Jump bluesis anup-tempostyle ofblues,jazz,andboogie woogieusually played by small groups and featuring horn instruments. It was popular in the 1940s and was a precursor ofrhythm and bluesandrock and roll.[2]Appreciation of jump blues was renewed in the 1990s as part of theswing revival.
| Jump blues | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1930s, U.S. |
| Fusion genres | |
Origins
edit
Jump blues evolved from the music ofbig bandssuch as those ofLionel HamptonandLucky Millinderin the early 1940s which produced musicians such asLouis Jordan,Jack McVea,Earl Bostic,andArnett Cobb.[3]Jordan was the most popular of the jump blues stars; other artists who played the genre includeRoy Brown,Amos Milburn,andJoe Liggins,as well as sax soloists Jack McVea,Big Jay McNeely,andBull Moose Jackson.Hits included singles such as Jordan's "Saturday Night Fish Fry",Roy Brown's"Good Rockin' Tonight"and Big Jay McNeely's" Deacon's Hop ".[4]
One important stylistic prototype in the development of R&B was jump blues, pioneered by Louis Jordan, with... His Tympany Five... three horns and a rhythm section, while stylistically his music melded elements of swing and blues, incorporating the shuffle rhythm, boogie-woogie bass lines, and short horn patterns or riffs. The songs featured the use of African American vernacular language, humor, and vocal call-and-response sections between Jordan and the band. Jordan’s music appealed to both African American and white audiences, and he had broad success with hit songs like "Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby" (1944).[5]
Bluesandjazzwere part of the same musical world, with many musicians straddling both genres.[6]Jump bands such as theTympany Five,which came into being at the same time as theboogie-woogierevival, achieved maximum effect with an eight-to-the-bar boogie-woogie style.[7]
Jordan's "raucous recordings" with the Tympany Five like "Saturday Night Fish Fry",one of the first to feature a distorted electric guitar,[8]"literally made its listeners jump to its pulsing beat".[9]At least two other Jordan records are viewed as jump blues, "Caldonia"and"Choo Choo Ch'Boogie".[10]Jordan's jump blues combined good-natured novelty lyrics (some with suggestive double meanings); pushing the tempo; strengthening the beat; layering the sound with his bluesy saxophone and playful melodies.[11]
Lionel Hamptonrecorded the stomping big-band blues song "Flying Home"in 1942.[2]Featuring a choked, screamingtenor saxperformance byIllinois Jacquet,the song was a hit in the "race"category.[4][12]Billboarddescribed "Flying Home" as "an unusually swingy side...with a bright bounce in the medium tempo and a steady drive maintained, it's a jumper that defies standing still".
Both Hampton and Jordan combined the popular boogie-woogie rhythm, a grittier version of swing-era saxophone styles as exemplified byColeman HawkinsandBen Webster,and playful, humorous lyrics or verbal asides laced withjive talk.[12]
As this urban, jazz-based music became more popular, musicians who wanted to "play for the people" began favoring a heavy, insistent beat. which appealed to black listeners who no longer wished to be identified with "life down home".[13]
Jump groups, employed to play forjitterbugdances at a much lower cost than big bands, became popular with agents and ballroom owners. The saxophonist Art Chaney said "[w]e were insulted when an audience wouldn't dance".[7]
Jump was especially popular in the late 1940s and early 1950s, through artists such asLouis Jordan,Big Joe Turner,Roy Brown,Charles Brown,Helen Humes,T-Bone Walker,Roy Milton,Billy Wright,Wynonie Harris,Louis Prima,andSonny TerryandBrownie McGhee.[2][14]Less frequently mentioned,Goree Carteralso recorded some jump blues; his "Rock Awhile"is said byRobert Palmerto be an appropriate candidate for the title offirst rock and roll record.[15]
By the mid-1950s, jump blues had been all but forgotten, with a few exceptions such as "Five Guys Named Moe" and some songs from the 1980s, bythe Honeydrippers.[4]
The term "rock and roll" had a strong sexual connotation in jump blues and R&B, but by the time DJAlan Freedreferred to rock and roll in the mid 1950s, "the sexual component had been dialled down enough that it simply became an acceptable term for dancing".[16]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^Bogdanov, Vladimir; Woodstra, Chris; Erlewine, Stephen Thomas.All Music Guide to Country: The Definitive Guide to Country Music.p. 912
- ^abcdDu Noyer, Paul (2003).The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music.Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 170.ISBN1-904041-96-5.
- ^Dietsche, pp. 9–10.
- ^abcConsidine, J. D. (5 December 1993)."The missing link in the evolution of rock and roll JUMP BLUES".The Baltimore Sun.Retrieved23 February2021.
- ^Puryear, Mark."Tell It Like It is: A History of Rhythm and Blues | Smithsonian Folklife".Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage.Archived fromthe originalon 2020-10-25.Retrieved2021-02-21.
- ^Wald, p. 198.
- ^abDietsche, p. 9.
- ^Dawson, Jim;Propes, Steve(1992).What Was the First Rock 'N' Roll Record?.Boston & London: Faber and Faber.ISBN0-571-12939-0.
- ^"Louis Jordan: 'Jukebox King'".NPR.March 4, 2008.Retrieved23 February2021.
- ^Perone, James E.,Listen to the Blues! Exploring a Musical Genre,ABC-CLIO, 2019 (ISBN9781440866159), p. 93.
- ^"Jump Blues – Grandfather of Rock 'n' Roll".Ampopmusic.Retrieved23 February2021.
- ^abPalmer, p. 134.
- ^Palmer, p. 146.
- ^O’Neal, Jim (November 10, 2016)."Big Joe Turner".Blues.org.Retrieved23 February2021.
- ^Lomax, John Nova (December 1, 2014)."Roll Over, Ike Turner".Texas Monthly.Retrieved19 December2022.
Citing its unmistakable resemblance to Chuck Berry's later work, its lyrical instruction to "rock awhile," and the way the guitar crackled through an overdriven amp
- ^"The unexpected origins of music's most well-used terms".BBC.October 12, 2018.RetrievedFebruary 22,2021.
its meaning covering both sex and dancing
Further reading
edit- Cohn, Lawrence; Humphrey, Mark A. (1993).Nothing but the Blues: The Music and the Musicians.Abbeville Press.ISBN1-55859-271-7.
- Dietsche, Robert (2005).Jumptown: The Golden Years of Portland Jazz, 1942–1957.Oregon State University Press.ISBN0-87071-114-8.
- Palmer, Robert(1981).Deep Blues: A Musical and Cultural History of the Mississippi Delta.Viking Adult.ISBN978-0-670-49511-5.
- Wald, Elijah(2004).Escaping the Delta: Robert Johnson and the Invention of the Blues.HarperCollins.ISBN0-06-052423-5.
External links
edit- Richie Unterberger:Jump Bluesat AllMusic.Archived2011-08-29 at theWayback Machine