Back in the '40s, a variety of things were done with the 12-bar format. Southern
country blues
(Mississippi, Texas, or otherwise) was '40s
blues
(as well as '20s and '30s
) at its most rural, raw and basic;
jump blues
, on the other hand, had an urban sophistication and a
jazz
-minded, dance-oriented outlook.
Jump blues
swung unapologetically hard, and there is plenty of hard-swinging exuberance on
Hoot and Holler Saturday Night!
This CD focuses on two of the
shouters who recorded for the independent
Apollo Records
in the late '40s and early '50s:
Piney Brown
and
Eddie Mack
. The singers don't perform together, and
(which spans 1948-1950) is what is now called a split CD. Neither
Brown
nor
Mack
was a huge name in
-- neither was as well known as
Louis Jordan
,
Big Joe Turner
, or
Wynonie Harris
. But both of them had small followings, and both were enjoyably gutsy shouters along the lines of
Harris
. All 22 of the tracks on this 2002 CD (seven of which were previously released) are examples of early
R&B
-- early as in pre-
James Brown
, pre-
Ray Charles
soul
rock & roll
. The
that
performed was part of early
(which was called "race music" before producer
Jerry Wexler
coined the term
rhythm & blues
in 1949), and back in the day, early
was heavily influenced by
swing
. In fact, one of the musicians who accompanies
is tenor saxophonist
Willis "Gator" Jackson
, a superb
improviser. Those who have only a casual interest in
would do well to look for a best-of collection by
Turner
Jordan
, but
is easily recommended to the more seasoned
/early
enthusiasts. ~ Alex Henderson