St. Louis Blues Archive

Joe Turner – The Boss Of The Blues – Atlantic Records (1956) /Pure Pleasure (2015)

by Audiophile Audition | Feb 25, 2016 | SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Joe Turner – The Boss Of The Blues – Atlantic Records (1956)/Pure Pleasure PPAN 1234 (2015), 44:49 mono vinyl *****: This is a perfect mixture of blues and jazz! (Joe Turner – vocals; Joe Newman – trumpet; Lawrence Brown – trombone; Pete Brown – alto saxophone; Frank Weiss – tenor saxophone; Pete Johnson – piano; Freddie Green – guitar; Walter Page – bass; Cliff Leeman – drums; Jimmy Nottingham – trumpet; Sheldon Powell – tenor saxophone) The genesis of rock and roll can be traced to converted R&B players like Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley. They amalgamated blues, gospel and jazz to form a populist, rollicking free-for-all genre that has lasted six decades. Quintessential rockers have paid tribute to the early pioneers, especially blues artists. Notable performers like The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton and Bonnie Raitt did their best to sustain this legacy, often recording and touring with their heroes. But even the rock and roll legends have a common thread to the past.  A lot of blues and jump swing artists learned their craft from jazz, and in particular big band jazz. Possibly the greatest link between jazz/blues and rock and roll is Big […]