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

[Steve Barbone]

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