JACK MCVEA
McVoutie's Central Avenue Blues
Delmark
DE-756

ILLINOIS JACQUET
Jumpin' At Apollo
Delmark
DE-538


Conservative musicians and writers denounced avant gardists of the early 1960s for their so-called ant-jazz conception. What seemed to bother them the most was the freak notes and overblowing produced by the majority of hornmen.

If they had known more about jazz history, they would have realized that this sort of extrovert style was at least two decades old by that point, having been introduced by tenor saxophonist Illinois Jacquet on Lionel Hampton's "Flying Home" in 1942. In the years following that, non-standard playing was refined -- if that's the right word -- by a raft of musicians, usually saxophonists, who straddled the line between jazz and R&B.

Two of the earliest were Jacquet himself and the less-known Jack McVea, who are showcased on these Delmark reissues from the Apollo catalogue. Featuring such celebrated or soon-to-be celebrated sidemen as trumpeter Joe Newman, bassist Charles Mingus and baritone saxophonist Leo Parker, Jacquet's JUMPIN' At APOLLO is an object lesson in how much jazz flavor existed in these prototypical jump blues sessions.

While all 23 selections in the first CD were recorded in 1945, McVea's 23 tunes were waxed (!) in 1945, 1946 and 1947. Someone whose life almost paralleled 20th century jazz, Los Angeles-born McVea (1914-2000) began as a banjo player, then was in the sax section of several swing bands, including Hampton's, played the first Jazz At The Philharmonic concerts with Jacquet and scored a massive R&B hit with "Open The Door Richard". That was just in the 1940s. During that time and for years afterwards McVea and his band did studio sessions with most of the top West Coast blues vocalists, some of whom are featured on this disc. McVea, who got his McVoutie moniker from Slim Galliard on a session they both did with Charlie Parker -- yes he was that good -- ended his career playing clarinet in a Dixieland combo at Disneyland.

Ironically enough, McVea's closest colleague on these sessions is trumpeter Teddy Buckner, another Swing-era musician who moved from jump blues/R&B to playing in Dixieland aggregations before his death. His muted obliggatos meld well with McVea's sensuous, low-pitched tenor sax tone on many of the numbers. However it's the obscure trumpeter Jesse Perdie who is the brass standout, using his plunger mute to express real feelings on a group of tunes that also features future Count Basie mainstay Marshall Royal on alto. Pianists Bob Mosley and Jimmy Shackleton individually shine on two different boogie woogie features, and guitarist Gene Phillips shows off some sophisticated blues chording.

There are very early examples of accompaniment from Mingus and tenor saxist Lucky Thompson, who sits in for McVea on a couple of tracks. Meanwhile, backed by most of the rest of the band -- including an extroverted Buckner -- tenor sax man Wild Bill Moore takes near rock'n'roll solo on "Boulevard Boogie". Later fame came to this wildman for his work on Marvin Gaye's "What's Goin' On" album.

Of the various blues singers featured, Cee Pee Johnson is humorous with his "The 'G' Man Got the 'T' Man"; Duke Henderson is passable; and band drummer Rabon Tarrant with 11 numbers, does fine on the rhythm pieces, but is no Billy Eckstine when it comes to the ballads. The vocalists' weaknesses are pretty apparent on the two numbers dominated by the exciting Wynonie Harris, an original R&B shouter who had hits all the way into the early 1960s.
Harris, in fine fettle, is featured on two typically overwrought and exuberant blues numbers on the Jacquet disc as well. Also, Jacquet's elder brother Rusell sings one blues, definitely proving that his skill lay with the trumpet playing he confined himself to elsewhere. Unfortunately, Basie band star Newman, is on the other tunes, easily showing how Midwestern swing, blues and bop could mingle in his style. A few tunes, including a bounding version of "Jumpin' At The Woodside" even feature Basie's closest aide-de-camp, guitarist Freddie Greene, as well as future Louis Armstrong All Star trombonist Trummy Young, who puts in more modern work than you would expect. Future experimentalist Mingus plus drummers Denzil Best and Shadow Wilson among others aren't particularly distinctive, but keep the beat on an even keel.

Four numbers, including an early reading of his own famous "Robins' Nest" show off Sir Charles Thompson's mainstream-to-modern piano style, but the biggest revelation here is the consistent work of pianist Bill Doggett. A decade away from "Honky Tonk" his hit, organ-driven, early rock'n'roll instrumental, Doggett reveals himself as a deluxe keyboardist capable of bluesy asides and swinging interludes.

As for Jacquet, although he was still only in his early twenties then -- he 79 now -- he already was a lot more than a purveyor of the so-called freak notes that advanced his early fame, but they certainly boost the excitement level many times here. As well as symbolically presaging 1960s' New Thing with effects, he has as fine as grasp of call-and-response tin blues and rhythm playing as any Texas-raised tenor and caresses the set's ballads with a masterful warm, fuzzy tone in the same league as Coleman Hawkins.

Considering the era they were recorded in both discs have surprisingly clean and upfront sound, except for one track on the Jacquet disc. While JUMPIN' has the edge for jazz content, MCVOUTIE'S is a notable example of West Coast jump blues. Both are a lot of fun and should impress many people, even those who think music was born in the 1960s.


-- Ken Waxman


Track Listing McVoutie's Central Avenue Blues: 1. O-Kay For Baby 2. Listen Baby Blues* 3. Opus Boogie*&! 4. It Never Should Have Been This Way* 5. Gone With The Wind+ 6. Baby Look At You+ 7. Don't Blame Me 8. Boulevard Blues$ 9. Blues This Morning*&! 10. We're Together Again* 11. Naggin' Woman Blues* 12. The "G" Man Got The "T" Man& 13. Tarrant Blues* 14. Blues All Night* 15. I Live True To You* 16.B Flat Boogie@ 17. Then I've Got To Go* 18. I'll Be True*@^ 19. Wiggle Wiggle Woogie=@%! 20. Love Will Get You Down*@%! 21. Hey Hey Baby*@^ 22. Don't Blame Me 23. O-Kay For Baby (Alternate)

Track Listing Jumpin' At Apollo: 1. Diggin' The Count& 2. Bottoms Up (78) 3. Ghost of a Chance 4. South Street Special (LP)& 5. Jacquet Bounce^ 6. Robbins' Nest& 7. Jumpin' At Apollo^ 8. What's This 9. Memories of You 10. Music Hall Beat& 11. Jumpin' At The Woodside (78)& 12. Merle's Mood 13. She's Funny That Way^ 14. 12 Minutes To Go (78)^ 15. Wondering and Thinking of You* 16. Here Comes The Blues+ 17. Wynonie's Blues+ 18. Bottoms Up (LP) 19. 12 Minutes To Go (LP)^ 20. Merle's Mood (LP) 21. South Street Special (78)& 22. Jumpin' At The Woodside (LP)& 23. Jacquet Mood


Personnel McVoutie's Central Avenue Blues: Teddy Buckner [except tracks 3, 9, 16, 18, 19, 20], Karl George^, Jesse Perdie% (trumpet); George "Happy" Johnson (trombone)$; Gene Porter (clarinet)^; Marshall Royal%, Jewel Grant^, Edward Hale& (alto saxophone); Jack McVea (alto and tenor saxophone) [except tracks 8, 12, 18, 21]; Lucky Thompson^, W. Woodman Jr.&, Wild Bill Moore$ (tenor saxophone); Bob Mosley[tracks 1, 5, 6, 10, 13, 17, 22, 23] E. Brooks&, Wilbert Baranco [tracks 8, 18, 21], Jimmy Shackleton! (piano); Gene Phillips (guitar)[except 12, 16, 18, 21] ; Frank Clarke, D. Russell&, Shifty Henry$, Charles Mingus^ (bass); R. Ross&, Lee Young^ (drums); Rabon Tarrant (drums, vocals*); Cee Pee Johnson&; Wynonie Harris+ Duke Henderson =(vocals)

Personnel Jumpin' At Apollo: Russell Jacquet [tracks 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 23 and vocal*] Joe Newman [all other tracks], (trumpet); John Brown (alto saxophone) [tracks 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 23]; Illinois Jacquet (tenor saxophone); Arthur Dennis[tracks 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 23], Leo Parker (baritone saxophone) &; Sir Charles Thompson [tracks 1, 4, 6, 10, 11, 21, 22], Bill Doggett [all other tracks] (piano); Ulysses Livingston [tracks 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 23], Ulysses Livingston [tracks 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 23], Freddie Greene^ (guitar) Al Lucas&, Charles Mingus [tracks 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 23], John Simmons^ (bass); Shadow Wilson&, Denzil Best^, Al Wichard [tracks 2, 3, 8, 9, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 23] (drums); Wynonie Harris (vocals+)