JOHNNY DODDS – 1926 | The Chronogical Classics – 589 (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Dodds was one of the very finest New Orleans clarinetists, and the only non-Creole among them. The peak experiences here, and some of the finest small-group recordings ever made, are the New Orleans Wanderers sessions -- Armstrong's Hot Five with George Mitchell instead of Armstrong. Also present are Freddie Keppard's only two recordings and a bunch of marginally lesser cuts that Dodds transmutes into gold. John Storm Roberts
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JOHNNY DODDS – 1927 | The Chronogical Classics – 603 (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

For those who wish to develop a strong relationship with early jazz, there are certain records that may help the listener to cultivate an inner understanding, the kind of vital personal connection that reams of critical description can only hint at. Once you become accustomed to the sound of Johnny Dodds' clarinet, for example, the old-fashioned funkiness of South Side Chicago jazz from the 1920s might well become an essential element in your personal musical universe. Put everything post-modern aside for a few minutes and surrender to these remarkable historic recordings. It is January 1927, and the band, fortified with Freddie Keppard and Tiny Parham, is calling itself Jasper Taylor & His State Street Boys. The exacting chronology works well here as we are given detailed access to the records made by Dodds and a closely knit circle of musicians during the month of April 1927. Three duets with pianist Parham lie at the heart of Dodds' recorded legacy. Four trio sides feature Lil Armstrong at the piano and some very expressive guitar playing by Bud Scott. "The New St. Louis Blues" is particularly impressive, in fact downright hypnotizing. Scott sounds a lot like Bobby Leecan as he strums and strikes the strings with great deliberation. Speaking of Louis Armstrong, get a load of how he cooks and swings through four incredible stomps with Jimmy Bertrand's Washboard Wizards. Bertrand himself was a lively character, Jimmy Blythe was one of the best pianists in town at the time, and by 1927, Louis was well on his way to becoming the most influential -- and painstakingly imitated -- jazz musician of his generation. The sheer vitality of these records is incredible. Each performance is a delight, and Fats Waller fans will enjoy the Wizards' spunky interpretation of Waller's "I'm Goin' Huntin'." The very next day, Johnny Dodds' Black Bottom Stompers made four records in a Crescent City groove. "Weary Blues" positively percolates, and a perusal of the personnel is illuminating. Cornetist Louis Armstrong, trombonist Roy Palmer and clarinetist Johnny Dodds are joined by Barney Bigard, who boots away on a tenor saxophone. 1927 was the year that Bigard joined Duke Ellington & His Orchestra, there to distinguish himself by playing the clarinet like nobody else before or since. How interesting to hear him laying down basslines and occasionally soloing with a big sweaty sax. The presence of Bud Scott, Earl Hines at the piano and Warren "Baby" Dodds behind the drums rounds out one of the most intriguing ensembles in the entire Johnny Dodds discography. The remaining eight sides, variously attributed to the State Street Ramblers, the Dixie-Land Thumpers and to Jimmy Blythe & His Owls, are scruffy stomps with washboard percussion by Baby Dodds, elegant piano from Jimmy Blythe, and the chattering cornet of Natty Dominique. These are among the best records that Johnny Dodds ever made, and the producers of the Classics Chronological Series are to be commended for having released them in this outstanding package. arwulf arwulf  
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JOHNNY DODDS – 1927-1928 | The Chronogical Classics – 617 (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Cut around the time Dodds was wrapping up his association with Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives and Sevens, this Classics disc finds the venerable New Orleans clarinetist mixing it up nice and rambunctious with his Chicago Footwarmers. Along with brother Baby Dodds on washboard and vocals, the quartet featured a revolving cast that included cornet player Natty Dominque, trumpeter George Mitchell, trombonists Kid Ory and Honore Dutrey, pianist Jimmy Blythe, and bassist Bill Johnson. Their sound was ragged and irrepressible, with enough in the way of top-notch solo work by Dodds and Ory to keep things truly exciting. And while these sides don't match the quality of Dodds' earlier recordings with his New Orleans Footwarmers and Bootblacks, they still qualify as some of the best work of his career. After checking out Classics' stellar 1926 disc of No Foot and Boot sides, don't forget to give these tight gems a whirl. Stephen Cook
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LONNIE JOHNSON — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 3 • 1927-1928 | DOCD-5065 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. When Lonnie Johnson returned to Okeh’s New York studio in October 1927, he began with an account of the cyclone that had just struck St. Louis, where he had until recently been living. Elzadie Robinson recorded the same song that November, but Lonnie’s version was made a mere four days after the storm, which took 84 lives in five minutes, and caused immense damage. In a very different mood was Bedbug Blues Part 2, a sequel to the popular “Mean Old Bed Bug Blues” that he’d cut in August (see DOCD-5064). October and November found Johnson cutting more of his elegant instrumentals, and Okeh still reluctant to issue them, apparently preferring his imaginative stories in song like Life Saver Blues and Blue Ghost Blues (and, in Bitin’ Fleas Blues, yet another attempt to exploit the craze for blues about parasites). It may have been frustration with Okeh that led Lonnie Johnson to make extra contractual recordings for Gennett in December, with the pianist Jimmy Blythe. He was careful to do deep disguise; the record labels credited him as Bud Wilson or George Jefferson (and Blythe as Duke Owens or Willie Woods), while the company files noted that Wilson / Jefferson was one James O’Brien! The masquerade is transparent, though, as Lonnie spans his range; from blues, both homiletic and narrative, to hot instrumental, to sentimental ballad. Less than a week after the Gennett sessions, Johnson was back on Okeh, guesting with Louis Armstrong’s Hot Five, and furthering his campaign to define the role of the guitar as a soloing instrument in jazz. The same day, he made Sweet Potato Blues, lyrically a foretaste of the hokum duets on which he was shortly to collaborate with Spencer Williams; it’s unfair, perhaps, to compare it with “I’m Not Rough” and “Savoy Blues”. The two part Kansas City Blues, evidently recorded at Okeh’s behest in the wake of Jim Jackson’s success for Vocalion, starts with Lonnie sounding unenthusiastic, but he can be heard to warm to the song’s possibilities as it goes on. Lonnie Johnson adopts a rougher, countrified violin sound on Memphis Stomp, but is his more usual suave self on Violin Blues. More firmly blues orientated than Hayes & Prater were the vocalist “Keghouse” (possibly Gordon Keghouse) and his piano playing partner, Thomas “Jaybird” Jones, who were joined by Lonnie’s guitar (and, on an unissued title, violin). From Memphis, the unit travelled to San Antonio, where Johnson was reunited with Texas Alexander. Before recording 11 superb accompaniments to Alexander, however, he made four glorious guitar solos, very different from his work with Alexander, but equally fine; perhaps in the wake of his guest appearances with the Hot Five, Okeh seem finally to have committed themselves to Lonnie Johnson in this role, issuing all four. DOCD-5065
Tracklist :
1    Lonnie Johnson–    St. Louis Cyclone Blues    3:03
2    Lonnie Johnson–    Bedbug Blues Part 2    3:00
3    Lonnie Johnson–    6/88 Glide    2:58
4    Lonnie Johnson–    Tin Can Alley Blues    2:40
5    Lonnie Johnson–    Bitin' Flea Blues    3:16
6    Lonnie Johnson–    Life Saver Blues    3:04
7    Lonnie Johnson–    Blue Ghost Blues    3:08
8    Lonnie Johnson–    Untitled    2:46
9    Lonnie Johnson–    The St. Louis Train Kept Passing By    2:53
10    Lonnie Johnson–    When A Man Is Treated Like A Dog    2:56
11    Lonnie Johnson–    It's Hot --- Let It Alone    2:42
12    Lonnie Johnson–    Bearcat Blues    2:44
13    Lonnie Johnson–    Why Should I Grieve After You've Gone    2:48
14    Lonnie Johnson–    Low Land Moan    3:11
15    Lonnie Johnson–    Sweet Potato Blues    2:56
16    Lonnie Johnson–    Kansas City Blues -- Part 1    3:13
17    Lonnie Johnson–    Kansas City Blues -- Part 2    3:17
18    Johnson, Hayes, Prater–    Memphis Stomp    2:52
19    Johnson, Hayes & Prater–    Violin Blues    3:24
20    Keghouse–    Keghouse Blues    3:17
21    Keghouse–    Shifting' My Gear Blues    3:11
22    Lonnie Johnson–    Playing With The Strings    2:59
23    Lonnie Johnson–    Stompin' 'Em Along Slow    2:53
24    Lonnie Johnson–    Away Down In The Alley Blues    2:48
25    Lonnie Johnson–    Blues In G    2:48
Credits :
Guitar – Lonnie Johnson (tracks: 1 to 17, 20 to 25), Nap Hayes (tracks: 18, 19)
Liner Notes – Chris Smith
Mandolin – Matthew Prater (tracks: 18, 19)
Piano – Jimmy Blythe (tracks: 10 to 13), Porter Grainger (tracks: 1, 2), "Jaybird"
Piano [Poss.] – John Erby (tracks: 3, 4)
Piano [Prob.] – De Loise Searcy (tracks: 15)
Speech – "Jaybird" (tracks: 20)
Vocals – Keghouse (tracks: 20, 21), Lonnie Johnson (tracks: 1, 2, 4 to 7, 10, 13 to 17, 19), "Jaybird" (tracks: 21)