The New Orleans Sessions - Mercury Records

 By request:

In earlier posts we looked at some of the pioneering R&B recordings coming out of New Orleans in the late 40's. The success of that material began to attract labels like Mercury to come down and record some for themselves, a repeated theme in the cycles of New Orleans popularity.

For whatever the reason may be, these recording are some of the most neglected of the major label recordings made here. This magnificent Bear Family set is an expansion of their earlier 2 lp set, with the second disc representing material that has not seen the light of day since I was a baby. I wish I had a way to give you the enclosed book with it but at 96 pages, I was not doing all them scans!

One of the real treasures here are the large number of tracks from the forgotten lady blues shouter Miss Lollipop but there are also 13 rare Professor Longhair tracks and some Gospel from the Silvertone Singers. All great stuff that even collectors likely did not have in full.

Dinah Washington - The Queen Sings 1948-1951

Here are  parts 3 & 4 of this marvelous Proper set covering the first 7 years of recordings featuring The Queen.  (Thanks Cliff) For me these R&B years are some of my favorites (of course the 1954 Jam sessions are way up there too) of her too short career.

Like most singers of the age, Ms Dinah is covering tunes from all sorts of genre's but I think you can make a strong case that the music that she, Helen Humes and Billie Holiday are singing between 1944 and 1950 is as much R&B as it is Jazz. A scan through the titles here shows at least as many Blues/R&B songs as there are standards and Pop songs. Her version of Percy Mayfield's Please Send Me Someone To Love comes not even a year after the original, making it one of the earliest covers of that classic.

"Dinah Washington recorded a stunning amount of material in her too-short career (when she died in Detroit in 1963 she was only 39 years old -- somehow she still managed to find time for seven marriages), most of it during her lengthy association with Mercury Records between 1948 and 1955. Washington seemingly tackled everything under the sun in the recording studio, cutting jazz, R&B, blues, and pop sides with an assortment of small groups, trios, sextets, and increasingly, toward the end of her life, with large orchestras, and if she seemed to be gradually fading into blander and sleeker arrangements as time went on, her voice always remained focused and coiled, and her bluesy phrasing has influenced far more singers than most folks realize. This four-disc, 109-track set includes every side commercially released under Washington's name between 1944 and 1951 (each of the four discs has been previously released by Proper as a stand-alone album), opening with tracks recorded with Lionel Hampton and closing out with a couple of delightful selections recorded with the Ravens. Much of what is here falls to the R&B side, revealing a somewhat rougher style that will be revelatory to listeners only familiar with her later more smoothed-out pop material. This lady could sing anything in any style and make it her own (just listen to how she claims Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart" here). This box is an absolute treasure trove from one of the best singers of the 20th century." AMG

Dinah Washington - The Queen Sings 1944-1947

Dinah is some of the earliest music I remember hearing at home, my Mom has always been  a fan. I've not read enough about her to be able to do any better than the wiki for now:

"Ruth Jones was born in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States, and moved to Chicago as a child. Dinah became deeply involved in gospel and played piano for the choir in St. Luke's Baptist Church while she was still in elementary school. She sang gospel music in church and played piano, directing her church choir in her teens and being a member of the Sallie Martin Gospel Singers. She sang lead with the first female gospel singers formed by Ms Martin, who was co-founder of the Gospel Singers Convention. Jones' involvement with the gospel choir occurred after she won an amateur contest at Chicago's Regal Theater where she sang "I Can't Face the Music".

After winning a talent contest at the age of 15, she began performing in clubs. By 1941-42 she was performing in such Chicago clubs as Dave's Rhumboogie and the Downbeat Room of the Sherman Hotel (with Fats Waller). She was playing at the Three Deuces, a jazz club, when a friend took her to hear Billie Holiday at the Garrick Stage Bar. Joe Sherman was so impressed with her singing of "I Understand", backed by The Cats and The Fiddle, who were appearing in the Garrick's upstairs room, that he hired her. During her year at the Garrick - she sang upstairs while Holiday performed in the downstairs room - she acquired the name by which she became known. She credited Joe Sherman with suggesting it. Hampton's visit brought an offer, and Dinah went to work as his female vocalist in 1943 after she had sung with the band for its opening at the Chicago Regal Theatre. She sang with the Hampton band for two years.

She made her recording debut for the Keynote label that December with "Evil Gal Blues", written by Leonard Feather and backed by Hampton and musicians from his band, including Joe Morris (trumpet) and Milt Buckner (piano). Both that record and its follow-up, "Salty Papa Blues", made Billboard's "Harlem Hit Parade" in 1944.

She stayed with Hampton's band until 1946 and, after the Keynote label folded, signed for Mercury Records as a solo singer. Her first record for Mercury, a version of Fats Waller's "Ain't Misbehavin'", was another hit, starting a long string of success. Between 1948 and 1955, she had 27 R&B top ten hits, making her one of the most popular and successful singers of the period. Both "Am I Asking Too Much" (1948) and "Baby Get Lost" (1949) reached Number 1 on the R&B chart, and her version of "I Wanna Be Loved" (1950) crossed over to reach Number 22 on the US pop chart. Her hit recordings included blues, standards, novelties, pop covers, and even a version of Hank Williams' "Cold, Cold Heart" (R&B Number 3, 1951). At the same time as her biggest popular success, she also recorded sessions with many leading jazz musicians, notably Clifford Brown on the 1954 live album Dinah Jams, and also recorded with Cannonball Adderley, Clark Terry, and Ben Webster....
(this is as far into her career as we are going in this set)
....Washington was married seven times. Her husbands were John Young (1942–43), George Jenkins (1946), Robert Grayson (1947), Walter Buchanan (1950), saxophonist Eddie Chamblee (1957), Rafael Campos (1961), and pro football player Dick "Night Train" Lane (1963). She had two sons: George Kenneth Jenkins and Robert Grayson.

Early on the morning of December 14, 1963, Washington's seventh husband Lane went to sleep with his wife, and awoke later to find her slumped over and not responsive. Doctor B. C. Ross came to the scene to pronounce her dead. An autopsy later showed a lethal combination of secobarbital and amobarbital, which contributed to her death at the age of 39. She is buried in the Burr Oak Cemetery in Alsip, Illinois.

Professor Longhair - New Orleans R&B Founding Father

Professor Longhair (December 19, 1918 – January 30, 1980; born Henry Roeland Byrd, also known as Roy "Bald Head" Byrd and as Fess) was a New Orleans blues singer and pianist. Professor Longhair is noteworthy for having been active in two distinct periods, both in the heyday of early rhythm and blues, and in the resurgence of interest in traditional jazz after the founding of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival.

The journalist Tony Russell, in his book The Blues – From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray, stated "The vivacious rhumba-rhythmed piano blues and choked singing typical of Fess were too weird to sell millions of records; he had to be content with siring musical offspring who were simple enough to manage that, like Fats Domino or Huey "Piano" Smith. But he is also acknowledged as a father figure by subtler players like Allen Toussaint and Dr. John."

Professor Longhair was born on December 19, 1918 in Bogalusa, Louisiana. He made a living as a street hustler until he started to play piano seriously in his thirties. He taught himself how to play on a piano with missing keys so his style became distinct.

He began his career in New Orleans in 1948, earning a gig at the Caldonia Club, where the owner, Mike Tessitore, bestowed Longhair with his stage name (due to Byrd's shaggy coiffure). Longhair first recorded in 1949, creating four songs (including the first version of his signature song, "Mardi Gras in New Orleans," complete with whistled intro) for the Dallas, Texas based Star Talent label. His band was called the Shuffling Hungarians, for reasons lost to time. Union problems curtailed their release, but Longhair's next effort for Mercury Records the same year was a winner. Throughout the 1950s, he recorded for Atlantic Records, Federal Records and other, local, labels. Professor Longhair had only one national commercial hit, "Bald Head" in 1950, credited to Roy Byrd & His Blues Jumpers. He also recorded his pet numbers "Tipitina", "Big Chief" and "Go to the Mardi Gras". However, he lacked the early crossover appeal of Fats Domino for white audiences.

After recuperating from a minor stroke, Professor Longhair came back in 1957 with "No Buts - No Maybes."  He revived his "Go to the Mardi Gras" in 1959; this is the version that surfaces every year at Mardi Gras in New Orleans.

In the 1960s Professor Longhair's career faltered. He became a janitor to support himself, and fell into a gambling habit. (He played weekly 'shows' in his own parlor during this time and spent a lot of time mentoring younger players. kc)

He appeared at the 1971 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival to restore his standing, and played at the 1973 Newport Jazz Festival and the Montreux Jazz Festival. His recorded live set, Live on the Queen Mary (1978) came from a party given by Paul and Linda McCartney. His single visit to the UK, in 1978, was commemorated by The London Concert.

By the 1980s his albums, such as Crawfish Fiesta on Alligator and New Orleans Piano for Atlantic, had become readily available across America.  He appeared on the PBS series Soundstage (with Dr. John, Earl King, and The Meters) and co-starred in the film documentary Piano Players Rarely Ever Play Together.  The latter became a memorial tribute when Longhair died in his sleep from a heart attack in the middle of filming. Footage from his funeral was included.

In 1981 he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. He was awarded a posthumous Grammy for his early recordings released as House Party New Orleans Style, and in 1992 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

In the notes to this set you will find a seemingly incomprehensible dismissal of Byrd's contributions from no less than Earl Palmer. For one blinded by Palmer's giant talent and undeniably colossal contributions of his own, this may seem troubling. One has to consider Palmer's titantic ego and the fact that he clearly didn't understand ANYTHING about Fess' influences or personality. Was Fess an educated man, no, was he a smart man, undeniably yes! What Earl considered him being unconsciously comical was in fact entirely deliberate, and a speech pattern of flowery but incorrect language that was common amongst very intelligent but undereducated black men of the time. Fess knew the difference between 'c minus' and 'c minor' but preferred his own language. Earl was a perfect example of the stratification of black society of the time and the deep prejudices retained within the black and Creole communities. It is a common syndrome; everyone needs to feel superior to someone! History has given Fess his due!  (btw that is his house today) 

Consider this: "In the 1940s Professor Longhair was playing with Caribbean musicians, listening a lot to Perez Prado's mambo records, and absorbing and experimenting with it all. He was especially enamored with Cuban music. Longhair's style was known locally as rumba-boogie. Alexander Stewart states that Longhair was a key figure bridging the worlds of boogiewoogie and the new style of rhythm and blues."[In his composition "Misery," Professor Longhair plays a habanera-like figure in his left hand. The deft use of triplets in the right hand is a characteristic of Longhair's style.
"Misery" by Professor Longhair (1957).

Tresillo, the habanera, and related African-based single-celled figures have long been heard in the left hand part of piano compositions by New Orleans musicians, for example—Louis Moreau Gottschalk ("Souvenirs From Havana" 1859), and Jelly Roll Morton ("The Crave" 1910). One of Longhair's great contributions was the adaptation of Afro-Cuban two-celled, clave-based patterns in New Orleans blues. Michael Campbell states: "Rhythm and blues influenced by Afro-Cuban music first surfaced in New Orleans. Professor Longhair’s influence was . . . far reaching. In several of his early recordings, Professor Longhair blended Afro-Cuban rhythms with rhythm and blues. The most explicit is 'Longhair’s Blues Rhumba,' where he overlays a straightforward blues with a clave rhythm." The guajeo-like piano part for the rumba-boogie "Mardi Gras in New Orleans" (1949), employs the 2-3 clave onbeat/offbeat motif. The 2-3 clave time-line is written above the piano excerpt for reference.

According to Dr. John (Malcolm John "Mac" Rebennack, Jr.), the Professor "put funk into music . . . Longhair's thing had a direct bearing I'd say on a large portion of the funk music that evolved in New Orleans." This is the syncopated, but straight subdivision feel of Cuban music (as opposed to swung subdivisions). Alexander Stewart states that the popular feel was passed along from "New Orleans—through James Brown's music, to the popular music of the 1970s," adding: "The singular style of rhythm & blues that emerged from New Orleans in the years after World War II played an important role in the development of funk. In a related development, the underlying rhythms of American popular music underwent a basic, yet generally unacknowledged transition from triplet or shuffle feel to even or straight eighth notes. Concerning funk motifs, Stewart states: "This model, it should be noted, is different from a time line (such as clave and tresillo) in that it is not an exact pattern, but more of a loose organizing principle."