The Strangest Thing I've Ever Heard

[JSngry]

Bechet-style soprano saxophone on some early-50s R&B sides.

The group was Steve Gibson & The Red Caps. The sopranoist was Emmett Matthews. He used to play with Fats Waller.

You know, I used to do a comedy/music bit about Sidney Bechet having a R&B in 1956 with a tune called "Sassy Britches". But now that I've heard something not all that different that's real, I dunno...

Hearing this type of soprano playing in this context is pretty damn freaky.

[Dr. Rat]

How do you fit in all that vibrato?

--eric

[JSngry]

Hell if I know, but he did it. Cat must've had pneumatic pumps for jaws.

It's almost like listening to a Pete Brown LP at 45. No, I take that back - it is like listening to a Pete Brown LP at 45 (I had the experience once when using the Newport Jam Session side to test out the "'50s Hawk at 45 sounds like Bird" theory - he does, sorta - and Brown got included in the experiment as collateral damage ).

Thing is, it fits in its pwn wierd way. Definitely "anachronistic" in terms of the whole songs, but for the few seconds that he's playing, it fits. Wild, wierd, wacky, wonderful stuff, as the man said.

[Dr. Rat]

I've found some web sites on the band, like this one and a :collection at CDUNiverse.

Does this have the soprano sax on it?

--eric

[JSngry]

Probably, but I'm not sure. The disc I hear was a Gear Family single-CDcollection of the groups RCA recordings, a mixed bag that is bery good when it's good and bery distressing when it's not.

The reason I say "probably" about that disc you mention is that Matthews seems to have been an important member of the group in those years. The hustory site you link to is good, but I found one this morning that is damn near exhaustive! Check it out: http://home.att.net/~marvy42/Redcaps/redcaps.html

I should note that this group was totally unknown to me until last night. But doing some digging into who that sopranoist was led me to discover that they were apparently quite a seminal group, a key part of the transition of styles in popular African-American vocal groups from the Ink Spots style to the proto Doo-Wop of the "bird groups" like the Ravens, and then into the raunchier R&B of groups like Billy Ward & The Dominos.

I had no idea!

[Kalo]

This sounds really interesting, in a "missing link" kind of way.

And Jim, when is your recording of the lost Bechet classic "Sassy Britches" coming out?

[JSngry]

Some things are better heard than recorded...