chibiz Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 Can anyone help me in finding Jazz artists from the 30's-40's who did what was called; "honking" while they played? B) Quote
connoisseur series500 Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 (edited) Welcome to the board, Chibiz. Sorry I can't answer your question, but you should pose this question under another forum. Try "miscellaneous music." Edited January 26, 2004 by connoisseur series500 Quote
tonym Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 Hi chibiz. Have a look here. (Look Claude I did it!) You may find what you're after if you explore the likes of 'Earl' Bostic and his bands. That stuff will take paint off. cheers, tonym Quote
EKE BBB Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 These tenor players may fit your definition: ILLINOIS JACQUET ARNETTE COBB EDDIE LOCKJAW DAVIS From a bit later in the timeline: WILLIS GATOR JACKSON Quote
Dan Gould Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 Or you may want to try Honkers and Bar Walkers Volume 1-3 on Delmark. Quote
kenny weir Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 This newish box on the Proper label is likewise made to order for you: Red about it here: Proper Records Quote
EKE BBB Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 This newish box on the Proper label is likewise made to order for you: Red about it here: Proper Records Track listing for the Proper Box: P1341 THE BIG HORN FLYING HOME 805520013413 1. ILLINOIS JACQUET - FLYING HOME Hampton, Goodman, Robin p 1942 3.07 2. ILLINOIS JACQUET - BLUES Etaoin p 1944 10.18 3. BIG JIM WYNN - ROCK WOOGIE Luper, Wesley p 1945 2.44 4. BIG JIM WYNN - WEST COAST LOVER Ellen p 1951 2.40 5. PAZUZZA SIMON - RAISIN’ THE ROOF Buckner p 1946 2.31 6. ARNETT COBB - COBB’S CORNER Cobb p 1947 2.39 7. ARNETT COBB - GO, RED, GO Cobb p 1947 2.36 8. ARNETT COBB - SMOOTH SAILING Cobb p 1950 2.44 9. ARNETT COBB - OPEN HOUSE Duvivier p 1951 2.52 10. MORRIS LANE - DOWN THE LANE Lane p 1947 2.23 11. MORRIS LANE - BLUE JEANS Lane p 1952 2.16 12. MORRIS LANE - BOBBY’S BOOGIE Lane p 1951 2.37 13. DICK DAVIS - SCREAMING BOOGIE Thompson p 1947 2.36 14. WILD BILL MOORE - WE’RE GONNA ROCK, WE’RE GONNA ROLL Reig, Moore p 1947 2.37 15. WILD BILL MOORE - BUBBLES Moore p 1947 3.08 16. WILD BILL MOORE - BALANCING WITH BILL Moore p 1950 2.35 17. WILD BILL MOORE - HEY SPO-DEE-O-DEE Brannon, Theard p 1950 2.40 18. PAUL WILLIAMS - 35-30 (THIRTY-FIVE-THIRTY) Williams p 1948 3.11 19. PAUL WILLIAMS - WALKIN’ AROUND Williams, Parker p 1948 2.45 20. PAUL WILLIAMS - THE HUCKLEBUCK Gibson, Alfred p 1948 3.04 21. PAUL WILLIAMS - HE KNOWS HOW TO HUCKLEBUCK Alfred p 1949 2.41 22. PAUL WILLIAMS - BACK BENDER Williams p 1949 2.28 23. JACK McVEA - JACK FROST McVea p 1948 2.28 24. WEASEL PARKER -TYPHOON Williams, Redd p 1948 2.41 P1342 THE BIG HORN BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT 805520013420 1. HAL SINGER/TOM ARCHIA - BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT Harris p 1948 2.40 2. HAL SINGER/TOM ARCHIA - BLOWIN’ TO CALIFORNIA Harris p 1948 2.23 3. HAL SINGER/TOM ARCHIA - BOODIE, BOODIE Unknown p 1948 2.42 4. HAL SINGER - CORNBREAD Singer p 1948 2.55 5. HAL SINGER - BEEFSTEW Singer p 1948 2.29 6. JOHN HARDEE - BOOGIE WOOGIE BARBECUE Grimes p 1948 2.59 7. JOHN HARDEE - ROCKIN’ AND SOCKIN’ Grimes p 1950 2.30 8. LITTLE WILLIE JACKSON - JACKSON’S BOOGIE Jackson, Josea p 1948 2.46 9. LITTLE WILLIE JACKSON - LET’S JUMP Jackson, Jackson p 1948 2.33 10. EDDIE CHAMBLEE - LONG GONE, PT.2 Thompson, Simpkins p 1948 2.51 11. EDDIE CHAMBLEE - BACK STREET Chamblee, Simpkins p 1948 2.45 12. EDDIE CHAMBLEE - SOUTHERN COMFORT Marsala, Wayne, Doraine p 1951 2.51 13. RED PRYSOCK - HOT IN HARLEM Prysock, Grimes p 1948 2.50 14. RED PRYSOCK/BENNY GOLSON - BATTLE OF THE MASS Grimes p 1950 2.35 15. RED PRYSOCK - WIGGLES Prysock p 1952 2.41 16. RED PRYSOCK - THE HAMMER Prysock p 1952 2.28 17. RED PRYSOCK - JACKPOT Unknown p 1952 2.36 18. RED PRYSOCK - SOFT Bradshaw p 1952 2.30 19. EARL BOSTIC - 8:45 STOMP Bostic p 1948 2.33 20. EARL BOSTIC - DISC JOCKEY NIGHTMARE Bostic p 1948 2.24 21. EARL BOSTIC - EARL BLOWS A FUSE Bostic p 1949 2.43 22. EARL BOSTIC - FLAMINGO Grouya, Anderson p 1951 2.39 23. EARL BOSTIC - STEAM WHISTLE JUMP Bostic p 1952 2.58 24. JOE THOMAS - PAGE BOY SHUFFLE Glover p 1949 2.38 25. JOE THOMAS - BACKSTAGE AT THE APOLLO Thomas p 1949 2.35 26. JOE THOMAS - JUMPIN’ JOE Thomas p 1951 2.32 27. HAROLD LAND - OUTLANDISH Land p 1949 2.36 P1343 THE BIG HORN BOOGIES THE THING 805520013437 1. BIG JAY McNEELY - DEACON’S HOP McNeely p 1949 2.48 2. BIG JAY McNEELY - BLOW BIG JAY McNeely p 1949 2.49 3. BIG JAY McNEELY - ROAD HOUSE BOOGIE McNeely, Shirley p 1949 2.52 4. BIG JAY McNEELY - TONDALAYO McNeely p 1949 2.45 5. BIG JAY McNEELY - JAY’S FRANTIC McNeely p 1950 3.01 6. BIG JAY McNEELY - THE GOOF McNeely, McNeely p 1952 2.21 7. FRANK "FLOORSHOW" CULLEY - FLOORSHOW Culley p 1949 2.57 8. FRANK "FLOORSHOW" CULLEY - COLE SLAW Stone p 1949 2.43 9. FRANK "FLOORSHOW" CULLEY - CENTRAL AVENUE BREAKDOWN Hampton p 1949 2.15 10. FRANK "FLOORSHOW" CULLEY - CULLEY FLOWER Culley, Albert p 1951 2.27 11. EDDIE "LOCKJAW" DAVIS - MOUNTAIN OYSTERS Bernard p 1950 2.38 12. FREDDIE MITCHELL - SLIDER Raeburn, Temple p 1949 2.40 13. FREDDIE MITCHELL - I GOT YOUR BOOGIE Unknown p 1951 2.10 14. FREDDIE MITCHELL - MOON DOG BOOGIE Mitchell p 1952 2.42 15. LEE ALLEN - BACKTRACKIN’ (DR. DADDY-O) Scott, Theard, Brannon p 1949 2.55 16. LEE ALLEN / LEROY "BATMAN" RANKIN - MISS LOLLIPOP’S CONFESSION Mondy p 1949 2.41 17. LEE ALLEN / LEROY "BATMAN" RANKIN - BOOGIE’S THE THING Bartholomew p 1949 2.45 18. HERB HARDESTY - JUMPIN’ TONIGHT Turner p 1950 2.20 19. BIRDIE DAVIS/MARGARET BACKSTROM - RACEHORSE Davis p 1949 2.35 20. SAM "THE MAN" TAYLOR - CRACKLIN’ BREAD Bernhardt p 1949 2.44 21. SAM "THE MAN" TAYLOR - BIG FAT MAMAS ARE BACK IN STYLE AGAIN Millinder, Clawson, Toussaint, Pope p 1950 2.20 22. SAM "THE MAN" TAYLOR - CHEROKEE BOOGIE Mullican p 1950 2.41 23. CECIL PAYNE - EGG HEAD Payne, Mendelsohn p 1949 2.44 24. RAY ABRAMS - EVERYBODY GET TOGETHER Brannon p 1949 2.24 25. JAMES VON STREETER - HEAD HUNTER Otis p 1950 3.02 26. EARL JOHNSON - SAUSAGE ROCK Tyson p 1950 2.34 27. MAXWELL DAVIS - SAFRONIA B Boze p 1950 2.20 P1344 THE BIG HORN MORE BOUNCE TO THE OUNCE 805520013444 1. WILLIS JACKSON - ON MY OWN Cobb, Kynard p 1950 2.52 2. WILLIS JACKSON - DANCE OF THE LADY BUG Cobb, Kynard p 1950 2.32 3. WILLIS JACKSON - LATER FOR THE GATOR Jackson p 1950 2.40 4. WILLIS JACKSON - WINE-O-WINE Stone, Ramson, Nugetre p 1951 2.45 5. WILLIS JACKSON - GOOD GLIDING Jackson p 1951 3.02 6. WILLIS JACKSON - GATOR’S GROOVE Jackson p 1952 2.37 7. CHARLIE SINGLETON - ELEPHANT ROCK Field, Schuster, Tucker p 1950 2.37 8. CHARLIE SINGLETON - EARTHQUAKE Singleton p 1951 2.28 9. FRED JACKSON - BUCK FEVER Unknown p 1951 2.25 10. LYNN HOPE - TENDERLY Gross, Lawrence p 1950 2.31 11. LYNN HOPE - SONG OF THE WANDERER Moret p 1950 2.43 12. LYNN HOPE - MORE BOUNCE TO THE OUNCE Hope p 1950 2.25 13. JULIAN DASH - OPEN UP THEM PEARLY GATES Dash p 1951 2.42 14. JULIAN DASH - HOT ROCK Dash p 1951 2.55 15. BUDDY TATE - BLOWIN AWHILE Unknown p 1951 2.53 16. BUDDY TATE - BLUE CREEK HOP Unknown p 1951 2.59 17. PLAS JOHNSON - WORRYING BLUES Hogg p 1951 2.38 18. AL SEARS - CASTLE ROCK Sears p 1951 2.49 19. AL SEARS - MARSHALL PLAN Baker, Cue, Sears p 1951 2.44 20. FATS NOEL - RIDE DADDY RIDE Noel p 1951 2.07 21. FATS NOEL - DUCK SOUP Noel p 1952 2.15 22. JIMMY JACKSON - HONKIN’ Jackson p 1952 3.11 23. PAUL BASCOMB - PINK CADILLAC Bascomb p 1952 2.20 24. PAUL BASCOMB - MUMBLES BLUES Bascomb p 1952 2.33 25. JOE HOUSTON - CORNBREAD AND CABBAGE GREENS Jacques p 1952 2.24 26. JOE HOUSTON - JAY’S BOOGIE Jacques p 1952 2.44 27. JIMMY FORREST - NIGHT TRAIN Washington, Simpkins, Forrest p 1951 2.58 28. DAVID BROOKS - FLYING HOME Hampton p 1952 4.09 Quote
EKE BBB Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 And discography: DISC ONE: FLYING HOME Lionel Hampton and his Orchestra : Karl George, Ernie Royal, Joe Newman, tp; Fred Beckett, Sonny Craven, Harry Sloan, tb; Marshall Royal, cl, as; Ray Perry, as; Dexter Gordon, ILLINOIS JACQUET, ts; Jack McVea, bs; Lionel Hampton, vib; arr ; Milt Buckner, p; Irving Ashby, g; Vernon Alley, b; George Jenkins, d. New York, May 26, 1942 70773 FLYING HOME Decca 18394 Jazz at the Philharmonic : J.J. Johnson, tb; ILLINOIS JACQUET, Jack McVea, ts; Nat King Cole, p; Les Paul, g; Johnny Mller, b; Lee Young, d. Philharmonic Hall, Los Angeles, July 2, 1944 V17, V18, V19 BLUES Verve MGV 1013 Jim Wynn’s Bobalibans : Stanley Casey, tp; David Graham, as; Freddie Simon, ts; BIG JIM WYNN, ts, bs; Theodore Shirley, b; Robert Sims, d; Pee Wee Wiley, voc. Los Angeles, 1945 V-160-ME ROCK WOOGIE Gilt Edge GE 528 Jim Wynn & his Band : "Goo Goo" Hutcherson, tp; Ed Hale, as; Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, ts; BIG JIM WYNN, bs; Zell Kindred, p; Chuck Norris, g; Buddy Woodson, d. Los Angeles, February 15, 1951 3857 WEST COAST LOVER Mercury 314528 297-2 The Beale Street Gang : PAZZUZA SIMON, ts; Milt Buckner, p; Curley Russell, b; Art Herbert, d. New York, October 28, 1946 S 3365-B RAISIN’ THE ROOF Savoy 653 David Page, tp; Michael "Booty" Wood, tb; ARNETT COBB, ts; George Rhodes, p; Walter Buchanan, b; George Jones, d. New York, August, 1947 R1256-2B COBB’S CORNER Apollo 792 R1267-3D1 GO, RED, GO Apollo 778 David Page, tp; "Booty" Wood, tb; ARNETT COBB, ts; Charles Fowlkes, bs; George Rhodes, p; Walter Buchanan, b; George "Butch" Ballard, d. New York, September 12, 1950 CD 44335 SMOOTH SAILING Columbia 39040 Ed "Tiger" Lewis, tp; Dickie Harris, tb; ARNETT COBB, ts; Willard Brown, ts, bs; George Rhodes, p; Gene Wright, b; George Duvivier, arr. New York, November 20, 1951 CO 47174 OPEN HOUSE Okeh 6887 Morris Lane, Tenor Sax Section : MORRIS LANE, ts; Edwin Swanston, p; George Baker, g; Franklin Skeete, b; Bob Aviles, d. New York, January 24, 1947 S-3382 DOWN THE LANE Savoy 646 Morris Lane & his Orchestra : MORRIS LANE, ts with unknown, tp; bs; p; b; d. New York, March 13, 1951 R-1451 BLUE JEANS Apollo 808 Morris Lane & Band : MORRIS LANE, ts with unknown, tp; bs; p; b; d. New York, 1951 R-101-7 BOBBY’S BOOGIE Robin 101 Dick Davis Orchestra : Dick Davis, ts; Sonny Thompson, p; Lefty Bates, g; Eddie Calhoun, b; Buddy Smith, d. Chicago, circa, 1947 UB 21048 SCREAMING BOOGIE Miracle M 108 Phil Guilbeau, tp; WILD BILL MOORE, ts; Paul Williams, as, bs; T.J. Fowler, p; Herman Hopkins, b; Reetham Mallett, d. Detroit, December 18, 1947 D 823 WE’RE GONNA ROCK, WE’RE GONNA ROLL Savoy 666 Same personnel as above, but Floyd Taylor, p replaces T.J. Fowler. Detroit, November 21, 1948 D 816 BUBBLES Savoy 662 John Hunt, tp; WILD BILL MOORE, Paul Quinichette, ts; Bill Graham, bs; Milt Buckner, org, p; Franklin Skeete, b; Joe Harris, d. New York, March 3, 1950 K 5862 BALANCING WITH BILL King 4383 K 5864 HEY SPO-DEE-O-DEE King 4383 Paul Williams Sextet : John Lawton, tp; Walter Cox, as, ts; PAUL WILLIAMS, as, bs; T.G. Fowler, p; Hank Ivory, b; Clarence Stamps, d. Detroit, October 6, 1947 D 808 35-30 (THIRTY-FIVE-THIRTY) Savoy 661 Paul Williams, as, bs; Floyd Taylor, p; Herman Hopkins, b; Reetham Mallett, d. Detroit, November 20, 1947 D 811 WALKIN’ AROUND Savoy 680 Paul Williams Sextet : Phil Gilbeau, tp; Sam Miller, ts; PAUL WILLIAMS, as, bs; Floyd Taylor, p; Herman Hopkins, b; Reetham Mallett, d. Detroit, December 15, 1948 23011 THE HUCKLEBUCK Savoy 799 Paul Williams & his Hucklebuckers : James "King Porter" Pope, tp; Billy Mitchell, Louis Barrett, ts; PAUL WILLIAMS, bs; Floyd Taylor, p; John Holiday, b; Bill Benjamin, d; Joan Shaw, voc. Detroit, January 13, 1949 D 0007 HE KNOWS HOW TO HUCKLEBUCK Savoy 702 D0008 BACK BENDER Savoy SJL 2234 Jack McVea and his All Stars : Sammy Yates, tp; JACK McVEA, ts; Tommy Kahn, p; Gene Phillips, g; Frank Clarke, b; Rabon Tarrant, d. Los Angeles, December 1947 1228 JACK FROST Exclusive 266 Cootie Williams and his Orchestra : Cootie Williams, tp; Rupert Cole, as; WEASEL PARKER, ts; Arnold Jarvis, p; Mundell Lowe, g; Leonard Swain, b; Sylvester Payne, d. New York, late 1947 1586-2 TYPHOON Mercury 8083 DISC TWO: BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT Wynonie Harris : Hot Lips Page, tp (-1); Joe Britton, tb; Vincent Bair-Bey, as; HAL SINGER, TOM ARCHIA, ts; Joe Knight, p; Carl Wilson, b; Clarence Donaldson, d; Wynonie Harris, voc. Cincinnati, December 23, 1947 K 5325 BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT King 4226 K 5326 BLOWIN’ TO CALIFORNIA (-1) King 4252 Same per sonnel as above, but Wynonie Harris out Cincinnati, December 27, 1947 K 5400 BOODIE BOODIE Blue Boar CDBB 1010 HAL SINGER SEXTETTE : Milton Larkins, tb; HAL SINGER, ts, Wynton Kelly, p; Franklin Skeete, b; Heywood Jackson, d. New York, June, 1948 S35-127 CORNBREAD Savoy 671 Willie Moore, tp; Chippy Outcalt, tb; HAL SINGER, ts; George Rhodes, p; Walter Page, b; Bobby Donaldson, d. New York, December 10, 1948 S23006 BEEFSTEW Savoy 686 Tiny Grimes Quintet : JOHN HARDEE, ts; George Kelly, p; Tiny Grimes, g; Lucille Dixon, b; Sonny Payne, d. New York, December 20, 1947 114 BOOGIE WOOGIE BARBECUE Atlantic 854 Tiny Grimes and his Rocking Highlanders : JOHN HARDEE, ts; Ray Bryant or Freddie Redd, p; Tiny Grimes, g; Ike Isaacs, b; unknown, d. New York, 1950 TG 15 - ROCKIN’ AND SOCKIN’ Gotham 278 Little Willie Jackson & the Original Honeydrippers : LITTLE WILLIE JACKSON, ss, as, bs; James Jackson, ts; probably Joe Liggins, p; Frank Pasley, g; Eddie Davis, b; Peppy Prince, d. Los Angeles, November 1, 1947 MM702-3 JACKSON’S BOOGIE Modern 566 Same personnel as above Los Angeles, December, 6, 1947 MM 744-2 LET’S JUMP Modern 613 Sonny Thompson with the Sharps and Flats : EDDIE CHAMBLEE, ts; Sonny Thompson, p; Arvin Garrett, g; Leroy Morrison, b; Thurman "Red" Cooper, d. Chicago, late 1947 LONG GONE, PT 2 Miracle M 126 John "Streamline" Ewing, tb; EDDIE CHAMBLEE, ts; Andrew "Goon" Gardner, bs; James Craig, p; unknown, g; Ernie Shepard, b; Chuck Williams, d. Chicago, 1948 UB 9195 BACK STREET Miracle M 133 EDDIE CHAMBLEE, ts; Walter Scott, g; unknown, tp; bs; b, d. Chicago, 1952 82117 SOUTHERN COMFORT Coral 65080 Tiny Grimes Quintet : Wilbur "RED" PRYSOCK, ts; Jimmy Saunders, p; Tiny Grimes, gl; Ike Isaacs, b; Jerry Potter, d. New York, August 1, 1948 131 HOT IN HARLEM Atlantic 869 Tiny Grimes and his Rocking Highlanders : BENNY GOLSON, RED PRYSOCK, ts; Freddie Redd, p; Tiny Grimes, g; Ike Isaacs, b; unknown, d. Philadelphia, circa September 1950 TG 11 BATTLE OF THE MASS Gotham ?? Red Prysock and his House Rockers : RED PRYSOCK, ts; unknown, tp; tb; as, bs; p; g (-1): b; d. New York, circa January 1952 R 2001 WIGGLES Red Robin 107 R 4005 THE HAMMER (-1) Red Robin 139 R 4004 JACKPOT Red Robin 139 Tiny Bradshaw and his Orchestra : Lester Bass, tp; RED PRYSOCK, Rufus Gore, ts; Jimmy Robinson, p; Clarence Mack, b; Philip Paul, d. Cincinnati, October 6, 1952 K 9175-1 SOFT King 4577 EARL BOSTIC, as; George Parker, p; Vernon King, b; Shep Shepherd, d. New York, 1948 S243 8:45 STOMP Gotham 155 S247 DISC JOCKEY NIGHTMARE Gotham 168 Roger Jones, tp; EARL BOSTIC, as; Count Hastings, ts; Jaki Byard, p; Vernon King, b; Shep Shepherd, d. Cincinnati, January 12, 1949 K5661 EARL BLOWS A FUSE EP202 EARL BOSTIC, as; Count Hastings, ts; Clifton Smalls, p; Gene Redd, vib; Rene Hall, g; Keeter Betts, b; Jimmy Cobb, d. New York, January 10, 1951 K 9007-1 FLAMINGO King 4475 Blue Mitchell, tp; EARL BOSTIC, as; Ray Felder, ts; Joe Knight, p; Mickey Baker, g; Ike Isaacs, b; George Brown, d; Gene Redd, vib. New York, December 17, 1952 K 9225 STEAM WHISTLE JUMP King 4603 Todd Rhodes and his Orchestra : Howard Thompson, tp; Holley Dismukes, as; JOE THOMAS, Louis Barnett, ts; George Favors, bs; Todd Rhodes, p; Joe Williams, b; Huestall Tally, d. Cincinnati, January 25, 1949 B 7094 PAGE BOY SHUFFLE Sensation 16 Joe Thomas and his Orchestra : Ernest V. Perry, Johnny Grimes, tp; Dickie Harris, tb; Ben Kynard, as, bs; JOE THOMAS, ts; George Rhodes, p; George Duvivier , b; Joe Marshall, d. Linden, N.J., May 21, 1949 K 5727 BACKSTAGE AT THE APOLLO King 4926 Joe Thomas and his Orchestra : Ernie Devilles, tp; Dickie Harris, tb; JOE THOMAS, Fred Williams, ts; George Rhodes, p; Laverne Baker, b; Bazley Perry, d. New York, April 26, 1951 K 8015-1 JUMPIN’ JOE King 4460 Harold Land All Stars : Froebel Brigham, tp; Russell Campbell, tb; William Doby, as; HAROLD LAND, ts; Freddie Jackson, p; Dave Dyson, b; Leon Petties, d. Los Angeles, April 25, 1949 SLA 524 OUTLANDISH Savoy SJL 2215 DISC THREE: BOOGIE’S THE THING John Anderson, tp; Britt Woodman, tb; BIG JAY McNEELY, ts; Jimmy O’Brien, p; Ted Shirley, b; William Streetser, d. Hollywood, December 15, 1948 SLA 502-1 DEACON’S HOP Savoy 685 John Anderson, tp; Jesse "Streamline" Ewing, tb; BIG JAY MCNEELY, ts, Bob McNeely, bs; Jimmy O’Brien, p; Prinze "Candy" Stanzel, g; Leonard "Tight" Hardiman, d; Charles McNiles, bgos. Hollywood, February 1949 1375-2 BLOW BIG JAY Exclusive 90X Probably same personnel as above but Bob McNeely, as (-1); Ted Shirley, voc (-2) Hollywood, April 1949 1392-2 ROAD HOUSE BOOGIE (-2) Exclusive 96X 1399-2 TONDALAYO (-1) Exclusive 108X Probably same personnel as above, but omit Candy Stanzel Los Angeles, January/February 1950 JAY’S FRANTIC Aladdin 3050 BIG JAY McNEELY, ts; Bob McNeely, bs; Jimmy O’Brien, p; "Porky" Harris, g; William "Buddy" Woodson, b; Wayne Robinson, d. Hollywood, August 26, 1952 F 280 THE GOOF FEDERAL 12102 FRANK "FLOOR SHOW" CULLEY, ts; Harry Van Walls, p; Tiny Grimes, g; unknown, b; d. New York, January 17, 1949 A-176 FLOORSHOW ATLANTIC 880 A-177 COLE SLAW ATLANTIC 874 A-178 CENTRAL AVENUE BREAKDOWN Wallace Wilson, tp; Walter "Phatz" Morris, tb; FRANK CULLEY, ts; Randy Weston, p; Count Edmondson, b; Connie Kay, d. New York, February 27, 1951 A-573 CULLEY FLOWER ATLANTIC 935 EDDIE "LOCKJAW" DAVIS, tp; Bill Doggett, org; John Simmons, b; Jo Jones, d, unknown, tp; 2nd ts; bs; voc. New York, August 16, 1949 K5767 MOUNTAIN OYSTERS KING 4321 Freddie Mitchell and his Orchestra : Unknown, tp; probably Alton "Slim" Moore, tb; FREDDIE MITCHELL, ts; Bill Graham, as, bs; probably Joe Black, p; unknown, b; d. New York, June 1949 D 107 SLIDER DERBY711 Freddy Mitchell and his Orchestra : Probable pers : Joe Ball or William Sciow, tp; Slim Moore, tb; FREDDIE MITCHELL, ts; Pinky Williams, bs; Art Sims, p; Butch Barrett, b; Jerry Smith, d; Sarah Dean, voc. New York, 1951 D 709 I GOT YOUR BOOGIE DERBY 765 Freddie Mitchell and his Orchestra : Frank Hollins, tp; Walter "Phatz" Morris, tb; FREDDIE MITCHELL, ts; Pinky Williams, bs; George Holmes, p; Lee Atkins, b; Herman Bradley, d. New York, 1952 D825 MOON DOG BOOGIE DERBY 793 Paul Gayten & his Band : Wallace Davenport, tp; Frank Campbell, as; bs; LEE ALLEN, ts; Paul Gayten, p; Jack Scott, g; George Pryor, b; Robert Green, d. New Orleans, 1949 R-1030 BACKTRACKIN’ (DR. DADDY - O) REGAL 3230 Alma "The Lollypop Mama" Mondy with George Miller’s Mid-Driffs : Alma Mondy, voc; Dave Bartholomew, tp; LEE ALLEN, LEROY "BATMAN" RANKIN, ts; Alex "Duke" Burrell, p; Jack Scott, g; George Miller, b; Lester "Boots" Alexis, d. New Orleans, August 18, 1949 7800 MISS LOLLIPOP’S CONFESSION MERCURY M 8190 George Miller & his Mid-Driffs : Dave Bartholomew, tp; LEE ALLEN, LEROY "BATMAN" RANKIN, ts; Alex "Duke" Burrell, p; Jack Scott, g; George Miller, b; Lester "Boots" Alexis, d; Theard Johnson, voc. New Orleans, August 22, 1949 7810 BOOGIE’S THE THING MERCURY M 8183 Joe Turner with Dave Bartholomew’s Orchestra : Dave Bartholomew, unknown, tp; Waldron "Frog" Joseph, tb; Joe Harris, as; Clarence Hall, HERB HARDESTY, ts; Fats Domino, p; Ernest McLean, g; Peter Badie, b; Thomas Moore, d; Joe turner, voc. New Orleans, April 1950 IM 191 JUMPIN’ TONIGHT IMPERIAL 5090 Tiny Davis & her Orchestra : BERT ETTA "BIRDIE" DAVIS, as; MARGARET BACKSTROM, ts; Tiny Davis, p, voc; Eileen Chance, b; Helen Cole, d. New York, October 24, 1949 W 75438 RACE HORSE DECCA 48220 Clyde Bernhardt and his Kansas City Buddies : Clyde Bernhardt, tb; SAM "THE MAN" TAYLOR, ts; Dave Small, bs; Earl Knight, p; Rene Hall, g; Gene Ramey, b; Gus Johnson, d. New York, October 6, 1949 BN 366 CRACKLIN’ BREAD BLUE NOTE BN 1202 Bull Moose Jackson & his Buffalo Bearcats : Harold "Money" Johnson, tp; Eugene Adams, Snooky Hulbert, as; Bull Moose Jackson, ts, voc; SAM "THE MAN" TAYLOR, ts; Irving Greene, p; Eddie Smith, b; Kelly Martin, d. Cincinnati, September 27, 1950 K 5966-5 BIG FAT MAMAS ARE BACK IN STYLE AGAIN KING 4412 Bull Moose Jackson & his Buffalo Bearcats : Frank Galbraith, tp; Bernie Peacock, Snooky Hulbert, as; Bull Moose Jackson, SAM "THE MAN" TAYLOR, ts; Bill Doggett, p; Carl Pruitt, b; Jerry Potter, d. New York, May 4, 1951 K 8019-1 CHEROKEE BOOGIE CD CHARLY 274 Irving Stokes, tp; Bruce Kinkson, ts; CECIL PAYNE, bs; Billy Kyle, p; Franklin Skeete, b; Hayward Johnson, d. New York, June 21, 1949 75004 EGG HEAD DECCA 48109 Teddy Brannon & his Orchestra : RAY ABRAMS, ts; Teddy Brannon, p; Dickie Thompson, g, voc; Aaron Bell, b; Denzil Best, d. Linden, N.J. October 1949 1103-2 EVERYBODY GET TOGETHER REGAL 3241 Johnny Otis & his Orchestra : Don Johnson, tp; George Washington, tb; Lorenzo Holden, JAMES VON STREETER, ts; Walter Henry, bs; Devonia Williams, p; Johnny Otis, vib; Pete Lewis, g; Mario Delagarde, b; Leard Bell, d. Los Angeles, December 23, 1949 SLA 4457-2 HEAD HUNTER SAVOY 774 Doc Sausage & his Band : EARL JOHNSON, ts; Charles Harris, p; Charlie Jenkins, g; Doc Sausage (Lucius Tyson), d; voc. Linden, N.J., January 2, 1950 1144-2 SAUSAGE ROCK REGAL 3256 Calvin Boze, tp, voc; MAXWELL DAVIS, ts; unknown, p; g; b; d. Los Angeles, January 13, 1950 RR-1512-2 SAFRONIA B DISC FOUR: MORE BOUNCE TO THE OUNCE Willis Jackson & his Orchestra : Andrew "Fats" Ford, tp; Booty Wood, tb; WILLIS JACKSON, ts; Ben Kynard, bs; Bill Doggett, p; Leonard "Heavy" Swain, b; David "Panama" Francis, d. New York, 1950 R 1404 ON MY OWN Apollo 801 R 1407 DANCE OF THE LADY BUG Apollo 801 Willis Jackson and his Orchestra : Andrew Ford, tp; Booty Wood, tp; WILLIS JACKSON, ts; Reuben Phillips, bs; Arnold Jarvis, p; Leonard Swain, b; Panama Francis, d. New York, 1950 R 1431 LATER FOR THE GATOR Apollo 806 Willis Jackson and his Orchestra : John H. Russell, tp; Walter "Phatz" Morris, tb; WILLIS JACKSON, ts; Otis Sutton, as, bs; Jimmy Evans, p; Leonard Swain, b; Emmanuel Simms, d. New York, July 3, 1951 A 624 WINE-O-WINE Atlantic 957 WILLIS JACKSON & Unknown others New York, November 27, 1951 A 706 GOOD GLIDING Atlantic 957 WILLIS JACKSON, ts & unknown others New York, May 23, 1952 A 844 GATOR’S GROOVE Atlantic 975 Charlie Singleton & his Orchestra : Ray Copeland, tp; CHARLIE SINGLETON, as; Lucky Thompson, ts; Eddie Barefield, bs; Herbie Nichols, p; Peck Morrison, b; Sticks Evans, d New York,December 6, 1950 80257 ELEPHANT ROCK Decca 48193 Charlie Singleton & his Orchestra : Earl Alexander, tb; Lou Donaldson, as, bs; CHARLIE SINGLETON, Moe Jarman, ts; Gildo Mahones, p; unknown, g; Martin Rivera, b; John Godfrey,d. New York, 1951 CS 503 EARTHQUAKE Red Robin 103 Fred Jackson & his Orchestra : FRED JACKSON, ts, rest unknown Atlanta, late 1950 1401-2 BUCK FEVER Regal 3323 Lynn Hope Quintet : LYNN HOPE, ts; Robert "Fox" Martin, vib; Mary Hope, p; Billy Davis, g; Ray Coulter, b; Billy Hope, d. Chicago, April 1950 UB 50 - 226 SONG OF THE WANDERERPremium 851 UB 50 - 227 TENDERLY Premium 851 Same personnel as above, but add unknown ts and bass sax. Chicago, circa 1950 U 7420 MORE BOUNCE TO THE OUNCE Chess 1499 Julian Dash and his Orchestra : Julian DASH, ts; Haywood Henry, bs; Freddy Jefferson, p; Leroy Kirkland, g; Lee Stanfield, b; Sonny Payne, d; Sammy Lowe, arr. New York, March 17, 1951 2307 OPEN UP THEM PEARLY GATES Sittin’ in with SIW 649 2309 HOT ROCK Sittin’ in With SIW 600 Rene Hall Sextet : Reunald Jones, tp; Bobby Green, BUDDY TATE, ts; Edwin Swanston, p; Rene Hall, g; Bill Swanston, b; Bobby Donaldson, d. New York, 1950 BLOWIN’ AWHILE Jubilee 5020 BLUE CREEK HOP Jubilee 5013 Ike Lloyd, lead voc; Art Farmer, George Orendorff, tp; Earl Brown, as; PLAS JOHNSON, ts; Lloyd Glenn, p; Pee Wee Crayton or Chuck Norris, g; Billy Hadnott, b; Bob Harvey, d. Los Angeles, June 14, 1951 3895 WORRYING BLUES Mercury M 8241 Johnny Hodges and his Orchestra : Emmett Berry, tp; Lawrence Brown, tb; Johnny Hodges, as; AL SEARS, ts; Leroy Lovett, p; Lloyd Trotman, b; Sonny Greer, d. New York, March 3, 1951 515-2 CASTLE ROCK Clef 8944 Al Sears and hs Orchestra : Emett Berry, tp; Lawrence Brown, tb; Charlie Holmes, Johnny Hodges, as; AL SEARS, ts; Leroy Lovett, p; Lloyd Trotman, b; Joe Marshall, d. New York, September 21, 1951 K 8064 MARSHALL PLAN King 4520 ORVILLE "FATS" NOEL, ts, voc : Bill Spooner, p; Alfred Matthews, b; John Tucker, d. Cincinnati, September 6, 1951 D 1549 RIDE, DADDY RIDE De Luxe 3321 ORVILLE "FATS" NOEL, acc. by unknown, tp; tb; p; b; d. New York, August 26, 1952 HR 1003 DUCK SOUP Herald 402 Jimmy Jackson All Stars : JIMMY JACKSON, ts; Devonia Williams, p; Mitchell Webb, g; Billy Hadnott, b; Al "Cake" Wichard, d. Los Angeles, 1952 MM 1765 HONKIN’ RPM 349 Paul Bascomb & his Orchestra : Ed Lewis, tp; Frank Porter, Tommy Waters, as; PAUL BASCOMB ts, voc; Harold Wallace, bs; Duke Jordan, p; James McCrary, b; George Dettart d. New York, March 3, 1952 1089-4 PINK CADILLAC Delmark DL 431 Same personnel as above, but Tommy Waters out New York, August 25, 1952 9490 MUMBLES BLUES Mercury 8299 Joe Houston & his Orchestra : JOE HOUSTON, ts; unknown, p; b; d. ACA-1800 Los Angeles, 1951 CORNBREAD AND CABBAGE GREEN Recorded inHollywood 426 JAY’S BOOGIE Recorded in Hollywood 426 JIMMY FORREST, ts; Bunky Parker, p; Johnny Mixon, b; Oscar Oldham, d; Percy James, cga, bgo Chicago, November 27, 1951 1034-6 NIGHT TRAIN United 110 Sonny Thompson & his Orchestra : Dennis Brooks, as; DAVID BROOKS, ts; Sonny Thompson, p; Bill Jackson, g; Cliff McGray, b; Bill English.d. Cincinnati, June 30, 1952 FLYING HOME Sequel NEM CD 900 Quote
brownie Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 (edited) This newish box on the Proper label is likewise made to order for you: Red about it here: Proper Records That's the one and only Big Jay McNeely doing his thing during a 1951 concert in Los Angeles on the cover of the Proper box. Not sure if the photo is credited there. The photo was taken by Bob Willoughby who also shot photos of all the great ones from the West Coast scene in addition to taking a lot of wonderful photos of Hollywood film stars. The black-and-white photo has been colored for the box cover. As a black-and-white document, this is one of the best photos to emerge from a concert! Edited January 26, 2004 by brownie Quote
couw Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 That's the one and only Big Jay McNeely doing his thing during a 1951 concert in Los Angeles on the cover of the Proper box. Not sure if the photo is credited there. The photo was taken by Bob Willoughby who also shot photos of all the great ones from the West Coast scene in addition to taking a lot of wonderful photos of Hollywood film stars. The black-and-white photo has been colored for the box cover. As a black-and-white document, this is one of the best photos to emerge from a concert! more pics on the Big Jay page here Quote
kenny weir Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 (edited) As a black-and-white document, this is one of the best photos to emerge from a concert! Yes, I've always loved that photo. I'm not sure what year it was taken, but even if it was AFTER the arrival of Elvis, it represents some phenomena that were already under way before Sam Phillips worked his mojo - white kids digging black music, and that there was rock 'n' roll before Elvis, before Bill Haley, before any of that stuff. Going back to the '40s and perhaps even before that. Just wasn't called rock 'n' roll, that's all. Note that on the Proper set there's a 1948 cut called We're Gonna Rock, We're Gonna Roll. I have the Proper box and am working my through it. It's not the sort of thing I'll play that often - or for any duration - but it's one to treasure. And despite it supposedly being R&B, if you look at the discography it's amazing to see how many hard boppers are in there - Harold Land, Benny Golson, George Duvivier, Jaki Byard, Freddie Redd, Ray Bryant and Blue Mitchell among them. Edited January 26, 2004 by kenny weir Quote
Larry Kart Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 In the name of historical accuracy, the primordial honker in terms of influence (though of course he was much more than a honker) was Lester Young. See p. 49-50 of Lewis Porter's fine Young bio. Porter notes that Young probably picked up the device from Jimmy Dorsey, who used it on record as early as 1930, "but Young was the one who influenced hundreds of other jazz players to adopt it." Porter also is precise about what a honk is: "Normally one approaches the lowest register of the saxophone cautiously, using a controlled embouchere and a moderate air flow to minimize the contrast with the middle register. The honk is a conscious exploitation of that contrast. The player loosens his embouchere and speeds up his air flow." Quote
Larry Kart Posted January 26, 2004 Report Posted January 26, 2004 Also, among players whose honking made them famous -- don't forget Flip Phillips. It was the battles between Phillips and Jacquet that made Jazz at the Philharmonic a big success. Much of the JATP audience was waiting for the honks, and when they came, so did the audience. Or so it sounds. Quote
mikeweil Posted January 27, 2004 Report Posted January 27, 2004 (edited) And despite it supposedly being R&B, if you look at the discography it's amazing to see how many hard boppers are in there - Harold Land, Benny Golson, George Duvivier, Jaki Byard, Freddie Redd, Ray Bryant and Blue Mitchell among them. ALL of them hard boppers cut their teeth in R&B bands, up to Coltrane, Turrentine ....... well almost all, but many more than one might think. Joe Morris once had Johnny Griffin, Matthew Gee, Elmo Hope, Percy Heath and Philly Joe Jones in the band. Tadd Dameron, Randy Weston, Johnny Coles, Connie Kay ... that's where they got the groove. And before R&B it was hard core swing bands, like Lionel Hampton's, the godfather of R&B. Edited January 27, 2004 by mikeweil Quote
JSngry Posted January 27, 2004 Report Posted January 27, 2004 Lots of the early R&B tenor guys, the ones who played on the studio dates anyway, had roots in the Swing Era. either the big bands themselves or the jump combos which served as transition from Swing to R&B. Al Sears, Sam Taylor, Red Prysock, etc. Another branch of the tree. Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted September 22, 2016 Report Posted September 22, 2016 Just found this old thread. Worth adding to in a day or two. So I'm saying something now MG Quote
danasgoodstuff Posted September 22, 2016 Report Posted September 22, 2016 Always loved this cover, and the music. Quote
paul secor Posted September 22, 2016 Report Posted September 22, 2016 2 hours ago, danasgoodstuff said: Always loved this cover, and the music. Quote
The Magnificent Goldberg Posted September 23, 2016 Report Posted September 23, 2016 Honkers and screamers 1942-1954 ‘The tenor is a rhythm instrument and the best statements negroes have made, of what their soul is, have been on tenor saxophone. Now you think about it, and you’ll see I’m right. The tenor’s got that thing, that honk, you can get to people with it. Sometimes you can be playing that tenor and I’m telling you, the people want to jump across the rail.’ (Ornette Coleman, quoted in sleeve note to ‘Ornette on tenor’.) Honking and screaming is an extreme activity. So are walking the bar and leading the dancers jitterbugging out onto the street, to the dismay (or perhaps delight) of the police. So, for that matter, are falling out in church and speaking in tongues. And so are zoot suits, though not they’re not donned entirely for the same reasons. Another difference between the wearers of zoot suits and those not wearing them; to buy a zoot suit (and keep it out of the pawn shop) took some significant cash, and a decent degree of conviction about where to spend it, was a more deliberate act than speaking in tongues in church. In a sense, they can all be regarded as showboating, though there is a slight difference between the musicians and the jitterbuggers; the musicians do know what they’re doing. Earlier in the thread – about twelve years earlier - Larry quoted Lewis Porter defining what a honk actually is: "Normally one approaches the lowest register of the saxophone cautiously, using a controlled embouchere and a moderate air flow to minimize the contrast with the middle register. The honk is a conscious exploitation of that contrast. The player loosens his embouchere and speeds up his air flow." Fine, but what we call honking both now and five or six decades ago is and was a lot more than just that. It’s shorthand for Honkin’ and Screamin’. But even that’s an umbrella term for all sorts of other sounds that players make – the percussive sucking kinds of sounds that Fred Jackson and many others made, knocking noises, growls, and even what I’ve seen Pharoah Sanders do – take the sax out of his mouth and play the keypads. Sonny Rollins did that, too, on a George Braith album. Musicians – particularly jazz musicians – were quite sharply divided between those who approved of and were probably part of the honking school and those who didn’t and weren’t. Benny Golson was profoundly shocked to see John Coltrane walking the bar. But Trane never had a bad word to say about the honkers and quite obviously learned a thing or two from the experience that he later used to very different (or was it really different?) effect. As did Albert Ayler and others. What all these extreme activities had in common was the need for individuals to affirm themselves as part of a group. In terms of honking and riotous behaviour, which were new activities, this had become important partly as a result of civil rights successes during the war – enabling the black community to fight in front line units and to work in well paid jobs in arms production factories. There was at the time a feeling that, after the war, change should come, had to come, damn well WOULD come, though no one thought it would just drop into their hat. The double V sign was the emblem of this; not just victory abroad but at home as well was required, though it was always recognised that there’d be a struggle, for which unity was going to be needed. With this background in mind, it’s not hard to see why these various aspects of group identification started or became more important in this period. But it’s important to avoid the thought that people were doing these extreme acts for political reasons. They weren’t. They were encouraged to do them by a powerful music; jazz. A feedback loop develops between dancers and musicians, which drives them all higher and higher, as Ornette Coleman explained. But the music was only encouraging what was already in there – in both musicians and audience – to come out and be part of the event. However, change didn’t come; not overnight; not by the mid fifties, either. And things calmed down, or were made to do so. But in the late forties and early fifties, we have all this nice loud extreme music, which was recorded by the new independent record labels, often to their great profit. Honking records were very successful, particularly after the beginning of 1948: from mid-February that year until April of 1954, fifty-one honking singles made the R&B or pop charts; between July 1948 and April 1952, seven of them spent a total of 34 weeks at #1 on the R&B chart – just over one week in six, at a time when Louis Jordan ruled the R&B chart. It was almost entirely a black phenomenon. In this period, only four honking records made the pop charts for a total of six weeks. Strangely, the last honking hit, Rusty Bryant’s 1954 take on ‘Night train’ – ‘All night long’ didn’t make the R&B chart at all. Effectively, the craze was over by mid 1952; what was left was moving towards something new (by way of something old). Although the occasional honking record had a vocal, almost all of those hits were instrumentals. To be pointed about it, they were jazz instrumentals; most of the musicians involved were men who’d worked in the territory bands, or in many cases in the top bands such as those of Ellington, Shaw, Hampton and Gillespie. They didn’t give up jazz to make those records. Only, some might argue, taste. This seems to be a view from a false perspective; what was happening was that the sax was being used as a drum, as Red Allen had used his trumpet a decade earlier and as James Brown was to do two decades later, but with his whole band and to rather different effect. Showboating Here’s a nice photo of Herb Hardesty writhing on the floor at a Fats Domino gig at the 54 Ballroom, Los Angeles, honking his brains out. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Mk52dZWJCzM/UIwcaTBvVvI/AAAAAAAAE90/bONN1PWADp0/s1600/DominoEffect.JPG The song they were playing, according to the sleeve note of Fats’ CD ‘The Imperial singles vol 2 1953-1956’ was ‘Don’t you know’, which was a hit in early 1955 (in fact the one before ‘Ain’t that a shame’). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M21ep9U37co Lying on your back and honking your brains out wasn’t the only form of showboating the honkers used. Walking around the dance hall, or parading up and down the bar were as common. Less common, but not infrequent, was leaving for the street, still wailing. Individual musicians had their own gimmicks. Big Jay McNeely had his sax coated with luminous paint and had all the lights turned off (though this may have been when technology caught up with his ideas). Paul Williams had a different idea, which was reported in the sleeve note of ‘Honkers and screamers’ (Savoy SJL2234). “The theatre had a set-up, typical of the era, that involved microphones mounted below the level of the stage. A system of pulleys raised or lowered the mikes… A stagehand named Charley squeezed in next to the mikes, manning the pulleys. Paul began his set playing alto and then switched to the baritone for a number called ‘The twister’… It’s a frantic riff tune, and as the excitement rose, Paul started dipping lower and lower towards the floor of the stage while honking in his big horn’s bottom range. The lower he dipped, the lower Charley pulled the microphone, until finally, at exactly the right moment, Paul blew one mighty honk with the horn almost scraping the stage, and the microphone disappeared under its flap. ‘The place was in an uproar,’ [Teddy] Reig remembers. ‘People started screaming and running up on stage as I was closing the curtain, I ran out there and grabbed Paul’s arm and said, “Let’s get out of here!”’ “‘The word got out,’ says Paul. ‘Maan, that saxophone player down there blowed the mike into the FLOOR!’” Another of Paul’s gimmicks was to hire a midget to walk along the top of the bar while he walked beside him, honking. The fact that the honkers, and their colleagues, enthusiastically used gimmicks needn’t obscure the fact that those guys could play. Here’s a cut from Big Jay McNeely’s first session; originally titled ‘Benson’s groove’, then ‘Deacon’s groove’, then ‘Cool blood’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21D3AayTKas It ain’t bebop, but wasn’t supposed to be. And long after the honking saxes had ceased to command chart places, those gimmicks continued to enthuse audiences, especially when in the control of people who could play – Fats Domino inching a grand piano across the stage with his stomach in time to the groove is a really good one. In the hands of the less gifted, like Bill Haley’s Comets, those tricks just appeared to be the tricks that they were. It’s paradoxical that the gimmicks outlasted the substance. But while it lasted, the substance was substantial. Illinois Jacquet Illinois Jacquet was the original tenor honker. Although born in Louisiana, he was brought up in Texas and did his apprenticeship with the Milt Larkins band, between 1937 and 1939, when he moved to Los Angeles. Nat ‘King’ Cole introduced him to Lionel Hampton, who was putting a big band together after leaving the Benny Goodman band. ‘Flyin’ home’ was recorded at Hampton’s third session for Decca, on 26 May 1942 and was a hit on the pop charts in August that year; there was no R&B chart then, but the record eventually got on that chart and made #3 in May 1943. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45sVjkW6d30 Illinois’ solo isn’t overwild, but perennially the starting point for all other soloists playing the tune. The band’s live performances of it seem to have been pretty wild, however, as Illinois left Lionel in 1943 and joined Cab Calloway for a quiet life! He was soon back, and honking, however. He was one of the musicians in the first JATP concert and the common verdict is that ‘Blues part 2’ would have been a smash if Moe Asch, owner of the Disc label on which it was first issued, had had marketing muscle. The record was issued on three 12” sides; Jacquet’s solo took up most of part 2. Here’s part 2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sN7WqpnHaPw Illinois had two more honking hits. The first was ‘Mordido’, in theory by the JATP All Stars, but featuring another gut-rending solo from our hero. It was released on 78 in 4 parts and one of them, I assume the one with Illinois all over it, slipped noisily into the R&B top 15 for one week in April 1949. Illinois’ second hit was the much more celebrated ‘Port of Rico’ (Mercury 89001, #3, 1952) which had a stay of 11 weeks on the R&B chart. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38HFJf8tVMM One honk, that’s all Norman Granz would allow, by the sounds of it. The organist on this one was Count Basie. In between 1944 and 1952, Illinois put a band together, with Leo Parker on baritone and Sir Charles Thompson on piano and organ, and recorded for Aladdin, Apollo and RCA Victor, before signing with Clef. Arnett Cobb Arnett, a graduate of the bands of Chester Boone, Floyd Ray and Milt Larkin, took Illinois’ place in the Hampton band. The first session he made with the full band, in March 1944, included ‘Flying home no 2’, featured him playing Illinois’ famous solo. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5ettrTgQLo Cobb left Hampton in 1947, formed his own small band and began recording for Apollo. He didn’t do a great deal of honking for Apollo; much of the material was strong medium paced numbers with interesting, swinging solos. Here’s ‘Dutch kitchen bounce’ from that year. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riFrFvAChp4 On the B side, however, was what Arnett made of Red Allen’s 1934 opus with the Mills Blue Rhythm Band – ‘Go Red, go’ – and this one does honk a bit, as it was always intended to. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SYpfUwvgkOo Arnett’s career was dogged by illness and injuries; he had a spinal operation in 1950; a car crash in 1956 which put him on crutches for the rest of his life; and some time someone seems to have cut him across both lips with a switchblade – a terrible injury for a saxophonist, but one which is never mentioned. You can see it well in one of the photos on this YouTube clip of his 1959 recording of ‘Smooth sailing’. It comes in after about 35 seconds. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Unyudwl7VM There’s a degree of personal heroism in the way Arnett carried on, despite these medical problems, which is really quite unprecedented. Billy Eckstine Eckstine’s band was a lot more of a bop engine than a honking organisation – but he made (one of) the first tenor sax chase recordings – ‘Blowin’ the blues away’ – between Gene Ammons & Dexter Gordon (though Billy sings ‘Mr Jackson’, there’s no alto sax) – in which Jug and Dex do rather get carried away. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZB4t9gT5hw0 That was recorded for De Luxe on 5 December 1944, a few months after the JATP concert at which ‘Blues’ was recorded (though that may not have been appeared on disc by then). Jug had some other successful honking recordings. ‘Blues up and down’ and ‘Stringing the Jug’ had moderate honks (the latter from Stitt as well as Ammons) and his 1951 hit, ‘Jug’ was pretty enthusiastic. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L28Wu1JtLAw Yes, there are some real honks and squeals in there; moderate but real. Even more are to be found in ‘New blues up and down’ from January 1951. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXDM7WBnMpg So Jug and Sonny weren’t averse to honks, but it’s noticeable that they never carried it to excess. Yes, it was something you did when you were steaming. But it wasn’t a style; you still had to PLAY; a point Illinois Jacquet had never failed to notice from the beginning. In the black community, Gene Ammons was a powerful influence and the latish honkers, relatively mild as they were, may have contributed to the feeling that something else should happen. Wild Bill Moore Wild Bill Moore was an early bebopper who turned to honking. The series of concerts recorded in July 1947 by Ralph Bass for the Bop label, featuring Dexter Gordon, Wardell Gray and Sonny Criss, including long jams on ‘Disorder at the border’ and ‘Byas-a-drink’, were hosted by Moore, who also played a set with Russ Freeman in his band. But he’d previously worked in Louis Armstrong’s band. He soon moved to Detroit where he hooked up with Paul Williams. His first single was ‘Bubbles’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VcwvyiYz_mw His only hit was ‘We’re gonna rock, we’re gonna roll’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxwcebAqPg8 Moore wasn’t a terribly important soul jazz musician, but he was pretty good. He made few jazz recordings, but was often in the Motown studios. He’s somewhat celebrated for his solo on Marvin Gaye’s ‘Mercy, mercy me (the ecology)’. In the eighties, he worked with blues singer Jimmy McCracklin. Hal Singer Hal Singer is another of the guys who got his start with territory bands in the south west, working with Terence ‘T’ Holder, Geechie Smith (a trumpet player who later worked with Ernie Fields and, in the late forties, recorded for Capitol as a leader and sideman), Ed Christian, Nat Towles, Tommy Douglas, Ernie Fields and Jay McShann, fetching up in New York with that band. After work with Willie ‘The Lion’ Smith, Chris Columbus, Earl Bostic, Roy Eldridge, Big Sid Catlett, Don Byas and Red Allen, he joined Hot Lips Page’s band in 1947 and took the tenor solo on Wynonie ‘Mr Blues’ Harris’ ‘Good rockin’ tonight’, a justly celebrated #1 R&B hit. He also got a contract with Savoy and put out his major hit, ‘Cornbread’; a number #1 R&B hit in 1948. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbiUfp9YnOE Hal recorded prolifically for King, backing lots of Wynonie’s great records, and played on numerous Rock & Roll records in the fifties, but he never really ‘made it’. Hal joined Earl Hines’ band in the mid sixties and stayed in France after the band returned home, making a long career in Europe. A justly celebrated underground favourite is his 1969 album ‘Paris soul food’, which includes a very nice version of ‘Green onions’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI-AxJcXH1I Another cut celebrated amongst the underground dance crowd is ‘The soukouss’, a 45 he made in 1971 with Manu Dibango, a couple of years before ‘Soul makossa’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7pgJ19-a9E Hal’s still living in France; still busy training French musicians. His latest album is ‘Challenge’ (Marge) a free jazz album I don’t like much with David Murray, recorded in April 2010, when Hal was a lad of 90! http://img.cdandlp.com/2014/01/imgL/116467379.jpg Paul Williams Paul Williams was a baritone saxophonist. Among honkers, THE baritone player. The baritone sax has a built-in advantage when it comes to honking, so it’s puzzling that no one else seriously tried it (though Leo Parker did a bit with Illinois Jacquet). His big hit, ‘The hucklebuck’, was the fifth of eight of his cuts to make the R&B chart. It was the biggest honking hit, by quite a long margin, spending 32 weeks on the chart, 14 of them at #1. Based on ‘Now’s the time’, like Lucky Millinder’s ‘D natural blues’, it features a very nice bebop solo (which annoyed the hell out of Herman Lubinsky, who thought it would ruin the record’s commercial potential) from Phil Guilbeau, later a stalwart of the Ray Charles and Hank Crawford bands. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du6Y7umZRH8 Paul had more R&B hits than any other honker, yet he’s always remembered for Hucklebuck, which was the biggest R&B hit of 1949 and has become a standard in ALL kinds of music. Its most recent hit recording was by the Irish country band Crystal Swing, which made the Irish charts in 2010, eight years after Paul’s death. You can see the Paul Williams band, backing many of the greatest R&B artists of the day on the videos of Showtime at the Apollo, done in 1954 and now all on YouTube. He last recorded in 1963, as part of King Curtis’ band, backing Doris Troy at the Apollo. What was he doing for the next 39 years? Perhaps living on the royalties of Hucklebuck. Earl Bostic Bostic was an alto player who was a bit of an exception, almost never using his sax as a drum, but playing melodies. He was a great player for melodies. But his sound was the essence of honking – a sound as overwhelming as being run over by a cement mixer. Here’s his first hit single ‘Temptation’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWSjRW4iu9E Earl had tenor players in his band and did encourage a bit of honking – Lowell ‘Count’ Hastings does a bit of honking on ‘Don’t you do it’ and Earl joins in the fun in the chase at the end. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJD71aE-L-E One very important thing Bostic did was to train people. John Coltrane said that Earl knew more about the actual playing of the saxophone than anyone else he knew. The list of great musicians who worked with him as young men is quite astounding and includes Don Byas, John Hardee, Shep Shepherd, Jaki Byard, Keter Betts, Jimmy Cobb, Ike Isaacs, John Coltrane, Blue Mitchell, Benny Golson, Tommy and Stanley Turrentine and George Tucker. Cootie Williams After his successes with Hit Records, Cootie moved to Capitol for a couple of years, then back to Hit, by which time the label was called Majestic, then to Mercury, on Mercury’s purchase of the firm. And Sam ‘The Man’ Taylor was – after a long gap – replaced by another distinctive tenor player – William ‘Weasel’ Parker, who recorded far too little. A few days before the end of 1947, ‘Typhoon’ was recorded. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvQohgoAEiY Aptly named, isn’t it? One of the great honking and screaming recordings, with Parker honking and Cootie screaming. Weasel was replaced by Willis ‘Gator Tail’ Jackson. So here’s ‘Gator tail’ part1 in 1949. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_qVyMMRtAk and part 2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmfpLDfEICs Yeah! That was only a regional hit, around New York. It is, I think, the most extreme example of honking I’ve heard. Willis gets sounds I’ve never heard from any other tenor player (before Albert Ayler, that is). Great though those honking records are, Cootie was simply following the trend of the time. It’s on his early forties recordings that he shows that he could hit powerfully on all three of the main elements of contemporary jazz; swing, bebop and blues. Jimmy Forrest Well, ‘Night train’ was the last honking single to make ‘#1 on the R&B chart in the early fifties, so it’s kind of a stopping and looking around at the scenery record. Jimmy was another trained in territory bands; he was in Don Albert’s orchestra in St Louis in 1938/9. He joined Jay McShann’s band in 1942, then Andy Kirk’s, then Duke Ellington’s. Good progress, Jimmy. After leaving Ellington, Jimmy formed his own band back in St Louis and, in 1951, recorded ‘Night train’ for United. The tune is based on Ellington’s ‘Happy go lucky local’ which Jimmy had played with the band, though he was never in any Ellington recording of the tune. Like Jacquet’s on ‘Flying home’ Jimmy’s solo became part of the tune. The tune became a standard, probably because it commanded instant popularity with strippers, for whom the bump and grind of the stop time honks was a perfect way of exercising their pelvises. Some songs become standards in unauthorised manners. Surely everyone knows this recording, but here it is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxqQxJt_LQI Very strange to have a photo of Gene Ammons instead of Jimmy Forrest at the end! Jimmy had another hit on the R&B charts, one that has also been recorded frequently by other artists. That was ‘Hey Mrs Jones’ and it made #3 on the R&B chart at the end of 1952. Jimmy Witherspoon, Ramsey Lewis, Jimmy McGriff and Bill Jennings have all made nice versions of the song. In the early sixties, the song had a bit of a revival. A search on the web brought up a rock & roll version by Tiny Tony & the Statics from 1962, with a very growly tenor solo. And there was a Northern Soul favourite, from 1961, by the Check Mates. Rod Piazza recorded the song in 2009. Like ‘Hucklebuck’ and ‘Night train’, ‘Hey Mrs Jones’ is another song that just keeps going. After Mrs Jones, the fifties were a bit dull for Jimmy (he got a two year sentence for selling drugs), though he did work with the Horace Henderson band in 1954, and made a few singles of his own, none of which made any noise whatever. By the late fifties, people had come to recognise his worth. But two heart attacks in the sixties put him out of action for quite a while during the late sixties. Frank ‘Floorshow’ Culley Culley had two hits; ‘Coleslaw’, which got to #3 on the R&B chart, in 1949, for an 11 week stay. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rviX3WsX5wY As you see from the label, it’s another Jesse Stone number, previously called ‘Sorghum switch’. His other hit was ‘After hours session’; not as big a hit, but a very nice single, with great piano from Van ‘Piano Man’ Walls, one of the three great blues pianists who backed up sessions in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles (the others were Sonny Thompson & Lloyd Glenn). Walls played piano on all of Floorshow’s Atlantic sides, except the last, on which Randy Weston held down the piano chair. Frank is pretty restrained until 2 and a half minutes have gone by, and then, watch out! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5gdvEU3IvI There was a lot more going on with Floorshow than honking. Here’s a very honking number, Hamp’s ‘Central Avenue breakdown’, the B side of ‘Coleslaw’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5zCpdENr6A ‘Rhumboogie Jive’, the B side of ‘After hours session’ was another very hot number, a great feature for Piano Man Walls. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4p2Wdemhv04 Your heart will bleed for the guy who posted that one on YouTube; his copy arrived broken and, in repairing this side, he made the A side unplayable. In 1955, Floorshow cut some less successful tracks for Baton and that’s the last we hear from him. Lynn Hope Lynn’s only hit was ‘Tenderly’, very much an easy listening type of record. But he was a strong tenor player with a vision not unlike that of Earl Bostic’s. I first heard of Hope when I read Leroi Jones’ short story ‘The screamers’, which was about a gig Hope did in Newark, in which he led his band out of the dancehall and sparked a riot. I thought it was fictional, as I’d never come across the name Lynn Hope before. When I heard that there actually WAS a musician of that name, I eagerly looked for recordings and eventually found an album. ‘Tenderly’ was a great disappointment for me. But many of the tracks on that album were definitely not. Here’s ‘Blues in F’, a real honker with a lot of playing in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeFySiz581I In ‘Blues for Anna Bacoa’, you can just see the crowd doing the conga down Broad street, Newark. (Well, I think I can.) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zN9qVWrZ0jc And the extremely funky ‘Eleven ‘til two’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sskUiHG5_WU Like Earl Bostic, Lynn usually recorded with a vibes player; Bobby Martin. His sister, Myriam Hope, was on piano, marimba or organ. Two other relations, Khalid Ali and Unis Ali were on bass and drums respectively. His last recordings, in 1960, for King, had King’s studio guys with him. I like his ballads, performed at a Bostic medium walk, but I’ve got to say, I’d prefer them if Bostic were playing, or if Hope’s sound weren’t so bland on them. It’s rumoured that he and family moved to Philadelphia and that he became prominent in the local mosque – whatever that may imply. Big Al Sears Johnny Hodges, perhaps the world’s least likely candidate, had two hits among the honkers – both featuring very nice solos from Big Al Sears. ‘Castle rock’, (Mercury 8944) in 1951, made #4 and lasted 9 weeks (and also scraped into the pop charts, presumably to amaze Johnny’s white fans). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4KjHZsNSHo ‘A pound of blues’ (Mercury 8961) made #4 as well, but only lasted five weeks in 1952. It’s a much more conventional cut but still features some nice Sears tenor. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEPoNxZIu3Q Al Sears isn’t ever given the credit he deserves. I first heard him on ‘The Madison’ by Al Brown’s Tunetoppers, in 1959, though I’d never heard his name. That single was overshadowed commercially by Ray Bryant’s version, featuring Buddy Tate (who could have made a fortune as a honker but never tried), but I always liked it better (and I still have my second copy). Sears played tenor solos on countless R&B and Rock & Roll records in the fifties and sixties. Eddie Chamblee Eddie Chamblee had only one hit as a leader – ‘Back street’ (Miracle 133, #9, 1949). But as the tenorman on the Sonny Thompson band’s recordings for Miracle, he was the main attraction on five other hits, including two that made #1, one of which was the classic ‘Long gone’ (Miracle 126). It seems that he learned to play sax in the army. His first recordings were made in June 1946, for Miracle Records, as part of a three-sax sextet under the leadership of one Dick Davis. (These were the first recordings Miracle made.) Success came through a bunch of sessions Miracle held in late 1947 to stockpile material for the forthcoming strike. Sonny Thompson’s ‘Long gone pts 1 & 2’ was one of the products of those sessions. The record made #1 on the R&B chart, staying there 3 weeks out of a 31 week run. It also spent a week at the bottom of the pop chart and sold 200,000 copies, presumably in 1948. It was recorded at two different sessions, for the first of which, on 5 November 1947, Eddie wasn’t present. Eddie was on hand for the 27 November session, to play on part 2, which seems to have been an afterthought at the end of a mostly unissued Browley Guy session. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jy5Itwnscg8 The label of part 1 is as you see it on the video. Part 2 says it’s ‘Sonny Thompson with the Sharps and Flats starring Eddie Chamblee (tenor sax)’. Most of Eddie’s future collaborations with Sonny on Miracle gave him a separate billing (though I don’t suppose he was paid any more). I can’t say it’s very frantic honking but it’s very, very rocking train music. Another session, on 7 December, produced another #1 hit, ‘Late freight’. Not as big a hit as its predecessor, it still managed 3 months on the chart. And Eddie, still in the rocking train mode, honks and growls a good bit more. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ETH3B-hgnhI Three more, small, hits followed for Sonny and Eddie, then Eddie’s own single, ‘Back street’, which was an altogether more serious honker and was recorded around July 1948. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TiqTwaHPfE That was a respectable hit, making #9 and saying on the chart for 8 weeks. But it was his only one. I love the lyrics to ‘Dureop’, so I’m putting part 1 on. Part 2 features guitar and piano (damn fine) but part 1 is seriously relaxed honking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1LXn6k01cNg This relaxed aspect to so much of Eddie’s work is particularly nice. He never seems to go bonkers; he just plays strong music. He seems like Sonny Stitt, in the ease with which his music seems to flow out of him but, as Stitt said, ‘this shit ain’t easy, baby.’ And you know that those guys had to really know what they were doing to make it come out with such a relaxed flow. Eddie, unlike Stitt, didn’t do high speed stuff often; he liked walking or strolling, rocking all the time, and always with a bit of genial humour in his playing, as if he’s saying, ‘have some fun, people.’ After some more recordings with Eddie, Lee Egalnick closed Miracle in the summer of 1950, and most of the masters were acquired by King. Eddie moved to Egalnick’s new label, Premium and did a couple of sessions for that label, then Chess, Coral and United, before hooking up for one with his childhood sweetheart, Dinah Washington. But he made another session for United, then one for Chess, with Jimmy Witherspoon. In the mid-fifties he recorded a good deal with bluesmen; Lowell Fulson used him on several sessions in LA and Chicago for Checker, and he was on sessions by Amos Milburn and T-Bone Walker. He spent a couple of years in Lionel Hampton’s band, too, recording all over Europe with him. Back in Chicago, he recorded for Mercury and participated in more of Dinah’s sessions up to 1963. Don Wilkerson Everyone around back in those days could, and often did, honk. Amos Milburn’s ‘Sax Shack boogie’ (Aladdin 3064, #9, 1950) is, of course, a vocal, but features not one but three fine honking solos by one of the all time great soul jazz saxophonists, Don Wilkerson. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OYYMfEXm4fw And a lot of good piano by Amos. Most of Don’s solos with Amos were of the honking variety. He was good at it. Schoolboy Porter ‘Schoolboy boogie” (Chance), from September 1950, was the first recording by John Schoolboy Porter, a Chicago tenor player who’d worked in the Cootie Williams band in 1947, apparently before Weasel Parker joined. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mf80j-HjUds Porter is accompanied by Jesse Hart (p), Walter Broyle (b) and Carl Scott (d). Unfortunately, only three of the six tracks recorded in his first session are available on YouTube. A second session, in November, produced a side called ‘Walk heavy’ on which he played baritone sax and, apparently, ‘could have given Leo Parker a run for his money’. His third session, on 25 July 1951, had Jack McDuff on piano. Again, that would be very interesting to hear. And for a fourth and final Chance session, on I May 1952, McDuff played organ. (I have two of those sides on a filthy tape and they’re damn good!) It’s a pity no one picked up this material. There’s enough for a 12” LP. What I’ve heard is fine! There’s a lot about Porter here: http://myweb.clemson.edu/~campber/chance.html Lorenzo Holden Lorenzo played with the Happy Johnson band in the mid forties. He was one of Johnny Otis’ sax players in the early fifties. He didn’t record much or go out on tour with the band more than once, because he preferred to stay at home with his wife, so he remained obscure. Like Schoolboy Porter in Chicago and Jaws in New York, he was the man who developed the tenor/organ combo concept in his area. In 1953, he teamed up with Ernie Freeman, who was playing only piano in those days and made a series of singles that varied from decent to pretty damn good. In 1954, Freeman started playing the organ in public and ‘Hunting with the Hunter’ was their first effort as a tenor/organ combo; the first on the west coast. Before that, earlier in 1954, there was the wonderfully titled, ‘Cry of the wounded juke box’, a rip from ‘Lester leaps in’ by one of the Bihari brothers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jg1EViDriRo No slouch on the honking tenor, Lorenzo! It’s Freeman on piano, Red Callender on bass and Ray Martinez (who was later with Big Jay McNeely) on drums. Tiny Bradshaw Bradshaw’s band, ironically for one that rocked and screamed so hard, showed the way out of honking. ‘Soft’ spent 14 weeks on the R&B chart in 1953, rising to #3. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zFzreHG8_I ‘Heavy juice’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf79KkukB5A Those two featured Red Prysock, Arthur Prysock’s brother, on tenor. ‘Heavy juice’ wasn’t anywhere nearly as big as ‘Soft’ making #9 for 1 week. Red was replaced by Sil Austin and in July the band didn’t have a hit with ‘Later’ (Bill Hardman and Sam Jones were in the band, too). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HfqkaPAh6o ‘Stack of dollars’ features Noble ‘Thin Man’ Watts. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSCo3uLk5k4 Nice trumpet solo from Bill Hardman in there, too. ‘Cat fruit’ is from one of the band’s last sessions, in 1954. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KZNgPEAXgYA Nice work from both Rufus Gore (who should be noticed rather more than he is) and Noble ‘Thin Man’ Watts. ‘Soft’ and ‘Heavy juice’ were the last honking records to hit the R&B charts. It’s clear that they were quite a way away from ‘Gator tail’ – there’s a very Basie-like feel to the rhythm and while Red’s solos are virile and muscular, they’re by no means extreme. Of course, honking is limited as well as extreme and couldn’t really be sustained as a movement for very long. So the musicians and audiences had to move on. There was still an audience out there that wanted the music and good honking records were made for a few more years. The audience was changing, though, and no more hits came along. That was true of ALL kinds of jazz. Only three jazz records made the R&B charts between August 1953 (when ‘Heavy juice’ was a hit) and January 1956 (when Ernie Freeman’s ‘Jivin’ around’ hit). They were two by Buddy Johnson (‘I’m just your fool’ and ‘(Gotta go) upside your head’) and one by Count Basie (‘Every day I have the blues’ featuring Joe Williams). Rock and Roll was beginning and Rudy Pompilli’s imitation honking was claiming attention, briefly, before electric guitars took over Rock and Roll. But if you skip those couple of years and listen to ‘Jivin’ around’, here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=muO07c2izzo I think you’ll find there’s not all that much difference (except the lack of a tenor player, which Bill Doggett soon rectified when ‘Honky tonk’ came out). The honkers were becoming jazzers. The honkers found other employ. A lot turned into studio musicians, playing solos of varying honkiness on R&B recordings, like Sam ‘The Man’ Taylor (there’s a nice example of this from 1962, in my latest BFT). Others returned to more straight-ahead jazz, while others quit music altogether. A bandleader on the west coast exemplifies this interestingly. The Great Gates & Marvin Phillips Edward White was known, in the late forties and early fifties, as ‘The Great Gates’ and worked on the west coast as a pretty good, though unexceptional, jump blues singer; one able to maintain a band for several years on the strength of live performances. He made several recordings, only one of which was a hit, and none of the companies for which he recorded invited him back for a second session. He moved to Chicago in 1952, gave up jump blues in the mid fifties and took up the jazz organ! His own band on the west coast usually included a great honking tenor player – Marvin Phillips, whose part time job at the time was as a singer. He was later one of the duo Jesse and Marvin, with Jesse Belvin, who had a #2 R&B hit with ‘Dream girl’ in 1953, and later that year, and in the same period, one of Marvin and Johnny, with Carl Green as Johnny, then with Emory Perry as Johnny, with whom he had two more hits. But he was a damn fine tenor player. The Great Gates’ ‘Ain’t got no money’, has a good honking solo by Phillips, the B side of which is an instrumental featuring Marvin (but that’s not on YouTube). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blTw-ri9NFY And here’s his only hit – ‘Late after hours’, with a nice, somewhat less frantic, solo from Marvin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3Gq_yPI_YU You may be able to find an LP with a good selection of The Great Gates’ singles from 1949-52 in some old bin somewhere. http://i215.photobucket.com/albums/cc187/boogiewoody/TGGfrontsmall.jpg If you do, it’s the real stuff. Don’t miss this exciting slab of obscure history. Willis ‘Gator Tail’ Jackson Willis was never with a territory band. Cootie Williams hired him off his mother’s doorstep in 1949. His mother had made him turn down an offer the previous year from Lionel Hampton, but Cootie volunteered to send Willis back home every month, for inspection! ‘Gator tail’ was Willis’ feature with the band at the Savoy Ballroom and, according to Willis, ‘it would tear the place down, so I guess that’s why we made the record.’ The record, on Mercury, was very popular and was probably a regional hit in the New York area, but not big enough to get onto the national charts. But it got him out on his own, recording for Apollo, then, after he took up with Ruth Brown, Atlantic, and finally De Luxe. One of the most interesting things about Gator’s early recordings is the wide variety of music they encompassed. Yes, there were plenty of honkers. But also popular ballads like ‘Can’t help lovin’ dat man’, ‘Here in my heart’ and ‘Try a little tenderness’ as well as material from farther afield, like ‘Estrellita’. There was always a lot more to Willis than tearing the place down. In addition, there was session work. Quite a lot was with Ruth Brown, with whom he was living in the mid fifties, though they didn’t marry. But some very nice stuff was done with Little Willie John, including his first hit, ‘All around the world’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XHC-qZXOyI He teamed up with Bill Jennings in 1957 and did a session for King with one James Orville Johnson on organ, another six months later, with Dave ‘Baby’ Cortez on organ, backing Titus Turner, then began to assemble his first great organ band with Brother Jack McDuff. By that time, he seldom honked. Red Prysock Before Red joined Tiny Bradshaw’s band, he had already notched up one hit, as the tenor player in Tiny Grimes’ band, which soon became The Rockin’ Highlanders. He joined Grimes fresh from the army, where he’d learned to play the sax his sister had given him. So, no history of working in territory bands for Red, either. ‘Midnight special’ was Tiny Grimes’ only R&B hit single and the first of thousands for Atlantic records. It’s not frantic; it’s based on ‘CC rider’, but Red plays powerfully enough to get noticed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7diCMxVMDbQ When Grimes decided that all his Rocking Highlanders should wear kilts, Red left and joined Roy Milton’s band, which wasn’t the right kind of band for him. So he quickly moved to Tiny Bradshaw’s and made a series of great records with Bradshaw, not only under Tiny’s name, but backing up a number of King’s great R&B singers, such as Roy Brown, Wynonie ‘Mr Blues’ Harris and Bullmoose Jackson. He formed his own band in late 1953 and started recording for Mercury the following year. He had no hits but ‘Hand clappin’’ (Mercury, 1955) was used by Alan Freed as his theme tune and is said to have sold more than half a million, over a period; a LOT more than most R&B hits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPJap6Z_6ZI Of course, as can be seen from the sleeves of his Mercury LPs, a probable majority of his customers would have been white. http://cdn.discogs.com/Dh3dA1dkVF_aikjUndULB-mmzoI=/fit-in/600x600/filters:strip_icc():format(jpeg):mode_rgb():quality(96)/discogs-images/R-3097375-1315602169.jpeg.jpg And young. http://ring.cdandlp.com/rabbitrecords/photo_grande/115134563.jpg Unlike Willis Jackson, there’s a kind of one dimensional aspect to Red’s playing on most of those fifties Mercury records; great when you feel like it, but that’s not nearly all the time. It’s as if there’s nothing there but what you can hear; no connection with black society. His 1958 album, ‘Swing softly, Red’, with a big band behind him and a dozen standards to play, looks better, though his 45 of ‘Willow weep for me’ is also one dimensional, so it might not be. However his ‘Battle royal’ album with Sil Austin, with Milt Hinton, Kenny Burrell and Panama Francis in the combo, is a LOT better. But with the exception of that album, he persisted in making these one dimensional honking records until 1961, probably entirely for people who wouldn’t or didn’t know the difference. ‘The big sound of Red Prysock’, a track from which was in my last BFT, is more substantial. Sil Austin Sil followed Red into the Bradshaw band in 1953. He’d previously followed Willis Jackson into the Cootie Williams band. He soon had a good number in ‘Later’, which wasn’t a hit, but sold enough for him to get himself a contract with Mercury. He had one hit with Mercury, ‘Slow walk’, in 1956, which was quickly covered by Bill Doggett. Sil’s original version outsold Bill’s, but not by much; Sil’s got to #3 in the R&B chart and #17 on the pop chart, while Bill’s made numbers 4 and 27 respectively. So Sil would have got good composer royalties out of the tune. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2y_tnrrGhFM By the early sixties, Sil had turned to lounge music for a living and was very good at it. Rusty Bryant The last honking hit was Rusty’s ‘All night long’, a faster version of ‘Night train’, with some other stuff in there, too. It didn’t make the R&B charts, but scraped into the pop charts at #25 on 3 April 1954, leaving the following week. It’s a clear indication that the honking sax had lost favour with black audiences but that white audiences were beginning to catch on (as is also indicated by Red Prysock’s recordings for Mercury). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CRLPunnoSH0 It was Rusty’s first recording, done in 1952, and he kept plugging away at the formula until about 1956. When Dot had moved from Nashville to Los Angeles, he made a couple of albums of not terribly inspiring straight jazz material. Then Hank Marr took over the band and Rusty became his sideman for a series of very nice recordings for Federal. Jimmy Coe Sometimes the jazz community reveals a hidden gem. Jimmy Coe is one of those. He didn’t begin to reach a wider audience until the inclusion of his 1953 single, ‘After hour joint’ in the Delmark compilation ‘Honkers and barwalkers’ in 1988. Coe is another musician who never made the R&B chart. He got into the business a little late, it seems. A lot of information is to be found on the Red Saunders Research Foundation page about him. He was born in 1921, in Kentucky, but his parents moved to Indianapolis when he was two, and he remained there all his life (he died in 2004), except for periods with the army in the war and on tour with various bands. After a couple of years with Buddy Bryant’s band in Indianapolis, he joined Jay McShann’s band in late 1941, playing baritone sax. When Charlie Parker was out of the band, Jimmy had to take the alto seat. Not an easy task for anyone, but as you’ll hear, Jimmy’s ideas and approach were almost exactly unlike Parker’s. After a year with McShann, Jimmy joined the Tiny Bradshaw band (yes, everyone played with Bradshaw). He said he ‘takes some credit for promoting the transition from the two alto-two tenor sax section that most bands still carried (with perhaps some doubling on baritone) to a five-man sax section with a full-time baritonist. He… wrote baritone parts for everything in the McShann book, and while in the Bradshaw band he did the same, inspiring Bradshaw to hire his own full-time baritonist when Coe left.’ Some people leave strange marks in the sand, don’t they? After Army service, he rejoined Bradshaw for a while, then returned to Indianapolis and obscurity. He had a slight association with King Records and cut a single for them, which the firm put out as by Jimmy Cole, and also credited him that way for a Tiny Bradshaw session he was on in 1952. Not a terribly helpful association? After King had no time to listen to a demo he’d done of ‘After hour joint’, Coe took it to Chicago and offered the song to United/States Records. They bit and the record was cut on 1 February 1953. It’s based on an Indianapolis after hours joint called the Royal Roost which features similar clientele to those appearing on the record. Earl ‘Fox’ Walker (the drummer) does most of the talking, with the ensemble joining in here and there. This was the one that appeared in ‘Honkers and barwalkers’. Jimmy’s comment was that ‘I have never honked, but I have walked the bar.’ Well, his playing is the essence of honk, without the frenzy. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHzCmoaASnE 1953 was a bit too late for this to be a hit, but it must have sold reasonably well, as States wanted a follow up, which was ‘Raid on the after hour joint’, recorded in October 1953. Lew Simpkins, who produced most United material, including Coe’s first session, had died by then, so Leonard Allen, the owner of United/States, took the session (and also plays the part of the policeman). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UwjVs8pehpM I can’t say the raid single is as good as the first, but it was clearly necessary. So, good for Leonard Allen to get the follow up made. About six months later, the Robins, later known as the Coasters, recorded ‘Riot in cell block #9’ and, a few months later, ‘Smokey Joe’s café’, and I can’t help thinking that Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller must have heard these Jimmy Coe records, while they were woodshedding what to do with this vocal group they’d got out of their relationship with Johnny Otis. ‘Riot in cell block #9’ wasn’t a hit, but “Smokey Joe’s café’ hit the R&B top 10 for a couple of weeks at the end of 1955. So these slice of life little dramas weren’t a terribly commercial idea (yet), but this was the right time for them. And this was pretty new stuff, when Jimmy recorded ‘After hour joint’. There had been some conversation type of records before; ‘Double crossing blues’ by Little Esther and the Robins and ‘Gabbin’ blues’ by Big Maybelle both had some spoken conversation, but they were very much a part of the tradition of sung duets, even though there was some speech. And ‘Open the door Richard’, was another in the same tradition. But there’s no singing in either of the Jimmy Coe records; they’re spoken conversations over a music background. Lew Simpkins, however, had made an attempt at this kind of thing before, in January 1947, when he was producing for Miracle Records. ‘Memphis train’, a dramatization of two travellers, a porter and a lady on the train from Chicago to Memphis, by tenor player Dick Davis, was a miserable failure. Sonny Thompson was one of the passengers. The content of the drama is totally undramatic; the conversation is delivered with no animation or enthusiasm whatever; and the timing was absent. Dick Davis wasn’t as good a tenor player as Coe, either. This sort of thing has to be done very well indeed to be effective, or it’s worthless – except as a lesson in what NOT to do. But, if you’re interested in really ineffective recordings, here it is. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__qppNMMNeY When ‘Honkers and barwalkers’ came out in 1988, ‘After hour joint’ sounded like the first rap record. Delmark issued an album (‘After hour joint’) of all of Coe’s recordings for States, which included the raid single, too. These aren’t the only good things Coe recorded. There’s also a splendid version of ‘Lady be good’, which has what was the only honking violin solo the world has known (by Remo Biondi), and is a cut not to be missed. http://eil.com/images/main/Jimmy-Coe-After-Hours-Joint-548617.jpg It’s deleted now, but you can still get vinyl copies from Amazon and elsewhere. His position in Indianapolis was a long way from the recording industry, so Coe was not nearly as well recorded or known as he should have been. In a sense, this may have been an advantage. No one in the record business was pressing him and his band to sell a million or even to try to address a national audience. So they just had their local customers, who would have known Jimmy had played with many of the greatest jazz musicians, to please. In those circumstances, Coe and his musicians could stray from the authorised path, as did Wes Montgomery, a guitarist who was later an occasional member of Jimmy’s band, when he decided to try to improvise in octaves. Coe did become better known through the reissue of these recordings and, a short while before his death in 2004, was invited to Europe. It was then that he made this nice video with a local band and Red Holloway, in Locarno, Switzerland, 14 Sep 2002. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfVfVPn_BZg You can find out a lot about Jimmy Coe’s life and career here: http://myweb.clemson.edu/~campber/coe.html Big Jay McNeely Big Jay McNeely was different from all the others. He kept honking until he quit in 1971 and became a postman. He’d started his own record label, Big J, in the fifties and was possibly one of the first jazz musicians to do so. In 1983, when European teenagers were beginning to appreciate the danceable qualities of soul jazz, which they termed acid jazz, Big Jay took up his sax again, and is STILL out there honking, mostly in Europe. He was honking outside the Quasimodo Club in West Berlin on the night the Berlin Wall came down – and the German press jokingly called him ‘the modern Joshua’ after the rumour went around that Big Jay helped blow it down with his horn. His latest album, ‘Life story’ was issued in 2013 and probably recorded in 2012. http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51JMZI0S07L._SX450_.jpg Big Jay was about 85! It ain’t easy, but someone’s gotta do it! Anyway, here are a couple of McNeely cuts. First, his #1 hit from 1948, ‘Deacon’s hop’. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yo_0_dp1irE Of course, the man CAN play – here’s something from ‘Life story’. http://www.jazzwax.com/2013/01/big-jay-mcneely-life-story.html It’s not just good for a guy well into his eighties, it’s just plain good. Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis If there’s one musician whose style was ALWAYS the essence of honk, it’s Jaws. Like Big Jay, Jaws never stopped honking. ‘I could never understand how Jaws was playing,’ Johnny Griffin told Bob Bernotas in 1994. ‘He played more for sound than for notes.’ That’s the essence of honking; sound in time, not notes. And no one could get the sounds Jaws did. For him, it wasn’t a passing fad, not a commercial thing to do at the time; it was the way he played the saxophone. And he applied that way of playing the sax to all kinds of music, including, of course, the roaring rhythm numbers that were the meat and drink of late forties and early fifties audiences. He’d even honk and scream on bebop tunes (is nothing sacred?). Here’s ‘Stealing trash’ with Fats Navarro, Al Haig, Huey Long, Gene Ramey & Denzil Best on Savoy, a cut from a 1946 session by Eddy Davis & his Beboppers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=micok4uF2xE ‘Lockjaw’ was another bebop recording, from May 1946. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBzApX-WpCU And, from the same session, ‘Athlete’s foot’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwNTYSHaffQ From the following year, we have ‘Leapin’ on Lennox’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PTsuOM2_pHk This is the very best of honking! Finally, one done at the end of a Cleanhead Vinson session in 1949, with (almost certainly) Wynton Kelly on piano. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IYbwcqFJrzc That’s ‘Huckle boogie’, which is supposed to have Bill Doggett on organ, but Kelly and Jaws are on the Vinson session, which has adjoining King matrix numbers. Certainly, ‘Huckle boogie’ was meant to be a honking sax record. But it’s kind of unusual in Jaws’ work. Mostly, that huge range of impossible noises he made come out of his horn was simply a part of the language he used to play jazz. It was as if he had the jazz equivalent of Tourette’s Syndrome; to say what he wanted to say, he had to use every resource the sax could provide – bad language is as much a part of the language as good and greatly needed sometimes. So there was never any need for him to stop. And he never did. Afterwards Afterwards, honking, although declining as a commercial venture, except, perhaps, for those catering to a rock & roll audience, was found to have entered the language. Many of the great honkers of this period never gave up those low honks or those high pitched screams. They used this new (bad) language with discretion, however. And so did the people they influenced, who usually were to be found among the new wave of Soul Jazz. So too, did the people they didn’t influence. Mainstream players like Ike Quebec, boppers like Teddy Edwards and Sonny Stitt, even later modernists like Joe Henderson, all absorbed the language in an un-gimmicky way and used it as part of their expression. And so did earlier players like Ben Webster. Because honking really never was any more than a part of the jazz language. It wasn’t an end in itself, any more than is the word fuck. It’s something to be used to get your message across. So the best honkers used that new language with some discretion. The live recording of Illinois Jacquet’s band done in Toronto in 1947, shows this very clearly. It’s a pity more of the honkers weren’t recorded live in their prime time; perhaps more than any other kind of jazz, the music these guys made was totally oriented towards live performances and they are vital tools of understanding how the music worked in its proper context. Not many musicians have changed the language of jazz. Illinois Jacquet should be revered as greatly as Louis Armstrong, Charlie Parker, Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane and Albert Ayler. But it won’t happen. MG Quote
Big Beat Steve Posted November 16, 2016 Report Posted November 16, 2016 As usual in these matters, you did a fine job, MG! This thread seems to have passed me by in September (in fact I was busy otherwise on 22 and out of town most of 23) but your post certainly deserves some forum reaction. And say what you want about those honkers, they added to the language, to the immediacy and to "connecting with the people" - and just in case any detractors step up: At least they screeched in tune and with the beat - which cannot be said of a certain brand of "avantgarde" saxists. Quote
mjzee Posted November 16, 2016 Report Posted November 16, 2016 TMG, I've thought for awhile that you need to collect your posts in a book. Would be invaluable. Thanks for posting. Quote
Big Beat Steve Posted November 16, 2016 Report Posted November 16, 2016 2 hours ago, mjzee said: TMG, I've thought for awhile that you need to collect your posts in a book. Would be invaluable. Thanks for posting. Seconded. Thumbs up! Quote
Late Posted January 8, 2023 Report Posted January 8, 2023 This thread has some good reading. Now I'm on the lookout for this one: Also missed the OJC when it was around. Quote
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