Earl BOSTIC

⬇️ EARL BOSTIC ⬇️

(Eugene Earl Bostic)

DISCOGRAPHY 1954-2006 (32CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

Eugene Earl Bostic (April 25, 1913 – October 28, 1965) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and a pioneer of the post-war American rhythm and blues style. He had a number of popular hits such as "Flamingo", "Harlem Nocturne", "Temptation", "Sleep", "Special Delivery Stomp" and "Where or When", which all showed off his characteristic growl on the horn. He was a major influence on John Coltrane.

Bostic was born in 1913 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He turned professional at the age of 18 when he joined Terence Holder's "Twelve Clouds of Joy". Bostic made his first recording with Lionel Hampton in October 1939, with Charlie Christian, Clyde Hart and Big Sid Catlett. Before that he performed with Fate Marable on New Orleans riverboats. Bostic graduated from Xavier University in New Orleans. He worked with territory bands as well as Arnett Cobb, Hot Lips Page, Rex Stewart, Don Byas, Charlie Christian, Thelonious Monk, Edgar Hayes, Cab Calloway, and other jazz luminaries. In 1938, and in 1944, Bostic led the house band at Smalls Paradise.

While playing at Small's Paradise, he doubled on guitar and trumpet. During the early 1940s, he was a well-respected regular at the famous jam sessions held at Minton's Playhouse. He formed his own band in 1945 and made the first recordings under his own name for the Majestic label. He turned to rhythm and blues in the late 1940s. His biggest hits were "Temptation", "Sleep", "Flamingo", "You Go to My Head" and "Cherokee". At various times his band included Keter Betts, Jaki Byard, Benny Carter, John Coltrane, Teddy Edwards, Benny Golson, Blue Mitchell, Tony Scott, Cliff Smalls, Sir Charles Thompson, Stanley Turrentine, Tommy Turrentine and other musicians who rose to prominence, especially in jazz.

Bostic's King album entitled Jazz As I Feel It featured Shelly Manne on drums, Joe Pass on guitar and Richard "Groove" Holmes on organ. Bostic recorded A New Sound about one month later, again featuring Holmes and Pass. These recordings allowed Bostic to stretch out beyond the three-minute limit imposed by the 45 RPM format. Bostic was pleased with the sessions, which highlight his total mastery of the blues but they also foreshadowed musical advances that were later evident in the work of John Coltrane and Eric Dolphy.

He wrote arrangements for Paul Whiteman, Louis Prima, Lionel Hampton, Gene Krupa, Artie Shaw, Hot Lips Page, Jack Teagarden, Ina Ray Hutton and Alvino Rey.

His songwriting hits include "Let Me Off Uptown", performed by Anita O'Day and Roy Eldridge, and "Brooklyn Boogie", which featured Louis Prima and members of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

Bostic's signature hit, "Flamingo" was recorded in 1951 and remains a favorite among followers of Carolina Beach Music in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.

In 1953, Bostic and his Orchestra performed for the famed ninth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles which was produced by Leon Hefflin, Sr. on June 7. Also featured that day were Roy Brown and his Orchestra, Don Tosti and His Mexican Jazzmen, Shorty Rogers, Nat "King" Cole with Velma Middleton and Louis Armstrong and his All Stars.

During the early 1950s Bostic lived with his wife in Addisleigh Park in St. Albans, Queens, in New York City, where many other jazz stars made their home. After that he moved to Los Angeles, where he concentrated on writing arrangements after suffering a heart attack. He opened his own R&B club in Los Angeles, known as the Flying Fox ..... (Wikipedia)

NEW!

1960-Musical Pearls By Bostic (LP) @VBR

2000-The E.P. Collection Vol.2 @FLAC+

2020-His Finest Albums (4CD) @FLAC

2021-Anthology The Deluxe Collection (3CD) @FLAC

Big Jay McNEELY

⬇️ BIG JAY McNEELY ⬇️

(Cecil James McNeely)

DISCOGRAPHY 1952-2025 (36CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

       

Cecil James McNeely (born April 29, 1927, Watts, Los Angeles, California), known as Big Jay McNeely, is an American rhythm and blues saxophonist.

Inspired by Illinois Jacquet and Lester Young, he teamed with his older brother Robert McNeely, who played baritone saxophone, and made his first recordings with drummer Johnny Otis, who ran the Barrelhouse Club that stood only a few blocks from McNeely's home.

Shortly after he performed on Otis's "Barrel House Stomp." Ralph Bass, A&R man for Savoy Records, promptly signed him to a recording contract. Bass's boss, Herman Lubinsky, suggested the stage name Big Jay McNeely because Cecil McNeely did not sound commercial. McNeely's first hit was "The Deacon's Hop," an instrumental which topped the Billboard R&B chart in early 1949. The single was his most successful of his three chart entries...... (Wikipedia)

NEW!

1955-Presenting Big Jay McNeely @FLAC

2010-The Best Of (1948-55) @FLAC

2012-Life Story A Recording With Ray Collins' Hot-Club & Friends @FLAC+

2013-20 Masterpieces (1951-52) @192

2014-Live in Vienna Reigen 2013 @FLAC

2015-Blues at Daybreak @FLAC+

2016-Blowin' Down the House - Big Jay's Latest & Greatest @FLAC+

2019-King of the Honkers Selected Singles (1948-52) @FLAC+

2023-Blow @FLAC

2023-Blow, Big Jay, Blow-The Singles Collection (1949-62) (2CD) @FLAC

2025-Misty Noir, Vol. 10 - Late Night Jazz @FLAC

ESSENTIAL CLASSICS

Vol. 682-Big Jay McNeely (2CD) @FLAC

Bull Moose JACKSON

⬇️BULL MOOSE JACKSON⬇️

(Benjamin Clarence Jackson)
DISCOGRAPHY 1953-2020 (16CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

Benjamin Clarence Jackson was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1919. He took up the saxophone while at school. He formed a band called The Harlem Hotshots who played gigs around North Ohio, tried his luck with various bands in New York State, and then returned to Cleveland where he was discovered in 1943 by bandleader Lucky Millinder who gave him the saxophone chair recently vacated by Lucky Thompson.

Christened “Bull Moose” by his bandmates (perhaps because of his unprepossessing looks), Jackson soon added vocal duties to his repertoire, reportedly being given his start when band vocalist Wynonie Harris failed to show for a gig in Lubbock, Texas.

When Syd Nathan set up the King Label in Cincinnati in 1945, he concentrated at first on signing Country and Western artists from the burgeoning local scene which centred around the WLW “Midwestern Hayride” program. He soon set up an R'n'B subsidiary named Queen, with ex-Millinder trumpet player Henry Glover as AandR man.

Glover was keen to have his old boss record for the new label, but as Millinder was already under contract to Decca, Bull Moose became the front man for a series of recordings by the Millinder orchestra in 1945/46. Some sides were recorded with the full orchestra, others with a small group of Millinder musicians which became The Buffalo Bearcats.

The glory years for Bull Moose were 1948 and 1949 when he had considerable chart success mostly with romantic ballads such as “I Love You, Yes I Do”, “All My Love Belongs To You”, “Don’t Ask Me Why” and “Little Girl Don’t Cry”. So successful was Bull Moose, he displaced Louis Jordan as top selling R'n'B artist in 1948 and, along with Wynonie Harris, helped King to become the top selling R'n'B label of that year.

NEW!

1960-More of the Same  (45trm) @FLAC

2006-Dark City Blues, Vol. 7 - Urban Grooves & Midnight Moods @FLAC

2012-Ultimate Collection @FLAC

2013-The Bull Moose Jackson Collection (1945-55) (2CD) @FLAC

Lee ALLEN

⬇️ LEE ALLEN ⬇️

(Lee Francis Allen)

(6CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

Lee Francis Allen (July 2, 1927 – October 18, 1994) was an American tenor saxophone player. Phil Alvin, Allen's bandmate in The Blasters, called him one of the most important instrumentalists in rock'n'roll.[2] Allen's distinctive tone has been hailed as "one of the defining sounds of rock'n'roll" and "one of the DNA strands of rock."

 

Allen was a key figure in New Orleans rock and roll of the 1950s and recorded with many leading performers of the early rock and roll era. He was semiretired from music by the late 1960s, but in the late 1970s returned to performing intermittently until the end of his life.

Allen was born in Pittsburg, Kansas, and raised largely in Denver, Colorado. He played saxophone from his childhood. A combined athletics and music scholarship from Xavier University led him to relocate to New Orleans in 1943.

He fell into the city's thriving music scene, performing or recording with dozens of musicians in the early days of rock and roll and rhythm and blues. In 1947, he joined the Paul Gayten Band and later, the Dave Bartholomew Band. Notable are his recordings with the singers Fats Domino and Lloyd Price. Allen also was the sax soloist on most of Little Richard's epochal hits from 1955 and 1956. Earl King, whom Allen backed, recalled that Allen was "part of the wallpaper" at Cosimo Matassa's studio, and that Allen was on all the records by Huey "Piano" Smith. Allen and drummer Earl Palmer also backed Professor Longhair on many recordings.

His own instrumental, "Walkin' with Mr. Lee", released by Ember Records, was a minor hit in 1958, partly because it was frequently played on the television program American Bandstand. This and Allen's subsequent singles are collected on the album also called Walkin' with Mr. Lee[3]

He appeared in the film Sweet Beat (1959).

By the mid-1960s, Allen found the city of New Orleans no longer the recording mecca it was for many years. So he soon followed Earl Palmer's lead and moved to southern California in 1965, performing only occasionally on tours with Fats Domino. He found work at an aircraft manufacturing plant by day and also fell easily into the thriving R & B scene by night. He formed an organ trio and performed with his close friends T-Bone Walker and Big Joe Turner.

The 1972 album Dr. John's Gumbo by Dr. John features Allen's sax work. He also appeared on albums by Buddy Miles in this period.

After the rockabilly revival got going in the late 1970s, younger musicians sought Allen's distinctive saxophone. He recorded with the Stray Cats on their second album, Gonna Ball (1981).

Allen was a mentor to and eventually a member of The Blasters. He recorded with the roots-rockers on all of their albums except for their debut, American Music. The second and all subsequent releases from the band's original incarnation, on Slash/Warner Bros, featured him on tenor sax as well as Steve Berlin on baritone sax. Allen also toured with The Blasters during the early to mid-1980s. He is visible in the sequence featuring the band in Streets of Fire (1984). He remained a regular guest in later lineups.

In October 1981, Allen played three shows with the Rolling Stones: on October 1 at the Metro Centre, in Rockford, Illinois, and on October 3/4 at Folsom Field, in Boulder, Colorado. Allen found it difficult to adjust to the stadium size shows of the Stones and was replaced with Ernie Watts and Bobby Keys for the remainder of the tour.

Allen continued to tour with Fats Domino into the 1990s. In late 1992, he took part in studio dates for what would be his final album: The Ultimate Session, released by High Street/Windham Hill in 1994. The group of New Orleans all-stars featured Palmer, Alvin Tyler, Dr. John, and Allen Toussaint.

Lee Allen died of lung cancer in 1994 at age 67. He was survived by his wife, Birdie, as well as five children from a previous marriage: Lee Jr., Patrick, Emmanuel, Aaron, and Karen.

After Allen's death, Blasters member Dave Alvin dedicated the song "Mister Lee" (on the 1996 album Interstate City) to his longtime friend and bandmate. Alvin noted that melody was Allen's passion, and that it was what separated him from less sophisticated honkers. Earl King added that whereas other saxophonists would get too jazzy, Allen had commercial appeal ... (Wikipedia)

Eddie 'Cleanhead' VINSON

⬇️EDDIE 'Cleanhead' VINSON⬇️

(Edward L. Vinson Jr.)

DISCOGRAPHY 1947-2023 (39CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

       

Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson (born Edward L. Vinson Jr., December 18, 1917 – July 2, 1988) was an American jump blues, jazz, bebop and R&B alto saxophonist and blues shouter. He was nicknamed Cleanhead after an incident in which his hair was accidentally destroyed by lye contained in a hair straightening product.

Vinson was born in Houston, Texas. He was a member of the horn section in Milton Larkin's orchestra, which he joined in the late 1930s. At various times, he sat next to Arnett Cobb, Illinois Jacquet, and Tom Archia, while other members of the band included Cedric Haywood and Wild Bill Davis. After exiting Larkin's employment in 1941, Vinson picked up a few vocal tricks while on tour with bluesman Big Bill Broonzy.

He then moved to New York and joined the Cootie Williams Orchestra from 1942 to 1945, recording such tunes as "Cherry Red". Vinson struck out on his own in 1945, forming his own large band, signing with Mercury Records, and enjoying a double-sided hit in 1947 with his R&B chart-topper "Old Maid Boogie", and the song that would prove to be his signature number, "Kidney Stew Blues"..... (Wikipedia)

NEW!

ESSENTIAL CLASSICS

Vol. 768 Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson (2CD) @FLAC

Tab.SMITH

⬇️ TAB SMITH ⬇️

(Talmadge "Tab" Smith)
(6LP/78/CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

        

Talmadge "Tab" Smith (January 11, 1909 – August 17, 1971), was an American swing and rhythm and blues alto saxophonist. He is best known for the tracks, "Because Of You" and "Pretend". He variously worked with Count Basie, the Mills Rhythm Boys and Lucky Millinder.

Après la guerre, il s'oriente vers le rhythm and blues et dirige un orchestre de jump blues, enregistrant sur les labels chicagoans Premium et United. Le groupe est composé en grande partie de musiciens venus de l'orchestre de Millinder, notamment le chanteur Trevor Bacon.

United publie 48 titres de Tab Smith de 1951 à 1957, date de la disparition du label. Sa version de 1951 de Because of You de Tony Bennett atteint la première place des charts de Rhythm and Blues....

NEW!

1945-The Things You Are + Tab Steps Out (78rpm) @FLAC24-96

1952-You Belong To Me + Auf Widerseh'n Sweetheart (78rpm) Flac24-96

1991-Jump Time @FLAC+

1992-Ace High @FLAC+

1997-Top 'n' Bottom @FLAC+

Vanessa COLLIER

⬇️ VANESSA COLLIER ⬇️

(7CD/DVD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

Vanessa N. Collier is an American blues, funk, and soul saxophonist, singer and songwriter. She has been nominated for five Blues Music Awards and won one of them in 2019 and another in 2020.

Her influences include Bonnie Raitt, Norah Jones, The Wood Brothers, Tedeschi Trucks Band, Ray Charles, Snooks Eaglin, Aretha Franklin, Herbie Hancock, Professor Longhair, and Cannonball Adderley. Collier is a Selmer endorsed woodwind artist.

Collier was born in Dallas, Texas, United States and grew up in Columbia, Maryland. Her interest in blues music started at the age of 11, when she played a solo on her saxophone over a blues progression in jazz band. Collier studied saxophone privately with Chris Vadala for a number of years, studying classical, jazz, and many other styles of music. Collier went on to earn dual degrees in Performance and Music Production & Engineering at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts, graduating in 2013.

At Berklee's Commencement Concert, Collier was invited to play alongside Annie Lennox, Kathy Mattea, and Willie Nelson. Collier also worked with Kathy Mattea, Bill Cooley, Patrice Rushen, and many more visiting artists during her four years studying at Berklee. She then toured in the U.S. and internationally backing Joe Louis Walker during 2012 and 2013.

In 2014, Collier issued her debut solo album, Heart Soul & Saxophone. The work drew comparisons to artists including the Tedeschi Trucks Band and Bonnie Raitt. The album was declared as "magnificent" on Dan Aykroyd's blues radio show and named "Best of 2014 Blues Breakers" for her album. Her backing band on the recording comprised several former Berklee students.

The album consisted of five Collier compositions and four cover versions. The former included "Bad News Bears" which was dedicated to a fellow saxophone player, Max Cowan, who had died at a young age. The album's finale was a cover of James Morrison's "Right by Your Side". However, one music journalist noted "this album only really intersects with the blues on a few occasions". The interest the release generated resulted in Collier having her national debut tour in late 2014.

She followed this by becoming a top-three finalist in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition, and reached the semi-finals of the 2016 International Blues Challenge in Memphis..... (Wikipedia)

NEW!

2024-Do It My Own Way @FLAC

Louis JORDAN

 LOUIS JORDAN 

(Louis Thomas Jordan)
DISCOGRAPHY 1942-2022 (76CD/DVD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

        

Louis Thomas Jordan (July 8, 1908 - February 4, 1975) was a pioneering American musician, songwriter and bandleader who enjoyed his greatest popularity from the late 1930s to the early 1950s.

Known as "The King of the Jukebox", he was highly popular with both black and white audiences in the later years of the swing era. In 2004, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him no.59 on their list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

Jordan was one of the most successful African-American musicians of the 20th century, ranking fifth in the list of the all-time most successful black recording artists according to Billboard magazine's chart methodology...... (Wikipedia)

NEW:

1976-Louis Jordan Swings (LP) @320

2018-Somebody up There Digs Me (1956) @FLAC24

COLLECTION

Louis Jordan-Chronogical Classics (1940-41) @FLAC

Louis Jordan-Chronogical Classics (1941-43) @FLAC

Louis Jordan-Chronogical Classics (1943-45) @FLAC

Louis Jordan-Chronogical Classics (1950-51) @FLAC

Morris LANE

⬇️ MORRIS LANE ⬇️

(1CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

Perhaps Morris Lane is best remembered today for his spell in the Lionel Hampton band in 1947 when he and Johnny Sparrow manned the tenor saxes. But before that, in September 1946, Lane had taken part in a recording session for Savoy as part of a group called the Bebop Boys, who included Sonny Stitt, Fats Navarro, Bud Powell and Kenny Clarke.

The tracks from that session are available on the Proper 4CD set “Sonny Stitt: Sax O’ Bebop.” In January 1947, Lane returned to the Savoy studio and recorded the fiery “Luke The Spook” b/w “Down The Lane.”

In 1951 Lane recorded a couple of jumping sides for Apollo which were released on Apollo single 808: “Blue Jeans” and “B.O. Plenty’s Return.” Later in 1951 Lane recorded several fine jump sides for Bobby Robinson’s new label Robin. “Bobby’s Boogie” and “Ghost Town” were in fact the first sides released on Robinson’s label.

In February and May 1952, Lane recorded two sessions for Coral, backed by a quartet led by organist Bill Doggett. This was a change of sound from the first six tracks on this collection, with swing era standards featuring prominently on releases aimed at the late night smooch crowd. “Moon Ray” in particular is a haunting performance, right up there with Earl Bostic’s “Serenade”, in my opinion. There’s also a beautiful treatment of “Stairway To The Stars” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So” starts off by quoting Jimmy Forrest’s “Night Train.”

In December 1952, billed as “Morris Lane & His Magic Saxophone”, Lane recorded four sides for the tiny Scooter label in the same vein as his Coral material. This time Billy Taylor was on organ while Art Blakey was on drums. “Poinciana” and “Blues In The Night” are particularly fine efforts. (BeBopWino Blog)

Joe LUTCHER

 JOE LUTCHER 

(Joseph Woodman "Joe" Lutcher)

(2LP)

 BIOGRAPHY 

       

Joseph Woodman "Joe" Lutcher (December 23, 1919 – October 29, 2006) was an American R&B saxophonist and bandleader, the younger brother of singer Nellie Lutcher. He performed and recorded successfully in the 1940s, but later abandoned a commercial musical career and became an outspoken member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

He was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, one of ten surviving children (out of 15) of Isaac and Susie Lutcher. Isaac and his children formed a small band, in which Joe played saxophone. By 1941, he had moved to Los Angeles, California, joining his sister Nellie who had relocated there in the mid-1930s. He was drafted into the US Navy in 1942, leaving in 1945 and returning to Los Angeles.

He led the house band at the Look Café in Los Angeles, before relocating to the more prestigious Café Society, where his band were renamed The Society Cats. He also worked as a bandleader for Nat King Cole, Sammy Davis Jr. and the Mills Brothers. In 1947 he was heard by Art Rupe, who signed him to his new record label, Specialty.

However, Lutcher was unhappy with Rupe's request that he only record slow blues, and at the behest of his sister Nellie also recorded (as "Joe Lutcher's Jump Band") for Capitol Records. Joe Lutcher's first hit was "Shuffle Woogie" on the Capitol label, which reached # 10 on the Billboard "Race Records" chart in March 1948. "Rockin' Boogie", on Specialty, reached # 14 in September 1948.

Besides Lutcher on alto saxophone and occasional vocals, members of his band included Karl George on trumpet, Bill Ellis and Leon Beck on saxes, Harold Morrow on piano, Bill Cooper on bass and novelty vocals, and drummer Dick "Booker" Hart, sometimes augmented with vocals by actor Cliff Holland. It has been written of Lutcher that many of his recordings "have unusually moody, complex and sometime humorous arrangements that are reminiscent of Frank Zappa's later recordings."

In 1949 he signed with Modern Records, where he recorded his own composition, "Mardi Gras". Lutcher's version reached # 13 on the R&B chart, but the tune became better known in later modified versions by Professor Longhair and Fats Domino. He later recorded for Peacock Records in Houston, Texas, and for several smaller labels, but with diminishing success.....

Clifford SCOTT

⬇️ CLIFFORD SCOTT ⬇️

(1CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

Born 21 June 1928, San Antonio, Texas. Died 19 April 1993, San Antonio

Texas Tenor sax man Clifford Scott was born in San Antonio. His first professional job there was at the Keyhole Club in 1946. He was "discovered" by Lionel Hampton at age 14 and worked in Hamp's band from 1948-50.

After playing with the Rhythm and Blues bands of Roy Milton and Jay McShann, he rejoined Hamp in 1953. Clifford left Hampton in 1954 to study arranging in New York. He freelanced there until joining Bill Doggett's band in late 1955, staying until 1961. It was during this period that Scott co-wrote his best-remembered hit tune, "Honky Tonk". (The following comes from John Broven's sleeve notes for the CD "Honky Tonk!" - Ace 761.)

"Honky Tonk" was conceived by Clifford Scott and Billy Butler (who played guitar in Doggett's combo) in an informal hotel room jam session before a dance in Lima, Ohio. That night, on stage and without rehearsal, Butler told Bill Doggett and drummer Shep Shepherd to "just play a shuffle" and when they got through the people started to applaud.

They wouldn't get off the dance floor, they just continued to stand there and appalud "more, more, more..". So they did it again, played some other tunes and had an intermission, and when they came back the audience started yelling "We wanna hear that tune!". And they didn't even have a name for it.

When the band got back to New York, they set up a recording session with a studio down on 31st Street. The engineer turned the machine on, he goes out to take a smoke - he wasn't regulating the controls, he wasn't doing anything - and Doggett's band went on and just played. When they started to stop, he said "Keep it up!", which they did and that's how it became a two-sided record. "Honky Tonk", parts 1&2, went to #2 on the pop charts and #1 on the R&B charts in 1956. Writing credit goes to B. Doggett, S. Shepherd, C. Scott and B. Butler.

Scott then left for Los Angeles to work in the recording studios there. He toured with Ray Charles on and off from 1966 until 1973. He returned to San Antonio in 1976 and remained there for the rest of his career, still active as a saxophonist. He made a few (unsuccessful) jazz albums as a solo act and a recording with Wild Bill Davis in 1986 in Zurich. Clifford Scott died in 1993, aged 64.

Calvin BOZE

⬇️ CALVIN BOZE ⬇️

(2CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

Calvin Boze (October 15, 1916 - June 1970) was an American trumpeter and bandleader, best known for his recordings at the turn of the 1950s.

Born in Trinity County, Texas, Boze began playing in a high school band, which also featured Illinois Jacquet, Arnett Cobb, and singer Charles Brown. He went on to play in the bands of Marvin Johnson and then Milton Larkins, again with Jacquet and also Eddie Vinson.

After wartime service he settled in Los Angeles and, as singer and trumpet player, took part in the development of the jump blues style, heavily influenced by Louis Jordan. Boze first recorded in 1945, but his biggest successes came with Aladdin Records after 1949. In May 1950 he released "Safronia B", a classic if unsophisticated recording which, with its refrain of "I surrender! I surrender!", epitomised the sense of fun in the West Coast music scene just before the dawn of rock and roll. It made #9 on the Billboard R&B chart in June 1950, and has since been included on several anthologies of the period. The song was later recorded by The Manhattan Transfer.

He toured widely around this time, particularly with Dinah Washington. However, his later recordings, including "Looped" and an early version of "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", were less successful, and he did not record after 1952. He continued to play at jam sessions around Los Angeles, while also developing a career as a social worker and school teacher, before his death, aged 53, after prolonged ill health.

He died in Los Angeles, California in June 1970. (Wikipedia)

A.C. REED

⬇️ A.C. REED ⬇️

(Aaron Corthen)

DISCOGRAPHY 1985-1998 (11CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

Aaron Corthen, better known as A.C. Reed (May 9, 1926 – February 24, 2004) was an American blues saxophonist, closely associated with the Chicago blues scene from the 1940s into the 2000s.

Reed was born in Wardell, Missouri, and grew up in southern Illinois. He took his stage name from his friend Jimmy Reed. He moved to Chicago during World War II, playing with Earl Hooker and Willie Mabon in the 1940s.

He toured with Dennis "Long Man" Binder in 1956 and worked extensively as a sideman for Mel London's blues record labels Chief/Profile/Age in the 1960s, with Lillian Offitt and Ricky Allen, among others. He had a regionally popular single in 1961, "This Little Voice" (Age 29101), and cut several more singles over the course of the decade.

He became a member of Buddy Guy's band in 1967, playing with him on his tour of Africa in 1969 and, with Junior Wells, opening for the Rolling Stones in 1970. He remained with Guy until 1977. He then played with Son Seals and Albert Collins in the late 1970s and 1980s.

He began recording solo material for Alligator Records in the 1980s. His 1987 album, I'm in the Wrong Business, includes cameo appearances by Stevie Ray Vaughan and Bonnie Raitt.

Reed toured extensively in the 1980s and 1990s with his band, the Spark Plugs, playing small venues throughout the United States. He and the Sparkplugs performed in Chicago before he died of cancer in 2004. (Wikipedia)

Bloodest Saxophone

⬇️BLOODEST SAXOPHONE⬇️

(3CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

Formed in Tokyo, the jump blues & swing band, BLOODEST SAXOPHONE has been playing old-school vintage sounds since 1998. The group's leader, Young Corn Shintaro, established the band with the ambition "to rule the world with the saxophone." Young Corn Shintaro says “Jump Blues and Swing Jazz bring out the soul of the tenor saxophone, especially when jumpin’’.

The group does not think of themselves as playing old music but instead just time traveled from the days when Illinois Jacquet and Arnett Cobb were around. Their first album “Blood-est” was released in 2003; to date they have released 12 albums and appeared on 18 compilations. Their music has been enchanting not only old school blues/jazz lovers but also rock ‘n’ roll, rockabilly fans and mods alike; the band’s fiery performance at the event “Mods May Day” is a history.

In 2012, the legendary honker Big Jay McNeely discovered them on internet, which led to a joint tour of Japan in 2013 and the live album in 2015. The combination of young and old generations brought forth the sounds of today’s Jump blues. The album recorded in 2014 at the studio in the foothills of Mt. Fuji featuring the great singer from the 60’s Louis Armstrong Orchestra, Jewel Brown, along with the album with McNeely, is highly acclaimed both in Japan and overseas.

Joe HOUSTON

⬇️ JOE HOUSTON ⬇️

(Joseph Abraham "Joe" Houston)
DISCOGRAPHY 1955-2011 (16CD)

 BIOGRAPHY 

Joseph Abraham "Joe" Houston (July 12, 1926 – December 28, 2015) was an American tenor saxophonist who played jazz and rhythm and blues.

He was born in Bastrop, a suburb of Austin, Texas, and studied trumpet in school, changing to saxophone later. As a teen he began emulating a touring band by buying a red suit with white pants. One night in 1941 a saxophone player did not show for a gig with the band and Houston took his place. Between 1943 and 1946, Houston toured with King Kolax's band through Kansas City and Chicago and throughout the Mid-West.

After World War II Houston returned to Texas, and recorded with the pianist Amos Milburn and singer Big Joe Turner. Initially playing alto sax, he switched to tenor in the wake of such "honking" saxophonists as Big Jay McNeely and Paul Williams. Turner got Houston his first recording contract on Freedom Records in 1949. Houston moved to Baton Rouge, Louisiana and played with Betty Roche and Wynonie Harris.

Eventually, Houston formed his own band The Rockets, and moved to Los Angeles in 1952. He scored his only two chart hit singles in 1952 with "Worry, Worry, Worry", and "Hard Time Baby" both of which peaked at #10 on Billboard's R&B singles chart. He recorded for many record labels, including Modern and Crown, and contributed vocals as well as saxophone on some of his records.

Houston was based in Los Angeles throughout most of his career. He toured and recorded with his band the Defrosterz, started by the bassist Mark St. John, who acted as his bassist and manager almost 20 years, plus the keyboardist Mike Malone. They toured North America and recorded throughout the 1990s and 2000s. The band was signed to the Shattered Records label.

Houston's musical career ended after he suffered a stroke in 2006. Joe returned to the stage in July 2008 and performed at The Long Beach lobster Festival. He continued to entertain until 2012 due to his health. He died on December 28, 2015 in Long Beach, California, following a some health issues. (Wikipedia)