1. Farm House Blues
2. Black Gal Make It Thunder
3. Mama's Got 'Em
4. The Folks Downstairs
5. That's My Business
6. Steppin' on the Gas
7. Function Blues
8. When Grandpa Steps Out
9. Forty Blues
10. Sugar Dew Blues
11. Carolina Stomp
12. Messin' Around
13. My Baby
14. Nicaragua Blues
15. A Good Man Is Hard to Find
16. Ain't Gonna Run You Down
17. Comin' Home Blues
18. I Won't Give You None
19. Underworld Blues
Jimmy Blythe - Piano
Despite his comparatively short life (he died
around the age of 30), Jimmy Blythe was an
influential figure in the Chicago of the 1920s.
He played with such people as Johnny Dodds,
Ma Rainey and Blind Blake, as well as recording
with several bands of his own, with distinctive
names like Blythe's Owls, Blythe's Sinful
Five, the Washboard Ragamuffins and the Dixieland
Thumpers. He is also creditced with being
one of the pioneers of boogie-woogie piano,
as you can hear in the first two tracks on
this CD, which consists of piano rolls that
Blythe made for use in nickelodeons (coin-operated
pianos).
Despite the boogie-woogie style of the first
two tracks, most items here use the left hand
for a strong stride rhythm, while the right
hand plays the themes and decorates them.
Many of the tunes have a similar rhythm, so
that a feeling of sameyness creeps in after
hearing several tunes, but there is no doubting
the authenticity and historical interest of
these performances. Most numbers are imbued
with the blues and have the vigour of ragtime,
making for an intriguing mix of down-home
styles.
Tony
Augarde
CD Reviews
Delmark
DE 792
