Encouraging exclamations on jazz or blues records

[jeffcrom]

A thoroughly trivial and unimportant topic:

Plenty of jazz and blues recordings, especially older ones, have spoken exclamations to encourage the soloist(s), like "Blow, Fats!" on at least one Fats Navarro record. Some of these encouraging exclamations are pretty odd. Two of my favorites are:

"Joue guitar la, Danny!" - spoken by clarinetist Albert Nicholas in Louisiana Creole French to Danny Barker on a 1947 recording of "Salee Dame," a New Orleans Creole song.

"Honk that thing, Fats!" - spoken by Alberta Hunter to Fats Waller, who was accompanying her on pipe organ on "Sugar" in 1927.

What are your favorite encouraging exclamations from jazz or blues recordings?

[JSngry]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0D62CGa9gY

I gotta say, the one @ 2:23...that's how dead people get brought back to life.

[GA Russell]

One of my favorites in college was Standing Ovation at Newport by Herbie Mann. During Stolen Moments, Herbie introduces Chick Corea's solo by shouting, "You got it, Chick!"

[Mark Stryker]

I like Dizzy laughing behind Bird on "Warming Up a Riff," the slower, incomplete take of "Ko-Ko," when Bird plays a super-hip rhyme during the last A section of his second chorus.

Going from memory, Art Blakey telling Lee Morgan to "Play yo' instrument" and "Get mad" during the cadenza on "A Night in Tunesia." And Blakey laughs and yells a lot all the way through "Free For All" -- one of the most fiery records ever -- especially, as I recall, the title track and behind Freddie Hubbard on "Pensativa."

[Big Beat Steve]

One of my favorites:

At the end of the ultra-fast "Red Hot Blues" by the T.J. Fowler band (National 9072, recorded in 1948), after the band calls out a hoarse "One-Two-Three-Four-Five-Six-Seven-Eight-Nine-Ten-RED HOT!", a single voice (the band leader?) adds a dry, cool "THIS IS THE BLUES, BABY!".

Yes ... they sure blew the cobwebs out of many of those so slow blues that according to many set the ONLY pace a blues tune is supposed to be played at.

[David Ayers]

"Tell 'em, Danny!'

Well yeah not an encouragement to solo, but you know what I mean...

Edited July 12, 2011 by David Ayers

[Big Beat Steve]

Another exhortation

(that would also fit in here ...

is on Wynonie Harris' 1947 recording of "Blow your Brains Out" where he introduces the tenor solo "... baby, time marches, ... now I want you to meet Tom Archia - march, Tom Archia!" whereupon Tom Archia blows the second tenor solo. BTW, Hal Singer, the other tenor man, is introduced as "Oklahoma".

Both tenorists are called out several more times throughout the track.

As for identifiying soloists in this manner, and assuming that WESTERN swing falls into the swing style of jazz (ain't it so, Mr Lowe? ), would ALL of Bob Wills' encouragements and "Yah-hah's" count too? (Would make a long list ...)

[Big Beat Steve]

Another oddity, not so much for the interjections but for the line-up credits:

On "Windy City Boogie" recorded by the J.T. Brown band for the United label in July, 1951, various whoopings and hollers (including the inevitable "Mercy Mercy") can be heard throughout the tune.

By whom? The line-up on the Delmark reissue indicates the presence of Roosevelt Sykes "playing" "ENCOURAGEMENT AND ZEST" (such are the instrument credits)! Now how do you play "zest"??

Edited July 12, 2011 by Big Beat Steve

[BillF]

More tragic is the cry of "Go!" behind the stricken Bird as he fails to get it together on "Bebop" from the 1946 "Lover Man" session.

(Good thread, Jeff)

[jeffcrom]

I can't believe I left out one of my favorites. When Duane Allman was just a studio guitarist at Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, he played a hair-raising slide guitar solo on Clarence Carter's "Road of Love." An obviously impressed Carter spontaneously sang/spoke "I like what I'm listening to right now" in the middle, and they left it on the record. I've always loved that moment.

(And thanks, Bill.)

[BillF]

I can't believe I left out one of my favorites. When Duane Allman was just a studio guitarist at Fame Studio in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, he played a hair-raising slide guitar solo on Clarence Carter's "Road of Love." An obviously impressed Carter spontaneously sang/spoke "I like what I'm listening to right now" in the middle, and they left it on the record. I've always loved that moment.

(And thanks, Bill.)

On Jimmy Yancey's "Death Letter Blues", just before he begins to sing with his solo piano he mutters, "Wrong key I'm in"

[Chuck Nessa]

Coltrane! Coltrane!

[Don Brown]

Just a couple of days ago I pulled out an old favourite on the Vanguard label - The Jo Jones Special. At the end of the opening selection, Shoe Shine Boy, the guys in the band crack up with sheer delight at what they've just committed to record. And what a pick-up group it was - Emmett Berry, trumpet; Bennie Green, trombone; Lucky Thompson, tenor, Count Basie, piano; Freddie Green, guitar, Walter Page bass, and the leader, Jo Jones on drums.

[Neal Pomea]

Brownie McGhee to Sonny Terry on Down by the Riverside: "How do you feel about it, buddy?"

Brownie McGhee to Sonny Terry on Walk On: "Let's walk together now!"

[BillF]

There's so much of this sort on the Van Gelder recordings of Miles in the 50s. You'll be able to tell me where these are from:

"Man, I don't know where to come in"

"Where's the beer opener?"

"Block chords, Red"

"Hey Rudy, leave this on the record - all of it!"

[Shawn]

Coltrane! Coltrane!

Really cool thread by the way.

[Peter Johnson]

Great thread!

I've always loved the way the Brubeck quartet devolves into laughter when they make it to the end of Pick Up Sticks, the last track on Time Out. Always makes me smile.

[Hot Ptah]

Another exhortation

(that would also fit in here ...

is on Wynonie Harris' 1947 recording of "Blow your Brains Out" where he introduces the tenor solo "... baby, time marches, ... now I want you to meet Tom Archia - march, Tom Archia!" whereupon Tom Archia blows the second tenor solo. BTW, Hal Singer, the other tenor man, is introduced as "Oklahoma".

Both tenorists are called out several more times throughout the track.

As for identifiying soloists in this manner, and assuming that WESTERN swing falls into the swing style of jazz (ain't it so, Mr Lowe? ), would ALL of Bob Wills' encouragements and "Yah-hah's" count too? (Would make a long list ...)

Bob Wills' interjections often dominated the songs. I love them. One of my favorites is on "Bubbles in My Beer." The vocalist describes how the rest of the crowd in the bar is dancing and having a good time, while he sits alone thinking of his lost love, nursing a beer. After one particularly depressing line, Bob chimes in with a very compassionate "Oh, that's too bad!"

Also, when one of his saxophonists would play a solo, Bob would introduce them by commenting on their "golden saxophone". It was always a "golden saxophone".

Wills went out of his way to state his sideman's name before virtually every solo, from "take it away, Leon!" to more elaborate statements such as "Haaawwwwwww! Now we'll hear from the big boy on guitar, Junior Barnard! Get it up high, Junior, then take it down low! Dirty, dirty! Haaawwwwwww!" His sidemen could not have been unknown to his audience.

Edited July 12, 2011 by Hot Ptah

[Michael Weiss]

The exclamations may not be encouraging but for hilarious studio dialogue nothing beats this classic:

[mikeweil]

Coltrane! Coltrane!

[mikeweil]

One of my favourites is someone from the audience shouting "Yes - Yes - that's right" during the last seconds of Mazacote on Mongo Santamaria's second Fantasy LP, Mongo (ressiued on the twofer Afro Roots). It really comes from one of the Cal Tjader Blackhawk sessions, but as an extended feature for Mongo's conga and bongo soloing, they used for one of his LPs.

[JSngry]

So many Ellington records...especially the live ones...

[Big Beat Steve]

Bob Wills' interjections often dominated the songs. I love them. One of my favorites is on "Bubbles in My Beer." The vocalist describes how the rest of the crowd in the bar is dancing and having a good time, while he sits alone thinking of his lost love, nursing a beer. After one particularly depressing line, Bob chimes in with a very compassionate "Oh, that's too bad!"

Wills went out of his way to state his sideman's name before virtually every solo, from "take it away, Leon!" to more elaborate statements such as "Haaawwwwwww! Now we'll hear from the big boy on guitar, Junior Barnard! Get it up high, Junior, then take it down low! Dirty, dirty! Haaawwwwwww!" His sidemen could not have been unknown to his audience.

Correct, Hot Ptah.

I was indeed tempted to add that this practice made the task of discographers much easier. But in the case of Bob Wills session details were documented well enough.

Not elsewhere, though, where Bob Wills' exhortations rubbed off on other Western Swing band leaders or vocalists.

On "Pocahuntas Stomp" (Dude 1408) by Dub Adams & The K-Bar Ranch Hands, for example, the band leader/vocalist/announcer (?) goes out of his way in introducing the soloists; the steel guitar soloist is identified as "Roly Poly", the clarinetist is announced as "Brother Hal", and so on ... But to this day liner note scribes wonder who was hiding behind these monikers.

As for "Bubbles In My Beer", you must be refering to the MGM recording. On his 1960 Liberty re-recording, Bob Wills goes one better and not only calls up Joe Holley to "Wake up over there, Jody, let's go here now" but keeps mocking vocalist Tommy Duncan at almost every second line:

T.D.: "I know my life's been a failure..." - Bob: "Oh I wouldn't say that"

T.D. "I see every road that I've travelled" - Bob: "Highway 66?" - whereupon Tommy Duncan has a hard time not breaking into laughter during his next line ...

and so on ...

A classic.

Edited July 12, 2011 by Big Beat Steve

[A Lark Ascending]

On many a live British jazz record you'll hear "Would you like to take your solo now, if it's not too much bother? Sorry if I'm troubling you." Totally without irony.

[BillF]

Let's not forget the Eddie Condon wit. At the beginning of the recording of "Jam Session Blues/Ole Miss" he gives instructions to "those of you who don't read at sight", producing chortles in the ranks, addresses the all-male band as "girls" and says "let's try to make this as respectable as possible". Somewhere on the same album, when the recording engineer calls the number of the take, he instantly replies, "Wrong number, call back later!"

Edited July 12, 2011 by BillF