LOUIS JORDAN - The Louis Jordan Fifties Collection
ACROBAT ADDCD 3353
Louis Jordan (as,v); Big band & Tympany Five combo including Wild Bill Davis (p, arr ); Reuban Phillips (ts); Earl Warren, Oliver Nelson (as); Bob Bushnell (b); Christopher Columbus (d).
Recorded NYC 1951-1958.
This two CD collection has 52 tracks of music during the latter part of Jordan’s career and although many pieces are of musical interest, it was the least successful of his time as a professional musician. In the nineteen forties he had frequent chart successes including many number one hits. These are covered in previous Acrobat releases: Jukebox Hits 1942-47 & 1947-51. Here we pick up his bands in 1951 beginning with You Will always Have A Friend and a straight- ahead version of I Can’t Give You Anything But Love where he proves to be a straight lyric singer with a jazz inflected style. These two opening selections are by the famous Tympany Five but by the third tune. If You’re So Smart How Come You Ain’t Rich, he is leading a large orchestra. Bill Jennings came in on electric guitar and he retained Christopher Columbus on drums. He was the father of Sonny Payne, the Basie orchestra drummer in the 1950s.
It appears that Jordan had lost his way somewhat in this period and the big band was not successful, possibly because Jordan himself had helped to hurry along the demise of big jazz orchestras with his Tympany Five, several years earlier. Nevertheless, there are tracks of interest to staunch R&B and, to a lesser extent, jazz enthusiasts, particularly slow, thoughtful structures such as Trust In Me and the ballad style Slow Down. How Blue Can You Get, by contrast, was more in the pure blues category. As for Jordan For President, it showed he was ahead of Dizzy Gillespie by at least ten years in a mock ‘Jazz musician for President of the USA’ campaign. Jordan was still belting out the solid R&B tracks he had become famous for though, as Hog Wash and Fat Sam From Birmingham prove.
With the relative failure of the orchestra, he soon reverted to the tried and trusted Tympany Five, but chart success was missing. He was also still doing the comedy routines in with the R&B though with selections like Everything That’s Made of Wood was once a Tree and Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens.
Most surprising of all perhaps he failed to take off or score any big chart hits with Rock ‘N’ Roll, a music he had helped to invent. Rock ‘N ‘Roll Call and Rock Doc were as good examples of the genre as any but maybe he lacked the youthful appearance and charisma of Elvis and Little Richard. This was a youth music revolution and the kids wanted musicians that looked like them. And maybe his compositions lacked the attraction of songs like Heartbreak Hotel, Rock Around The Clock and Great Balls Of Fire. At any rate big hits did not materialise although he kept going and recording. He became a regular in cabaret lounges in
Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe and in 1962 toured the UK with Chris Barber’s jazz band. In 1975 he died of a heart attack aged 65. Much later, in 1987, he was finally inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. And he kept making good music until the end.
Reviewed by Derek Ansell
ACROBAT ADDCD 3353
Louis Jordan (as,v); Big band & Tympany Five combo including Wild Bill Davis (p, arr ); Reuban Phillips (ts); Earl Warren, Oliver Nelson (as); Bob Bushnell (b); Christopher Columbus (d).
Recorded NYC 1951-1958.
This two CD collection has 52 tracks of music during the latter part of Jordan’s career and although many pieces are of musical interest, it was the least successful of his time as a professional musician. In the nineteen forties he had frequent chart successes including many number one hits. These are covered in previous Acrobat releases: Jukebox Hits 1942-47 & 1947-51. Here we pick up his bands in 1951 beginning with You Will always Have A Friend and a straight- ahead version of I Can’t Give You Anything But Love where he proves to be a straight lyric singer with a jazz inflected style. These two opening selections are by the famous Tympany Five but by the third tune. If You’re So Smart How Come You Ain’t Rich, he is leading a large orchestra. Bill Jennings came in on electric guitar and he retained Christopher Columbus on drums. He was the father of Sonny Payne, the Basie orchestra drummer in the 1950s.
It appears that Jordan had lost his way somewhat in this period and the big band was not successful, possibly because Jordan himself had helped to hurry along the demise of big jazz orchestras with his Tympany Five, several years earlier. Nevertheless, there are tracks of interest to staunch R&B and, to a lesser extent, jazz enthusiasts, particularly slow, thoughtful structures such as Trust In Me and the ballad style Slow Down. How Blue Can You Get, by contrast, was more in the pure blues category. As for Jordan For President, it showed he was ahead of Dizzy Gillespie by at least ten years in a mock ‘Jazz musician for President of the USA’ campaign. Jordan was still belting out the solid R&B tracks he had become famous for though, as Hog Wash and Fat Sam From Birmingham prove.
With the relative failure of the orchestra, he soon reverted to the tried and trusted Tympany Five, but chart success was missing. He was also still doing the comedy routines in with the R&B though with selections like Everything That’s Made of Wood was once a Tree and Ain’t Nobody Here But Us Chickens.
Most surprising of all perhaps he failed to take off or score any big chart hits with Rock ‘N’ Roll, a music he had helped to invent. Rock ‘N ‘Roll Call and Rock Doc were as good examples of the genre as any but maybe he lacked the youthful appearance and charisma of Elvis and Little Richard. This was a youth music revolution and the kids wanted musicians that looked like them. And maybe his compositions lacked the attraction of songs like Heartbreak Hotel, Rock Around The Clock and Great Balls Of Fire. At any rate big hits did not materialise although he kept going and recording. He became a regular in cabaret lounges in
Vegas, Reno and Lake Tahoe and in 1962 toured the UK with Chris Barber’s jazz band. In 1975 he died of a heart attack aged 65. Much later, in 1987, he was finally inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. And he kept making good music until the end.
Reviewed by Derek Ansell
