Memphis, Tennessee born blues singer and pianist John Len Chatman played the honky-tonk circuit of West Memphis, Arkansa and Missouri before landing in Chicago in 1939 where he teamed up with the guitarist and singer Big Bill Broonzy. He soon started making recordings under the name Memphis Slim.
In January 1961 Candid Records co-founder and A&R man Nat Hentoff assemble Slim, harmonica player Jazz Gillum, and guitarist Arbee Stidham in the Nola Penthouse Studios in New York City and rolled tape.
Captured here is a loose, musical conversation between the three musicians on departed blues artists that influenced them. Big Bill Broonzy, Leroy Carr, Cow Cow Davenport, Curtis Jones, Walter Davis, Roosevelt Sykes, Blind Blake, Washboard Sam, and Big Maceo, are all given the tip of the hat.
It’s true that Slim’s piano and Stidham’s guitar are both horribly out of tune. But what the sessions lack in perfection, they make up for with the respect and reverence for the music and the artists they pay tribute to. The sessions have a very real intimacy that unwinds like an easy musical reminiscence between three old friends.
Memphis Slim, Arbee Stidham, Jazz Gillum
Tracklisting
- I Feel So Good
- Rockin' Chair Blues
- Baby Gone
- Cow Cow Blues
- Miss Ida B.
- Forty-four Blues
- Trouble In Mind
- Worried Life Blues
- I Don't Want My Rooster Crowin' After The Sun Goes Down
- Lonesome In My Bedroom
- Diggin' My Potatoes
- In The Evenin'
You may also like...
-
Lightnin' In New York
Regular price From $0.00 USDRegular priceUnit price perLightnin' Hopkins
REMASTERED by Bernie Grundman
From Original Master Tapes
Shop Now
-
Otis Spann Is The Blues
Regular price From $0.00 USDRegular priceUnit price perOtis Spann
REMASTERED By Bernie Grundman
From Original Master Tapes
Shop Now
-
Memphis Slim, U.S.A
Regular price $0.00 USDRegular priceUnit price perMemphis Slim
Shop Now
-
Pagin' Mr. Jelly
Regular price $0.00 USDRegular priceUnit price perArt Hodes
Shop Now
