LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE – 1945-1946 | The Chronogical Classics – 921 (1997) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Louis Jordan was at the top of his fame when the 23 recordings reissued on this Classics CD were cut. The influential altoist/singer/entertainer during this era led a version of his Tympany Five that also featured trumpeter Aaron Izenhall, Josh Jackson on tenor and pianist Wild Bill Davis (years before he switched to organ). Among the hits included on the set are "Beware," "Don't Let The Sun Catch You Cryin'," "Choo-Choo Ch'Boogie," "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens," "Let the Good Times Roll" and "Jack You're Dead," but even the lesser-known tracks are entertaining. In addition, a couple of unlikely duets with Ella Fitzgerald ("Stone Cold Dead In the Market" and "Petootie Pie") are quite fun. Recommended to listeners not satisfied with owning only Louis Jordan's hits. Scott Yanow
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LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE – 1946-1947 | The Chronogical Classics – 1010 (1998) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

This guy had a smooth voice, played stunning alto sax, and was very, very funny without ever seriously compromising his dignity. Popular for years among Afro-American audiences, Louis Jordan also appealed to a hip substratum of the white record-buying public. Jordan inadvertently provided white pop musicians with interesting material that often showed up in emulsified Wonder Bread renditions, "safe" for consumption by wholesome young Caucasians. This process was essential if cultural segregation were to continue in North America during the late '40s and throughout the '50s. "Open the Door, Richard," based on an old vaudeville routine by Dusty Fletcher, is a case in point. Dizzy Gillespie, familiar with Fletcher's shtick, uttered the phrase during "Slim's Jam," an extra-cool all-star get-together narrated by Slim Gaillard, in 1945 (see Classics 888). Jack McVea, who sat in with Bird and Diz on that same session, soon recorded his own adaptation of "Open the Door, Richard." This seems to have initiated a trend. In 1947 "Open the Door, Richard" exploded into mass popularity, eventually finding its way into one of Jimmy Durante's radio scripts. Probably the best version was recorded on January 3, 1947, by Victor recording artists Count Basie & His Orchestra with Harry "Sweets" Edison cast in the role of the locked-out juicehead. Apparently anticipating his song's popularity, Dusty Fletcher recorded his own version -- the very next day -- for Savoy. Louis Jordan, who worked for Decca, couldn't resist a song with such strong theatrical possibilities. On January 11, one week after the Basie version was committed to wax, Jordan experimented with the routine, speaking roughly and crying out the famous words in a high-pitched voice. Decca did not issue this recording. The master take was finalized on January the 23rd, and would make it to number six on the Top Ten. Basie's version was deservedly rated number one, and a shrieky take by the Three Flames also landed in first place for a little while. Others who horned in on the song's popularity included the less hip Charioteers and, squarest of all, the Pied Pipers. Jordan, meanwhile, continued hatching swingy jazz and R&B numbers goosed up with attractive instrumentation, danceable rhythms, and funny lyrics. As rowdy as "Barnyard Boogie" gets, there was another, gutsier level of excitement, bursting with honest Afro-American vernacular, that Jordan kept returning to. During both "Friendship" and "Look Out" -- a sequel to the outrageously funny "Beware, Brother Beware" -- Jordan talks fast over a constant stream of interjections and exclamations from the band. These performances, electrified with Jordan's rapid-fire spoken rhymes, should be seen as authentic precedents for the postmodern phenomenon of rap. One senses that, like black music in general and rap in particular, at first this stuff was not necessarily intended for white audiences, who were nevertheless welcome to listen in, and of course to invest their money in the recordings. arwulf arwulf  
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LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE – 1947-1949 | The Chronogical Classics – 1134 (2000) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Louis Jordan was at the height of his fame during the period covered by this Classics CD. His last session from 1947 is here along with the music recorded during his first five recording dates of 1949. Among the hits are "Safe, Sane and Single," "Beans and Corn Bread," "School Days," and the two-part "Saturday Night Fish Fry." Jordan's Tympany Five had grown to seven pieces by late 1947 and expanded to nine in 1949; among his sidemen were trumpeter Aaron Izenhall, Eddie Johnson, or Josh Jackson on tenor and pianist (and future organist) Bill Doggett. In addition to such favorites as "Don't Burn the Candle at Both Ends," the catchy "Cole Slaw," and "Hungry Man," there are two songs ("Baby, It's Cold Outside" and "Don't Cry, Cry Baby") in which Jordan shares the vocals with Ella Fitzgerald. Highly enjoyable music. Scott Yanow
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LOUIS JORDAN AND HIS TYMPANY FIVE – 1950-1951 | The Chronogical Classics – 1238 (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The eighth in Classics' chronological study of the recordings of Louis Jordan covers the last period in which he had hits. Best known among the 21 recordings on this set are the two-part "Blue Light Boogie" and the catchy "Chartreuse." Ella Fitzgerald duets with Jordan on "'Ain't Nobody's Business My Own" and "I'll Never Be Free" while Louis Armstrong drops by for memorable versions of "Life Is So Peculiar" and "You Rascal You." Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five during this period had either pianist Bill Doggett or Wild Bill Davison on organ or piano, plus the underrated trumpeter Aaron Izenhall and tenor-saxophonist Josh Jackson. Even the lesser-known selections all have their moments of joy. Scott Yanow
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