[Dixielandjazz] Jump Blues -" Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens."

[Steven Holzer]

I've gone back to what seems to be the start of this Jump Blues thread. 
I'm certianly happy to see the recognition it has generated for Louis 
Prima and louis jordan, both of whom are favoritesof mine. I am 
surprised, however, that such a discussion can take place without any 
mention of Cab calloway or Nat King Cole. 

Cab was mining the "jive" vein of swing throughout the thirties and gave 
us such jump/rock precursors as "Straighten Up And Fly Right" and 
"Jumpin' Jive". Not a small group setting, for sure, but certainly 
spiritually related to all that came later.

People who remember Nat Cole primarily for silky smooth love ballads may 
be surprised to learn that he came to the world first as a highly 
influential pianist and that many of his earliest recordings were 
distinctly in the jump vein. Check out his work with Eddie Cole (his 
brother) and his Solid Senders and with the early King Cole trio.  These 
were the direct inspiration for Johnny Moore's Three Blazers, Charles 
Brown, and eventually Ray Charles, whose recordings showed a heavy Cole 
influence before he tumbled on the soul approach that made him a legend.

Hit That Jive, Jack!

Steve Holzer.

Steve Barbone wrote:

>Dan Augustine ds.augustine at mail.utexas.edu wrote
>(when questioned by Pat Ladd about not knowing the song "Ain't Nobody Here
>But us Chickens.
>
>  
>
>>Well (ahem), yes, i am rather newer than some of the  superannuated growlers on
>>this list . . .
>>    
>>
>
>
>Hi Dan: 
>
>This song and hundreds like it emerged after WW 2 as a "Jump Blues" genre.
>Popular OKOM performers in the genre were Louis Jordan and Louis Prima.
>
>They were a precursor to Rock & Roll and us old farts on the list remember
>well the power of jump blues, the DANCE MUSIC OF THE LATE 1940s THROUGH THE
>50s. Yep, Dixieland was art music, played now for listening and so the kids
>danced to Jump Blues.
>
>"Who could forget the power and feeling of "Big Joe" Turner, Louis Jordan,
>Wynonie Harris, Roy Brown, T-Bone Walker, Louis Prima and B.B. King. It was
>a happening' thang. JUMP had it all - it was (and is) able to blend many
>different musical styles, colors & textures. It is a canvas upon which one
>is able to paint clear and pure, color with tone. Many, were the times that
>the great artists from the orchestras of Count Basie and Duke Ellington
>would sit in on these small combo settings during recording sessions. Surely
>this was due to their love for the simplicity, purity and clarity of the
>Jump sound. One artist that was a part of that era is tenor sax player "Big
>Jay" McNeely." 
>
>It derived in part, from the Kansas City Sound of the late 30s, early 40s.
>
>Then, of course, in the 50s, ELVIS picked up on Jump Blues. It is what he
>sings on his first recordings. And Bob Wills and the Texas Playboys made it
>a country thang. Etc., etc., etc.
>
>Yep, Jump Blues. If the old farts (like Pat Ladd and me) on the list who
>were older than 15 in 1950, (Pat and I were older) don't remember jump
>blues, and "Ain't Nobody Here But Us Chickens", they must have either been
>nerds, or without a radio or TV.
>
>So much music, so little time.
>
>Cheers,
>Steve Barbone
>
>
>_______________________________________________
>Dixielandjazz mailing list
>Dixielandjazz at ml.islandnet.com
>http://ml.islandnet.com/mailman/listinfo/dixielandjazz
>
>
>  
>