The coming boogie woogie craze would further blur the lines, creating a sound that combined the speed and artistry of jazz with the raw urgency of the blues. Innovative swing bands like Count Basie’s would take that blueprint and lay the groundwork for “jump blues,” which would eventually evolve into rock and roll. Listen to the following recordings, and you can hear the framework already in place.
Meade “Lux” Lewis
“Honky Tonk Train Blues” (Victor 25541, 1937)
Meade “Lux” Lewis may be the most famous boogie-woogie pianist in history, but he was almost completely overlooked. He first recorded “Honky Tonk Train Blues” in 1927, but it was not released until 1929 (Paramount 12896
The year before, Lewis again recorded his masterpiece in the studio, and this
~ You may also like Lewis’ tribute to his mentor, Jimmy Yancey: Meade “Lux” Lewis, “Yancey Special
Jones-Smith, Incorporated
“Lady, Be Good” (Vocalion 3459, 1937)
Count Basie and His Orchestra featuring Jimmy Rushing
“Boogie Woogie (I May Be Wrong)” (Decca 1252, 1937)
Count Basie and His Orchestra
“One O’Clock Jump” (Decca 1363, 1937)
When top Kansas City bandleader Bennie Moten died of complications after a tonsillectomy in 1935, many alumni from his group followed pianist Count Basie in forming a new band. They were joined by a new tenor saxophone player, Lester Young, who would soon become a legend. With a stellar line-up of the best Kansas City had to offer, all the pieces were in place for greatness. And it would not be long in coming.
Their first recording session, and the first ever for Lester Young, was produced for Vocalion by John Hammond in October 1936. The band had already been signed to the competing Decca record label, so they recorded under the name “Smith-Jones, Incorporated” (named for trumpeter Carl Smith and drummer Jonathan “Jo” Jones). One of the tracks was “Lady, Be Good,” and it would prove a stunning debut. It starts with just Basie on piano, Walter Page on bass and Jo Jones on drums. Page’s subtle, eight-to-the-bar rhythm is perfectly steady while being utterly fluid and alive, and Basie’s minimalistic approach to soloing is riveting. Then Young enters on tenor sax and redefines the instrument’s role in jazz. Whereas the top tenor player of the day, Coleman Hawkins, had established the saxophone as a lead instrument with his straight-ahead, virtuoso playing, Young takes a more relaxed but no less swinging approach, creating a smooth sound that floats gracefully and speaks directly to the soul. Carl Smith takes a turn soloing with muted trumpet, and then the band wraps things up with an amazing finale that transitions from an amazing duet between Basie and Page to an even more amazing one where Smith plays staccato bursts beside Young’s transcendent saxophone.
~ You may also like: Count Basie and His Orchestra, “Doggin’ Around” (Decca 1965, 1938)
By the time Basie’s band made its first recordings for Decca in January 1937, it had grown from a small group to a full orchestra. One of their first singles was “Boogie Woogie (I May Be Wrong),” a song inspired by the music of boogie woogie blues pioneer Pine Top Smith. While the song’s structure is based on boogie woogie, it takes liberties with the format in translating it to a big band setting. Basie interjects a few passages of straight boogie woogie piano, but through most of the song he plays in his typical, spare style, creating open spaces where a few well-placed notes can speak volumes. Likewise, the rhythm section keeps an eight-to-the-bar rhythm through much of the song, but adopts a more relaxed pace during the vocals. Those vocals, by Jimmy Rushing, are the real showcase of the song and are wickedly amusing: “She got ways like a devil, she shaped like a frog / Start to lovin’ me, I holler ‘Ooo God-dog!’” Rushing, known as “Mr. Five by Five” (five feet tall and five feet wide), had the perfect style for Basie’s kind of jazz: boisterous and bluesy at its core, but polished and nuanced enough on the surface for jazz.
~ You may also like: Count Basie and His Orchestra featuri Jimmy Rushing, “Stop Beatin’ Round the Mulberry Bush” (Decca 2004, 1938)
Basie and company had their first nation-wide hit with “One O’Clock Jump
~ You may also like: Count Basie and His Orchestra, “Topsy” (Decca 1770, 1938)
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