Boss of the Blues (CD)

A monumental figure in American music, Kansas City-born Big Joe Turner started performing in the late 1920s as a band singer for Bennie Moten, Count Basie, and others. Over the next couple of decades Turner helped define the boogie-woogie and jump-blues styles, alongside the likes of Meade Lux Lewis and Willie "the Lion" Smith. In the early '50s, he laid down the template for rock & roll with such tracks as "Shake, Rattle & Roll," his style providing an enormous influence on the first generation of rock & roll artists (many of whom covered the songs Turner made famous). A giant of jazz, blues, and rock & roll, Turner continued to perform all three well into the '70s, passing away in 1985.

• Category:  Music  »  Blues  »  Modern Urban Blues
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: March 14, 2006
• Label: Collectables
• UPC: 090431632727
• WAPI (Tower ID): 106405959
• Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #85320 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #1966 in Blues (See Top 100 Blues Bestsellers)
• #99 in Modern Urban Blues (See Top 100 Modern Urban Blues Bestsellers)

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Personnel: Big Joe Turner (vocals); Freddie Green (guitar); Pete Brown (alto saxophone); Seldon Powell, Frank Wess (tenor saxophone); Joe Newman, Jimmy Nottingham (trumpet); Lawrence Brown (trombone); Pete Johnson (piano); Walter Page (bass); Cliff Leeman (drums).

Originally released on Atlantic (1234). Includes liner notes by Whitney Balliett.

Widely considered to be one of Big Joe Turner's finest albums, 1956's THE BOSS OF THE BLUES finds the hefty Missouri-born singer working through the blues in Kansas City jazz style. Turner is reunited with his old partner from the '30s and '40s, pianist Pete Johnson, making this a particularly poignant recording. As in their earlier days, Turner's booming voice and Johnson's boogie-tinged piano lines complement each other perfectly, as best revealed on lightly swinging reworkings of signature tunes such as "Low Down Dog" and "Wee Baby Blues." These songs were notable departures from Turner's proto-rock-&-roll hits of that era ("Shake, Rattle and Roll," "Honey Hush," etc.), proving that he was equally at home with blues, jazz, and (what would become) rock. In addition to the stellar performances by Turner and Johnson, BOSS also features a tight backing ensemble consisting of veterans of Count Basie's band, including tenor saxophonist Frank Wess and trumpeter Joe Newman.

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