A couple of weeks back I had an offer I couldn’t refuse. Helen Jennings asked me if I would like to fill in as presenter of her weekly radio program, Roots of Rhythm, on 3PBS-FM. I jumped at the chance to go back to my roots in radio, and present a Jazz and Blues-based music program.
Over the past year I’ve been taking advantage of a couple of (the lesser-expensive) music download sites, Soudike and GoMusic, to expand not only my knowledge of Jazz and Blues music in general, but also my iPod music library in particular.
I guess I’ve had a pretty comprehensive knowledge of Blues music for many years now, my interest first ignited by the British bands who turned to Afro-American Blues in the early 1960s. Just who was this Hooker guy that wrote ‘Boom Boom’, ‘Dimples’ and ‘Don’t Look Back’, this Reed guy who wrote ‘Big Boss Man’, this Dixon guy who wrote ‘Spoonful’ and ‘Little Red Rooster’, this Burnett guy who wrote ‘Smokestack Lightning’.’
But when it comes to Jazz, I’m a bit of a ‘Johnny-come-lately.’ In the 60s I have to admit I often sat and pondered the flip side of the single ‘I’m a Man’ by The Yardbirds, ‘I’m Not Talking’, and wondered who was this Allison guy who had written it. It was only some 25 or so years later when I heard the original that I realised it had its roots in Jazz. That was interesting! So ‘Parchman Farm’, John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers (with Eric Clapton) and Georgie Fame both did versions of that.
Slowly, it was coming together for me. Sometime in 1980s I found a vinyl copy of Mose Allison’s Western Man album in a second-hand shop in St.Kilda and thought I’d better buy that. Ten or so years later I discovered Ornette Coleman. But it wasn’t until I started listening to my wife Jackey’s very beaten up but still very playable vinyl copy of Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew in 1999 that I really got it.
Miles was and is the key.
I stayed with Bitches Brew for quite a while before venturing into some John Coltrane, via my friend, the artist Robert Hirschmann, whose work I’d been commissioned to write an article on for Asian Art News (published Volume 10 Number 6 November/December 2000). I went forward to Jack Johnson, back to In a Silent Way, then back even further to the two great quintets and discovered Hank and Herbie, Mobley and Hancock. Today I’m still learning, knowing I’ve still got a long way to go.
Here’s the playlist from my radio show, and some notes on each .
‘Lonely Woman’ by Ornette Coleman from the classic Shape of Jazz to Come (Atlantic 1959). With the rhythm section of Charlie Haden on bass and Billy Higgins on drums, this is 4 minutes 59 seconds of sheer bliss. Billy incidentally also played on ‘Watermelon Man’. (And, if you can, check out Charlie Haden’s 22-minute version of ‘Lonely Woman’ from his The Private Collection album.)
‘Willow Weep for Me’ by Wynton Kelly from Kelly Blue (Riverside 1959) and ‘Wine tone’ by Cannonball Adderley from Plus (Riverside 1961). Tracks from two members of the so-called Miles Davis first great Quintet brought together on the album Sides of Blue, released last year to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the release of Kind of Blue.
‘I’m Not Talking’’ by Mose Allison from The Word From Moose (Atlantic 1964), then ‘I’m Not Talking’’ by The Yardbirds from The Studio Sessions (Decal 1965). I really wonder whose idea it was to record this, Jeff Beck or Keith Relf.
Next came a tribute bracket to one of my very favourites, Louis Jordan. I started with the truly haunting ‘Something for Louis’ by Louis Jordan from I Believe in Music (Concord Jazz 1973). Recorded in Paris just a year before his death, the album features John Lee Hooker sideman Louis Myers on guitar and the great Fred Below on drums.
Then a couple of loving cover versions, ‘Caledonia’ by B.B King from his tribute to Louis, Let The Good Times Roll (MCA 1999) and ‘We the Cats (Shall Hep Ya)’ by Joe Jackson from Jumpin Jive (A & M 1981), the album which turned a whole new generation on to Louis Jordan.
‘I’m in an Awful Mood’ by Eddie ‘Cleanhead’ Vinson from Kidney Stew is Fine (Delmar 1969). ‘Cleanhead’ can come close to Louis Jordan on occasion, and on this album “Cleanhead’ has not only done that, he has T-Bone Walker on guitar.
Next came a thoughtful bit of segueing, ‘T-Bone Shuffle’ by Buddy Guy and Junior Wells from Play the Blues (ATCO 1972), an album some critics say is the best blues album ever recorded. I think it’s pretty good and it features Eric Clapton on guitar. From there I went to ‘Snatch It Back and Hold It’ by Junior Wells from his first album Hoodoo Man Blues (Delmar 1965), coincidentally also his first collaboration with Buddy Guy.
A couple of years after Junior recorded his original version, an Australian guy by the name of Matt Taylor came along and switched a couple of the words in the title around and created a home-grown Australian classic, ‘Grab a Snatch and Hold It’ by Chain from Towards the Blues (Festival 1971). When it comes to Australian Blues music, this album is as good as it gets.
‘Blow in D’ was originally released as the flip side of Chain’s single ‘Judgement’ and was included on the 30th Anniversary CD re-release of Towards the Blues. Having worked as Road Manager with the band in 1971, the song was always a live favourite of mine, as was ‘Dust My Broom’. This raunchy version was recorded live at the Wallacia Festival in January 1971 and can be found on History of Chain (Mushroom 1974).
I finished the program with a couple of personal favourites, ‘Going Up The Country’ by Taj Mahal from The Natchl Blues (Columbia 1968) and the truly haunting vocals of ‘It’s Nobody’s Fault But Mine’ by Blind Willie Johnson from The Complete Blind Willie Johnson (Columbia). Recorded in 1927, it still raises every hair on my arm. Led Zeppelin paid tribute on Physical Graffiti.
Thanks for the opportunity, Helen, I’d love to do it again.
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