Do the Math (Free subscription) | 11/23/2008
There is so much to look at over there; wow. A lot of the earlier jazz figures aren't named; hopefully that will change. (For example, there is no "billy strayhorn," "john coltrane" or "meade lux lewis" to be found in...
BLUES TOWN (The City Of Blues) (Free subscription) | 10/14/2008
Alexis Korner was born in Paris to an Austrian father and Greek mother, and spent his childhood in France, Switzerland, and North Africa. He arrived in London in 1940 at the start of the Second World War. One memory of his youth was listening to a record by Jimmy Yancey during a German air raid. He said, "From then on all I wanted to do was play the blues." After the war, he played piano and guitar,...
nongseynyo (Free subscription) | 10/13/2008
Music Makin' Mama starts with a bang and ends with a boogie — the bang is Rabson's revved-up take on Huey "Piano" Smith's "Baby, Every Once in a While," and the boogie is a solo instrumental ode to two of her piano heroes, Jimmy Yancey and Meade Lux Lewis. Between these two end pieces, Rabson navigates through bluesy territory with her trademark gusto, digging up songs by Ray Charles, Big Bill Broonzy,...
BLUES TOWN (The City Of Blues) (Free subscription) | 05/18/2008
Boogie Woogie became an international craze through the work of Giants like Albert Ammons, Jimmy Yancey, Pete Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis. By the end of World War II the boogie craze had died down, but its fire was rekindled by white performers in the form of Country Boogie, here is the story of the Hillbilly Boogie Boys. Just some of the legendary characters on this 100 track set are: Spade Cooley,...
BLUES TOWN (The City Of Blues) (Free subscription) | 03/23/2008
1. East St. Louis Blues - Faber Smith, Jimmy Yancey 2. Bukka's Jitterbug Swing - Bukka White 3. Can't You Read - Big Maceo Merriweather 4. Life Is Like That - Memphis Slim 5. Memory of Sonny Boy - Forrest City Joe 6. Horse Shoe Boogie - Lee Brown 7. Ruby Moore Blues - Lee Brown 8. Low Land Blues - Lee Brown 9. Round the World Blues - Lee Brown 10. Rock That Boogie - Jimmie Gordon 11. Fast Life - Jimmie...
BLUES TOWN (The City Of Blues) (Free subscription) | 03/15/2008
Without Alexis Korner, there still might have been a British blues scene in the early 1960s, but chances are that it would have been very different from the one that spawned the Rolling Stones, nurtured the early talents of Eric Clapton and made it possible for figures such as John Mayall to reach an audience. Born of mixed Turkish/Greek/Austrian descent, Alexis Korner spent the first decade of his...
All About Jazz (Free subscription) | 03/05/2008
"One of the most complex and creative forms of instrumental blues..." - Dan Morgenstern, liner notes The Unmitigated Joy Of Boogie Woogie When it comes to boogie woogie, Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson and Jimmy Yancey are the innovative pantheon and some of their finest performances are represented here. Later interpreters like Freddie Slack, Kenny Kersey, Teddy Wilson, and Mary Lou Williams...
composite drawlings (Free subscription) | 02/20/2008
Your birthday today: Your passions are deep and you love and hate with intensity. You lose control of your emotions and act hastily when excited, but quickly regain your better judgment and make amends. You have a great deal of personal pride and like to command. Perhaps your personal pride is keeping other names from having been written in the book for your day. Please consider sharing the celebrations...
Later On (Free subscription) | 02/09/2008
Jimmy Yancey was a great boogie pianist, but with a different sound—including ending every piece in E-flat. I was surprised to read that he and his wife recorded the first album ever made by Atlantic Records, though I did know that we have his music thanks largely to Ahmet Ertegun (a fellow alumnus, I believe). [...]
Havering On (Free subscription) | 02/07/2008
Well, not exactly. This morning I thought I need to change my album of the week; it's been too long. What to use? I turned on my itunes and was about to scroll through the library to see what was what. It can be a long haul as I've got close to 50,000 tracks loaded onto the hard drive (yes, it's also backed up). I often just set the whole library to random play and just listen to what comes up; it...
Memex 1.1 (Free subscription) | 11/27/2007
This window reminded me of one of my favourite pictures -- Bill Brandt's photograph of a posh window with a uniformed parlourmaid opening the curtains. But instead of a parlourmaid, all I have is a lampshade. Sigh. Come to think of it, one of my favourite piano pieces is Jimmy Yancey's "At the Window". [...]
The Sharp Side (Free subscription) | 07/23/2007
To the nine questions . 1 The mortal remains of the author of Frankenstein lie in a Bournemouth No Alcohol Zone. Mary Shelley's grave is just a short walk from the pier. Head inland to St Peter’s Church , scramble up the slope by the car park and it's one of the first graves you come to. 2. This decrepit mulberry tree can be found in what purports to have once been Shakespeare’s garden at New Place,...
Electric Roulette (Free subscription) | 06/13/2007
If you're into your vintage blues - or want to hear more, it might be worth checking out Atlantic Blues 1949 - 1970, a limited edition (and numbered) four CD boxset featuring the pick of Atlantic's blues output. Atlantic Blues...
