In 1949 a label was applied to an African American popular music genre which had already formed and was evolving-- rhythm and blues. Its early years are impressively documented on Blues, Boogie and Bop (Verve), a seven CD anthology containing 1945- 49 material originally recorded for the Mercury label.
R&B resulted from a mixture of blues and jazz and was created in urban areas. Of course jazz vocalists had sung twelve bar blues in the 1920s, but R&B developed its own distinctive characteristics.
The repertoire of early R&B artists not only contained a number of blues, but ballads and other song forms. Vocal groups such as the Robins brought a gospel flavor to the music, which became far more pronounced in the 1950s and 60s with the emergence of Ray Charles, Sam Cooke and Aretha Franklin. R&B was also strongly influenced by boogie- woogie, from which it derived the frequent use of triplets and a rolling rhythmic feeling that evolved into the shuffle beat.
R&B saxophonists picked up the raspy tone of jazz tenormen Ben Webster and Illinois Jacquet, and Jacquet's use of upper register squeals; the guitar work was funky and relatively heavily amplified, drummers stated the pulse simply and emphatically. The music was louder and easier to follow than jazz, hence it quickly attracted a large audience at a time when the complexity of bebop confused many listeners.
Appropriately enough, the Verve set opens with a number of tracks by prominent boogie- woogie pianist Albert Ammons, who's joined on a few by his son, the great tenorman Gene, originally a bopper, but popular in the 1960s as a soul jazz man who often recorded with Hammond organists. The Ammons group's driving, infectious performances illustrate the connection between boogie and R&B clearly. Other boogie-woogie influenced pianists appear in combo settings as well. Jay McShann, Charlie Parker's employer in 1940-41, and Roy Byrd, who became a fixture on the New Orleans scene as Professor Longhair.
Over a CD's worth of material is devoted to the work of Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, who originally came to the fore with Cootie Williams' band. An admirable alto saxophonist with a rich baritone voice that influenced Joe Williams, Vinson's sense of humor immediately grabs you. He wheezes and cracks his voice, and his lyrics, if not politically correct, are hilarious. Williams, Duke Ellington's star trumpet player from 1929 to 40 appears with his band on thirteen tracks, and plays very well, but R&B fans will be particularly interested in the raucous tenor saxophone work of Weasel Parker and Willis "Gator Tale" Jackson, both of whom sound like a cross between Jacquet and Dexter Gordon. Tasteful they ain't, but it's fun listening to their gutty, uninhibited solos.
Some tracks on the set are more in the jazz tradition, but they have significance as well, particularly the dozen exciting Buddy Rich big band cuts, and the pretty tracks by Mary Lou Williams heading an all female quartet.
Those who delight in packaging may be taken with the box containing these CDs, a plastic replica of a 1940s "Mercury" radio.
Lurrie Bell's Mercurial Son (Delmark)
By Harvey Pekar
Here's one of the best, most unique blues records of the past several years. Son of harmonica great Carey Bell, Lurrie has the potential to become one of the major figures in the genre at a time when it really needs buoying.
Bell's reportedly had more of his share of troubles and it's reflected in his music. He's a full voiced singer who performs with great primal power. His chilling a cappella vocal on Just One Hour Before the Sun ranks among the album's highlights.
And Bell's a standout guitarist: forceful and inventive, with a thick, penetrating tone and nice sense of structure. There's never a dull moment on the several instrumental tracks here.
Drummer, composer and co-producer Steve Cushing also deserves a great deal of credit for the success of this album. His compositions are certainly not conventional blues pieces. He employs poetic lyrics as on Just One Hour Before the Sun and the dirge Sweet Daddy-- Rest in Peace, and departs from the traditional twelve bar structure. Interestingly Cushing's music has some resemblance to Bo Diddley's. His Your Daddy Done Tripped the Trigger reminds me of Diddley's great bragging song, Who Do You Love? The rhythmic figures and heavy playing Cushing employs as a drummer are reminiscent of the style of Bo Diddley rhythm section members.
If art remains fresh it's important for it to evolve rather than petrify. Bell and Cushing are forward-looking guys in a musical form that's currently short on them.
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