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In the days of box set or well compiled anthologies it's amazing there's
no such kind of things dedicated to Jimmy Rushing. So to start expose
his whole picture I piecked up two CDs of Rushing.
One is Count Basie's "The Original American Decca Recordings"(see JAZZ
340.26 for track listings), and the other is "The Essential Jimmy
Rushing" from Vanguard. The former covers his days with Basie band and
the latter covers his post-Basie career in 1950s. Both CD partly share
the same numbers and we could compare the big band style and his style
in 1950s. Natrually the sound quality of the latter is far better, but
strangely the sound of the latter gives me the impression of ancient
times. It might be my lack of knowledge in jazz, but some of the
numbers in "The Essential", especially the ones denoted as * and ** in
the below track list, has the atmosphere of jazz before big band era.
You can hear the solo play of performers, but it's more than that, "fine
ensemble of musical instruments" including Rushing's vocal. It's amazing
this kind of style survived in the middle of 1950s when the soul music
was at its birth from R&B.
Here's the track list of "The Essential".
1. Boogie Woogie(I May Be Wrong)*
2. See See Rider**
3. Sent For You Yesterday And Here You Come Today*
4. How Long How Long Blues*
5. How You Want Lovin' Done*
6. I Can't Understand***
7. My Friend Mister Blues***
8. Sometimes I Think I Do***
9. Goin' To Chicago*
10. Everyday I Have The Blues**
11. Good Morning Blues**
12. Evenin'**
13. Take Me Back Baby**
14. If This Ain't The Blues***
All recordings were produced by John Hammond, and the players
(many of them came from Basie band or Kansas connection) are
* ** ***
--------- ----------------- -------------- -----------------
piano Sam Price Pete Johson Clarence Johnson
guitar - Freddie Greene Roy Gaines
bass Walter Page Walter Page Aaron Bell
drums Jo Jones Jo Jones Jo Jones
trumpet Pat Jenkins Emmett Berry Emmett Berry
trombone Henderson Chambers Lawrence Brown Vic Dickerson
clarinet Ben Richardson Rudy Powell -
alto sax Ben Richardson Rudy Powell -
tenor sax Buddy Tate Buddy Tate Buddy Tate
organ - - Marlowe Morris
"The Essential" lacks liner notes and session records. The original LP
looks like to be released in 1954 with 16 songs and 11 more songs were
recorded in that session, which would have been
Blues After Hours/But On The Other Hand/ Every Night/
Let The Good Times Roll/Little Bitty Things/Long Tall Texan/
My Kind Of Woman/Peace Of Mind/Rock & Roll/S.K. Blues/
Take Me With You Baby/The Things That I Used To Do/You Were Wrong
and still waiting for their release.
When I listened to "Boogie Woogie(I May Be Wrong)", I thought Rushing is
not far from Joe Turner and confirmed the Kansas tradition's of blues
shouters. But "The Essential" gave me the impression of his connection
to Southwest blues feeling in the days of tent show. This might be from
othe players attented this recodings. I'll try other material in future.
- Kazunori
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Jimmy Rushing
Born: August 26, 1903 Birth Place: Oklahoma City, OK
Death: June 8, 1972
A huge, striking artist, Jimmy Rushing defined and transcended jazz-based
blues shouting. His huge voice was dominating and intricately linked to the
beat. He could maintain his intonation regardless of volume, and could sing
sensitively one moment, then bellow and yell in almost frightening fashion
the next, making both styles sound convincing. Rushing's parents were
musicians, and he studied music theory in high school. He attended
Wilberforce University, but dropped out. He moved to the West Coast, and did
odd jobs while sometimes singing at house parties. Composer and pianist
Jelly Roll Morton was among the people he met while making these
appearances. Rushing joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in the late '20s. He
left them to work in his father's cafe in Oklahoma City, but returned to
Page's group in 1928. He made his first records with them in 1929. Rushing
toured with Bennie Moten from 1929-1935, recording with Moten in 1931, then
joined Count Basie in 1936. Basie has credited Rushing with helping hold
things together when times got tough. At an early 1936 session with John
Hammond producing things came together. This marked Lester Young's debut
with the band. The songs "Boogie-Woogie" (better known as "I May Be Wrong")
and "Evenin" were instant classics. Rushing's booming voice and The Basie
orchestra proved a perfect fit until 1950; they recorded for Columbia and
RCA, cutting everything from steamy blues to joyous stomps and novelty tunes
like "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit that Ball." When Basie disbanded the
orchestra in 1950, Rushing briefly tried retirement. He ended it a short
time later, forming his own band. He'd made some solo recordings in 1945,
and continued in the mid-'50s and early '60s, this time for Vanguard.
Rushing recreated Basie classics, worked with some of his sidemen and even
accompanied himself on piano. He cut other sessions with Buck Clayton, Dave
Brubeck, and Earl Hines and frequently had reunions with Basie and/or his
sidemen. Rushing appeared in both film shorts and features, among them Take
Me Back, Baby Air Mail Special, Choo Choo Swing and Funzapoppin' between
1941 and 1943. He participated in the historic 1957 television show The
Sound Of Jazz, and was featured on the sixth episode of a 13-part series The
Subject Is Jazz in 1958. He was also in the 1973 film Monterey Jazz, which
profiled the '70 festival. Rushing also had a singing and acting role in the
1969 film The Learning Tree. He died three years later. ~ Ron Wynn and Bob
Porter
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