Bessie Smith, Any Woman’s Blues, 1970 on Columbia
This is was the second in a series of five 2xLP releases on Columbia in 1970-1972 that covered Smith’s recordings for the label.
These recordings were made between September 1923 and March 1930, all recorded in New York. Piano by Fletcher Henderson, Clarence Williams, Irving Johns, James Price Johnson, and Jimmy Jones. Other musicians include Don Redman (clarinet), Eddie Lang (guitar), Garvin Bushnell (alto sax, clarinet, soprano sax), Ed Allen (cornet), Arville Harris (tenor sax), Cyrus St. Clair (tuba), Charlie Green (trombone), and Louis Bacon (trumpet).
Technical restoration by Larry Hiller and liner notes by Chris Albertson (author of Bessie).
Great set of early Bessie Smith recordings in mono.
My copy, via Academy Records in NYC, is a 1970 pressing
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Back in 2023 I posted an item marking the first appearance of Louis Armstrong on record with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band back in 1923. Now it’s time to mark another jazz centenary which also involves Satchmo but in a different setting. King Oliver’s band split up at the end of 1923 over a disagreement about a planned nationwide tour and in 1924 Louis Armstrong moved to New York. He was soon snapped up by Fletcher Henderson and spent a glorious year as star trumpet soloist with Henderson’s big band. During that time he also made records with various small bands, including a number with the great vocalist and “Mother of the Blues” Gertrude “Ma” Rainey.
One of the tracks recorded by Ma Rainey in the Paramount studio in New York was called See See Rider. Although not released until 1925, the very first recording of this number was made exactly one hundred years ago today, on 16th October 1924, by “Ma Rainey and her Georgia Jazz Band”, the supporting musicians being Charlie Dixon (Banjo), Buster Bailey (Clarinet), Charlie Green (Trombone), Fletcher Henderson (Piano) and Louis Armstrong (Cornet). The origins of this blues song are lost in the mists of time but it has been recorded a huge number of times, not only by jazz and blues musicians but also by the likes of Elvis Presley; I posted a great version by Peggy Lee here.
Unusually for the time, two takes were made of which the following was the first. Notice that there is an introduction in the form of a verse, which is quite unusual: most blues performances involve only a chorus. Despite the limitations of recording technology at the time you can hear what a tremendously soulful voice Ma Rainey had, and the muted cornet work by Louis Armstrong is unmistakable.
The sound quality may not be great, but it’s a priceless piece of music history.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=he9T0R0OCIA
https://telescoper.blog/2024/10/16/a-century-of-see-see-rider/
#Blues #FletcherHenderson #GertrudeMaRainey #Jazz #LouisArmstrong #MaRainey #music #SeeSeeRider
Fletcher Henderson (18.12.1897 - 29.12.1952)
"Tidal Wave" von 1925 mit dem jungen Coleman Hawkins am Tenorsaxophon:
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