PETE JOHNSON – 1947-1949 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1110 (2000) FLAC (image+.cue), lossless

Classics #1110 is the fourth installment chronicling 21 final key recordings of boogie woogie pianist Pete Johnson. 1947-1949 found Johnson leading three different quartets (the second with Al Mckibbon on bass and J.C. Heard on drums) for the Apollo, Modern, and French Jazz Selection labels, while the final session features a sextet on six tracks, blistering through the excellent "Rocket 88 Boogie, Parts 1 and 2" for the Down Beat/Swingtime label. These sessions have a common thread in the predominate use of guitar from Charles Norris, Carl Lynch, Johnny Rogers, and Herman Mitchell thoroughly featured alongside Johnson's piano throughout. Soon after these sessions Johnson left his West Coast home for Buffalo where he essentially retired, showing up occasionally at the odd live appearance or on other musicians' sessions. Al Campbell
Tracklist :

JOE TURNER – 1949-1950 | The Classics Chronological Series – 1180 (2002) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

You know it's about time somebody took all the little records that Big Joe Turner managed to make back in the day and brought them out in sequence the way they appear in the Classics Chronological Series. Nobody in the world ever sounded quite like Joe Turner and nobody ever will. There is a magical quality that makes his blues performances feel like rituals full of clarity and grace. Each and every Joe Turner record is as beautiful as a massive stand of tiger lilies growing up through the middle of a brickyard, silent, solid, and dignified under the dew in the first light of dawn. Incredibly, despite his enormous popularity during the Second World War, by 1949 this gifted vocalist was scuffling to get recording gigs. Ten tasty sides were cut in Los Angeles for the MGM label with a solid band fairly bursting with hot horns and driven by Pete Johnson's piano. Joe Turner closed out the year by waxing two sides for Rouge Records in Baton Rouge, LA, and four for the Freedom label in Houston, TX. In April of 1950, Joe Turner made a fistful of records in New Orleans backed by Dave Bartholomew & His Orchestra with Fats Domino at the piano. Issued on the Bayou and Imperial labels, each of these sides exudes primal R&B and rock & roll energy. This is outstanding music, ideal for both rambunctious carousing and reflective relaxation. arwulf arwulf  
Tracklist :
1     Messin' Around 2:45
Floyd Hunt
2     Mardi Gras Boogie 2:36
Big Joe Turner
3     My Heart Belongs to You 2:38
Arbee Stidham
4     So Many Women Blues 2:32
Big Joe Turner
5     I Don't Dig It 2:39
Big Joe Turner
6     Rainy Weather Blues 2:31
Big Joe Turner
7     Feelin' So Sad 2:33
Clarence Williams
8     Boogie Woogie Baby 2:46
Clarence Williams
9     Married Woman Blues 2:33
Big Joe Turner
10     Moody Baby 2:40
Big Joe Turner
11     Wish I Had a Dollar 2:47
Big Joe Turner
12     Fuzzy Wuzzy Honey 2:37
Big Joe Turner
13     Adam Bit the Apple 2:49
Big Joe Turner
14     Still in the Dark 2:49
Big Joe Turner
15     Life Is Just a Card Game 3:06
Big Joe Turner
16     Jumpin' at the Jubilee
Big Joe Turner
17     Story to Tell 2:31
Big Joe Turner
18     Jumpin' Tonight (Midnight Rocking) 2:23
Big Joe Turner
19     Lucille 2:33
Joe Turner
20     Love My Baby (Little Bitty Baby) 2:23
Big Joe Turner
21     Blues Jumped the Rabbit 2:35
Big Joe Turner
22     The Sun Is Shining 1:57
Big Joe Turner
Credits :
Peter Badie - Bass
Dave Bartholomew - Trumpet
Kirkland Bradford - Sax (Alto)
Goree Carter - Bass, Drums, Guitar
Maxwell Davis - Sax (Tenor)
Fats Domino - Piano
Jewell L. Grant - Sax (Baritone)
Clarence Hall - Sax (Tenor)
Ralph Hamilton - Bass
Herb Hardesty - Sax (Tenor)
Joe Houston - Bass, Drums, Piano, Sax (Tenor)
Pete Johnson - Piano
Waldron "Frog" Joseph - Trombone
Ernest McLean - Guitar
Herman Mitchell - Guitar
Jesse Sailes - Drums
Big Joe Turner - Composer, Vocals
Walter Williams - Trumpet