Race locations will lap up 'Love Doctor Blues.'"

"Doctor Moore has just what you need, Ma'am"

Above is the "Race Chart" of juke box plays from the same edition of Billboard, June 7th 1947, which shows us what was big at the time Gatemouth's disk was released. There are four Louis Jordan numbers, two from The Mills Brothers and one from song belter Frankie Lane. The major labels dominate with only one independent label, Manor, having a disk in the chart. There's still a strong feel of the big band era with Erskine Hawkins, Lionel Hampton and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson all present although in the case of the latter two, the recordings are by small groups assembled from the parent big bands.

Jump & Jive On 78 - Volume 3

It's time to gather together the latest selection of El Enmascarado's 78 rpm rips in downloadable form. We proudly present Volume 3 of our series of "Jump & Jive On 78" virtual LPs. If you dig your R&B on the jazzy side, then this is the collection for you.

Click on the artist names in the labels section to find out more about these tracks. The download includes a folder of label scans.

Download from here:

http://www24.zippyshare.com/v/28763255/file.html

No password

Track list:

1 Calvin Boze - Slippin' and Slidin'
2 Big John Greer - Hey Bruz
3 Gene Ammons - Dues In Blues
4 Tiny Bradshaw - Walking The Chalk Line
5 Red Saunders - Blow Mr Low Blow
6 Russell Jacquet - Lion's Roar
7 Sonny Thompson - Backyard Affair
8 Joe Liggins - How Come
9 Calvin Boze - Baby You're Tops With Me
10 Gene Ammons - Odd-En-Ow
11 Tiny Bradshaw - Bradshaw Boogie
12 Russell Jacquet - Suede Jacket
13 Big John Greer - Tonight's The Night
14 Tiny Grimes - Flying Home Part 1
15 Tiny Grimes - Flying Home Part 2
16 Red Saunders - Lyin' Girl Blues
17 Joe Liggins - Worried
18 Sonny Thompson - Dreaming Again

Collect 'em all!

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/jump-jive-on-78-volume-2.html

http://bebopwinorip.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/jump-jive-on-78-volume-1.html

With thanks, as ever, to El Enmascarado.

Flying Home Parts 1 and 2 – Tiny Grimes’ Swingtet (Blue Note 524)

Recorded at WOR Studios, NYC on August 14th, 1946. Personnel: Trummy Young (tb); John Hardee (ts); Marlowe Morris (p); Tiny Grimes (g); Jimmy Butts (b); Eddie Nicholson (d)

Listen to "Flying Home Part 1"

Listen to "Flying Home Part 2"

With thanks to El Enmascarado for his rips and scans from this Blue Note 78 rpm disc.

Before guitarist Lloyd “Tiny” Grimes was issuing those great jump blues singles on the Atlantic label and before he had renamed his group “The Rocking Highlanders”, dressing them in kilts and Tam O’Shanters, and yea, well before he was recording even more jump blues and backing the likes of J.B. Summers, Haji Baba and Screamin’ Jay Hawkins on Gotham, our hero was one cool dude on the New York jazz scene.

He was a late starter on the four string guitar, having commenced his musical career on the piano and as a tap dancer. In 1940, not long after taking up the guitar, he joined the already successful jive group The Cats & The Fiddle. From there he joined the illustrious pianist Art Tatum and bass player Slam Stewart to form the Art Tatum Trio. Inevitably his guitar playing improved greatly in such company and in 1944 Tiny formed his own group. While with the trio he had become a fixture on the New York jazz club scene and he was soon picking up recording work with Ike Quebec, Coleman Hawkins and Hot Lips Page.

Tiny’s first session as a leader (for Savoy in September 1944) has gone down in jazz history as Charlie Parker (who had been jamming with Tiny’s band at the Downbeat Club) was on alto sax. To round off the session the group recorded Parker’s “Red Cross”, an instrumental based on the chords of “I Got Rhythm” which is considered an important step in the development of be-bop.

After the Parker session, Tiny was on sessions on various labels with Ike Quebec, Coleman Hawkins, Hot Lips Page, Cozy Cole, Billie Holiday, Earl Bostic, John Hardee and Buck Clayton. In August 1946, Tiny finally got another session as a band leader with jazz label Blue Note. Two singles resulted from the session – the two-parter “Flying Home” and “’C’ Jam Blues” / “Tiny’s Boogie Woogie.”

Tiny Grimes circa 1948 - William Gottlieb collection

Tiny’s move towards R&B started 2 months later when his group backed blues shouter Gatemouth Moore on National, and the trend continued the following year when Tiny’s band backed Walter Brown on a cover of “Open The Door, Richard” on Signature. At the very end of 1947 Tiny’s group started recording for the new Atlantic label, but we shall leave that part of the story for another post!

Listen to “Red Cross” featuring Charlie Parker and “Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning” by Gatemouth Moore with the Tiny Grimes Swingtet -

Listen to "Red Cross"

Listen to "Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning"

Red Cross (Savoy 532). Recorded NYC, September 15th, 1944. Personnel: Tiny Grimes (g); Charlie Parker (as); Clyde Hart (p); Jimmy Butts (b); Doc West (d)

Nobody Knows The Way I Feel This Morning (National 4015). Recorded NYC, October 25th, 1946. Personnel: Gatemouth Moore (vcl); Russell Royster (tpt); Herman Flintall (as); John Hardee (ts); Sam Benskin (p); Tiny Grimes (g); Al Raglin (b); Eddie Nicholson (d)

Tiny's tenor sax man - John Hardee c 1947 William Gottlieb collection

Sources:

Dan Kochakian & Dave Penny - Tiny Grimes Discography Part 1, Blues & Rhythm Magazine, No. 228, April 2008

Dan Morgenstern - sleeve notes to “The Changing Face of Harlem: The Savoy Sessions” Savoy Jazz 2LP set, SJL 2208, 1976

Claude Carrière - sleeve notes to “Charlie Parker: The Complete Savoy Sessions Volume 1” Savoy LP, WL70520, 1984

Dapper Tiny - NYC c 1948 William Gottlieb collection 

Jealousy / The Sidewalks Of New York - Tiny Grimes' Quintet (Atlantic 886)

Listen to "Jealousy"

Listen to "The Sidewalks Of New York"

Once more the Be Bop Army assembles in El Enmascarado's record room, where there are Joe Houston LP covers on the wall, several crates of 78 rpm discs, and a vintage Sparton radio / record player. The fridge is well stocked with beer and there's a disc on the turntable - and it sports a familiar red and black label. Yep, it's an early Atlantic record and oh joy, it's the Tiny Grimes band with Red Prysock on tenor sax.

These performances were recorded in New York on March 16th, 1949. The band consisted of: Tiny Grimes (guitar); Red Prysock (tenor sax); George Kelly (piano); Ike Isaacs (bass) and Sonny Payne (drums).

Tiny Grimes had been recording for Atlantic since the end of 1947, first with John Hardee on tenor sax and then in May 1948 with Wilbur "Red" Prysock taking over as axeman and occasional vocalist (in the style of his balladeer brother Arthur Prysock). The May 1948 session yielded a national R&B hit with "Midnight Special" which reached number 12 in November of that year.

Red Prysock and Tiny Grimes

Further releases on Atlantic failed to chart and in mid 1949 Tiny Grimes moved to the Gotham label. Around that time the band was kitted out in an approximation of Scottish highland dress and were billed as Tiny Grimes and his Rocking Highlanders.

The two sides on this disc predate that change of image. They are both "slow burners" - starting off as cool interpretations of old standards before the heated sax work of Red Prysock ups the ante.

With thanks to El Enmascarado for the rips from shellac and label scans.

Be Bop Wino Wails!

It’s about time we had another Be Bop Wino comp and so here’s a nifty little eighteen track collection of late 1940s’ and early 50’s R&B. There may be a modest number of tracks but I like to think that this collection displays a certain robustness which demands attention. All tracks are sourced from vinyl, mainly from LPs which were on the original Be Bop Wino blog but which have not yet reappeared on the new blog. Some might never reappear so this could be your only chance to grab some of these tracks if you missed them the first time around.

As for the music, as you would expect there’s jump, boogie, honkin’ saxes and blues bawlin’ aplenty, but there’s also a dash of jazz and an outstanding tenor sax ballad performance. This being Be Bop Wino, the tenor sax predominates. Hal Singer, Gene Ammons, Big Jay McNeely and James Von Streeter are the credited saxmen, but let us also pause and give a thought to the tenor players on some of the other tracks: Maxwell Davis appears on the Pete Johnson and Amos Milburn tracks, Red Prysock squares off against the guitar of Tiny Grimes, the Lucky Millinder line-up includes Ike Quebec and Paul Quinichette in the horn section which blows mightily on a familiar riff, the late great Johnny Griffin is on the stomping Joe Morris instrumental “The Applejack”, Johnny Fontenette is the sax blaster in Roy Brown’s Mighty, Mighty Men and Ben Webster turns in a marvellous interpretation of “Stardust” in the Johnny Otis Orchestra’s Mercury recording.

All tracks ripped from vinyl at 320 kbps.

Download from here:

http://www68.zippyshare.com/v/FdWmlDjc/file.html

Tracks:

1. Midnight Jump - Hal Singer – Savoy (unreleased), February 1949

2. Rockin' - Bobby Nunn & The Robins – Modern 807, 1951

3. Rocket Boogie "88" Part 1 - Pete Johnson & His Orchestra – Downbeat / SwingTime 169, April 1949

4. Skid Row Boogie - Pete Johnson & His Orchestra – Downbeat / SwingTime 168, April 1949

5. Bye Bye Boogie - Amos Milburn – Aladdin 206, October 1947

6. Blue Roller - Gene Ammons – Prestige 911, February 1955

7. Cadillac Baby - Roy Brown – DeLuxe 3308, April 1950

8. What's Mine Is Mine - The Ray-O-Vacs – Decca 48234, January 1950

9. Stardust - Johnny Otis & His Orchestra – Mercury 8263, December 1951

10. Hot In Harlem - Tiny Grimes – Atlantic 869, May 1948

11. Careless Love - Big Joe Turner –National (unreleased), November 1947

12. The Applejack - Joe Morris – Atlantic 866, September 1948

13. Mumblin' Blues - Jack McVea & His All Stars – Exclusive 270, December 1947

14. Slow Blues - James Von Streeter – Savoy (unreleased), July 1949

15. D'Natural Blues - Lucky Millinder & His Orchestra – Victor 20-3351, January 1949

16. Deceivin' Blues - Johnny Otis & His Orchestra (vocal - Little Esther & Mel Walker) – Savoy 759, June 1950

17. Two Guitar Boogie - Rene Hall – Victor 20/47-5407, March 1953

18. Wild Wig - Big Jay McNeely – Savoy 682, November 1948