Eddie Lockjaw Davis - The Chronological Classics: 1948-1952 '2005

Tracks list

Tracklist

01. Happy Birthday (2:32)
02. Black Pepper (2:39)
03. Jumpin with Maxie-Waxie (2:48)
04. Randys Boogie (2:33)
05. In the Dozens (2:45)
06. Sure Like to Run (2:27)
07. Shes My Baby (2:37)
08. Notoriety Woman (2:26)
09. Mountain Oysters (2:41)
10. Huckle Boogie (2:46)
11. Intermission Riff (3:16)
12. This Is Always (3:15)
13. Lockjaw Goes Latin (2:41)
14. How High the Moon (3:04)
15. Im Gonna Eat You with a Spoon (2:42)
16. Little Rock (Sweet and Lovely) (3:21)
17. If the Motif Is Right (3:28)
18. The Lock (Squattin) (3:26)
19. My Blue Heaven (2:34)
20. Please Dont Talk About Me When Im Gone (2:46)
21. Bewitched (2:50)
22. Blues in My Heart (2:44)
23. Theres No You (2:44)
24. Slow Squat (2:37)
25. Hey Lock (3:11)
26. Im an Old Cowhand from the Rio Grande (3:10)

The Classics Chronological Series presents the second installment in the
complete recordings of Eddie Lockjaw Davis. This grab bag of historical rarities
opens with a slightly giddy jump version of Happy Birthday, punctuated with
periodic birthday wishes shrieked by the band. Lockjaw prefaces the tune with a
bit of nonchalant patter and ends it with a kiss! This rowdy novelty and three
subsequent blowing tracks from the same 1948 session were originally released on
the Sittin in With record label. Supported by a solid ensemble including
trumpet, trombone, and alto and baritone saxophones, Jaws turns in some of his
best toothy playing, most satisfyingly on the gutsy Randys Boogie. The next four
tracks, recorded March 17, 1949, for the Regent record label, feature somewhat
sloppy rasping R&B vocals by Chicago Carl Davis, billed here as King Karl. Two
gutbucket King recordings made six months later have ensemble vocals praising
the virtues of boogie-woogie and braised hog testicles. This hot little group
had Bill Doggett at the piano and Kansas City Jo Jones behind the drums. Four
sides recorded for the Domino label before the end of 1949 signal a welcome
return to honest early modern jazz. Although the enclosed discography fails to
identify the composer, theres little doubt that Intermission Riff was written by
trumpeter Ray Wetzel. The version heard here is extraordinarily solid and
groovy. It is followed with a gorgeous ballad, a spicy Caribbean jam, and a
soaring version of How High the Moon with a very funny vocal by an unidentified
singer who sounds a lot like Babs Gonzales. Husky-voiced Carl Davis returns to
the Lockjaw Davis discography on two of four titles cut for the Birdland record
label in February of 1950. The two instrumentals, Little Rock and especially The
Lock, are marvelous examples of this saxophonists early maturity. And get this:
the backing band had guitarist Al Casey and 18-year-old Wynton Kelly at the
piano. The rest of the material reissued here consists of eight Royal Roost
recordings made in New York during the year 1952. Both of these Roost sessions
were early examples of the organ combo, a configuration that Lockjaw Davis would
help to establish over the years. These tracks are prime examples of early organ
groove music with either Bill Doggett or Billy Taylor at the keyboard, Freddie
Green sitting in on guitar, and the combined genius of Oscar Pettiford and
Shadow Wilson.

Related artists