JIMMY YANCEY — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 1 • 1939-1940 | DOCD-5041 (1991) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The first of three Document CDs that reissue all of pianist Jimmy Yancey's recordings (other than his final Atlantic session) is filled with classic performances. Yancey, a subtle boogie-woogie/blues pianist who was a major influence and inspiration on the better-known players of the 1930s, is featured on his first two solo sessions, including "The Fives," "La Salle Street Breakdown," "South Side Stuff," "Yancey's Getaway," "Yancey Stomp," and "State Street Special." Highly recommended as are the two following volumes in this valuable Document series. Scott Yanow

 Abridged from this album’s original booklet notes. “Veteran…Jim Yancey, whose dancing thrilled the King and Queen of England in 1913, still is active. Jim taught Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons some of his tricks, but went unrecorded until a few months ago when Solo Art waxed his blues. Today Yancey is a grounds keeper for the Sox.”

By the end of the thirties, however, he was not really “active” as a performer any more. When he was asked to record for Solo Art, he had to practice before he felt able to comply. 17 takes were made, but only Jimmy’s Stuff and The Fives (not related to the famous train piece) could be issued before the Solo Art label ran out of money. The rest remained untitled and unreleased until after Jimmy’s death.. Of those posthumous releases, Janie’s Joys, Yancey Limited, P.L.K. Special and Yancey’ s Getaway were variants of The Fives whereas Steady Rock Blues and Lucille’s Lament, Jimmy’s prototype of what was later recorded as Sweet Patootie but also as The Mellow Blues and under other titles, were related to Jimmy’s Stuff, Lean Bacon and Rolling The Stone (recorded as State Street Special for Victor), La Salle Street Breakdown and Beezum Blues (recorded as Old Quaker Blues for Vocalion), Two O’Clock Blues and Bear Train (used in Bluebird’s Cryin’ In My Sleep) and, of course, the two takes of How Long Blues were variants of the same tunes. With the exception of How Long Blues the titles, chosen by Riverside for LP release, camouflaged this and all connections with later recordings. A Jimmy’s Stuff No. 2 was also invented when Riverside reissued what was in fact the original take. Yancey was a retired barrelhouse player and his style was archaic and, in a way, anachronistic at the time of his first recordings. But with the boogie wave sweeping the country, Yancey Special being a hit and that story of Ammons and Lewis being his pupils, it is no surprise that he was now approached by a big record company. He responded with what are regarded as some of his best achievements as far as piano technique and a dynamic performance are concerned. Yancey Stomp, State Street Special and The Mellow Blues were re-recordings of Solo Art material but the other three tunes were new. The six sides were released as an album entirely dedicated to Yancey and with an analytical essay by William Russell, both an unusual honour at that time. The album was not yet on the market when Yancey was recorded again, this time by Vocalion, in February 1940. On two titles, he accompanied vocals that were released as by Faber Smith. Some have suggested that this was a pseudonym for Yancey, partly because of the identity of the lyrics in I Received A Letter and Yancey’s Death Letter Blues which differ from those of other singers. The voice, however, is clearly not the same and according to blues historian Karl Gert zur Heide, Faber Smith was a well known South Side character. The Vocalion session ended with two instrumentals, Bear Trap Blues and Old Quaker Blues which are reissued on DOCD-5042. Both were new versions of titles that had been recorded by Solo Art. DOCD-5041

Tracklist :
1 Jimmy's Stuff (Jimmy's Stuff No. 2) 3:17
2 The Fives 3:07
3 La Salle Street Breakdown 3:08
4 Two O'Clock Blues 2:59
5 Janie's Boys 2:58
6 Lean Bacon 3:07
7 Big Bear Train 3:08
8 Lucille's Lament 3:08
9 Beezum Blues 3:17
10 Yancey Limited 3:01
11 Rolling The Stone 2:40
12 Steady Rock Blues 2:57
13 P.L.K. Special 3:06
14 South Side Stuff 3:07
15 Yancey's Getaway 3:07
16 How Long Blues 3:01
17 How Long Blues No.2 3:04
18 Yancey Stomp 2:46
19 State Street Special 2:38
20 Tell 'Em About Me 2:43
21 Five O'Clock Blues 2:40
22 Slow And Easy Blues 2:33
23 The Mellow Blues 2:39
24 I Received A Letter 2:34
Vocals – Faber Smith
25 East St. Louis Blues 2:45
Vocals – Faber Smith
Credits :
Piano – Jimmy Yancey

JIMMY YANCEY — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 2 • 1940-1943 | DOCD-5042 (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

On the second of three CDs that trace virtually his entire recording career, pianist Jimmy Yancey is showcased on a variety of solo tracks. Two numbers from February 1940 are highlighted by the classic "Bear Trap Blues." There are a couple of numbers made for the tiny Art Center Jazz Gems label, a four-song (plus two alternate takes) definitive set cut for Bluebird (which includes "Death Letter Blues" and "Yancey's Bugle Call"), and nine songs (five previously unissued) from 1943; on one version of "How Long Blues," Mama Yancey sings while Jimmy switches to the spooky-sounding harmonium. This set also has Jimmy Yancey's only four recorded vocals, which are quite effective even though his voice is limited. All three volumes in this series are highly recommended collections of music by this subtle pianist, who made expert use of space and ended every tune in E flat. Scott Yanow

Abridged from this albums original booklet notes. Some have spoken of Yancey as “blues singer of the most touching accents” (Rudi Blesh) and in similar terms. Yancey’s few vocals, originally released on three different labels, are among the items on this album. Four pieces in all, one of them, the second Death Letter Blues, is an extended version of the earlier recording of the same song while it shares its first verse with both of the other titles. One of those has been named after that particular verse Cryin’ In My Sleep but is in its lyrics, with one exception, a shorter version of its counterpart I Love To Hear My Baby Call My Name. The exception is a reference to Jim Kanane’s, a place in Memphis which was famous before World War I. Jimmy Yancey’s way of putting the same ideas into different instrumental pieces has often been subject to comment and while it can be compared to his use of lyrics, his combinations of lyrics and music is equally notable. Not only East St. Louis Blues by Faber Smith, but also the second version of Yancey’s Death Letter Blues are sung to the accompaniment of How Long Blues and in 8 bars, without the repeated first line, whereas Yancey’s Death Letter Blues for Bluebird uses the 12 bar scheme and is accompanied, though in a different key, by a melody resembling the one to which Faber Smith had sung I Received A Letter and which was taken up again in the instrumental piece of that title. This is, in fact, the traditional melody of Four O’Clock Blues. Variations of this kind, based on few different elements, are one of the main devices of Yancey’s music. Together with two of his vocals, which were released on the Bluebird label, Jimmy Yancey added Yancey’s Bugle Call and 35th And Dearborn to his recordings during a second session for Victor. Only three days earlier, if discography can be trusted, he had been recorded privately at his home with some of the material that this session drew from. 35th And Dearborn had already had a close relative in Five O’Clock Blues recorded at the first Victor session. It is noteworthy in its use of two different contrasting themes: The theme of Bluebird’s Death Letter Blues replaces the main theme in Five O’Clock Blues. His association with big recording companies was interrupted after the second Victor session and as it had been the case with Dan Qualey’s Solo Art label, Yancey was left to deal with small fan-owned labels, Phil Featheringill’s Session label and John Steiner’s Paramount, until Atlantic recorded him shortly before his death. Discographical questions surround the Session recordings, regarding exact recording dates and what more and unissued takes were made. Important is the existence of two instrumental takes of How Long Blues one of them missing in some discographies but both included here. It must also be mentioned that Boodlin was issued twice (with liner notes drawing attention to “the same melody”) on SLP 238, once instead of Sweet Patootie which as a consequence of that error has not been available lately. DOCD-5042

Tracklist  :
1 Bear Trap Blues (A) 2:44
2 Old Quaker Blues (A) 2:35
3 35th And Dearborn (Home Recording) (B) 3:23
4 I Love To Hear My Baby Call My Name (B) 4:19
5 Cryin' In My Sleep (C) 2:55
6 Death Letter Blues (053437) (C) 2:55
7 Yancey's Bugle Call (Take 1) (C) 2:40
8 Yancey's Bugle Call (Take 2) (C) 2:41
9 35th And Dearborn (Take 1) (C) 2:40
10 35th And Dearborn (Take 2) (C) 2:48
11 Boodlin' 3:04
12 Yancey's Mixture 4:00
13 Death Letter Blues (115) 4:30
14 Sweet Patootie 3:20
15 How Long Blues 4:30
16 How Long Blues (Alternate Take) 3:57
17 The Rocks 3:11
18 Jimmy's Rocks 3:04
19 How Long Blues 4:27
Vocals – Mama Yancey

JIMMY YANCEY — Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order ★ Volume 3 • 1943-1950 | DOCD-5043 (1991) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

The third of three CDs tracing the recording career of the unique boogie-woogie pianist Jimmy Yancey, whose subtlety could often result in some dramatic music, completes his December 1943 session and also has his December 23, 1950 solo set; his final recordings from July 1951 are available on an Atlantic release. The 1943 titles, three of which were previously unreleased, include two with Mama Yancey's vocals (Jimmy switches to harmonium on one) and are highlighted by "White Sox Stomp," "Yancey Special," and two versions of "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor." After the six fine titles from 1950, this CD finishes off with the only four numbers that Jimmy's older brother, the more ragtime-oriented Alonzo Yancey, ever recorded. Although his style was different, on "Ecstatic Rag" Alonzo does sound a bit like Jimmy. All three of these Document CDs, plus the Atlantic set, are highly recommended and preferable to the piecemeal domestic Bluebird reissues. Scott Yanow

 Tracklist  :
1 White Sox Stomp (A) 4:11
2 Eternal Blues (A) 4:26
3 I Received A Letter (A) 2:58
4 Yancey Special (A) 4:26
5 Midnight Stomp (A) 3:50
6 Pallet On The Floor (A) 4:02
7 Shave 'Em Dry (A) 3:12
8 At The Window (A) 3:05
9 Make Me A Pallet On The Floor (B) 4:26
10 The Yancey Special (C) 4:16
11 Assembly Call Boogie (C) 2:45
12 Barber Shop Rag (C) 3:40
13 Everlasting Blues (C) 5:04
14 Keep A Knockin' (C) 3:31
15 Jimmy's Goodnight Blues (C) 4:29
16 Everybody's Rag (D) 2:59
Performer – Alonzo Yancey
17 Twelfth Street Rag (D) 3:20
Performer – Alonzo Yancey
18 Hobo Rag (D) 1:47
Performer – Alonzo Yancey
19 Ecstatic Rag (E) 2:53
Performer – Alonzo Yancey