Street Date: June 17, 2008
Street Date: June 17, 2008
Byther Smith
Blues On The Moon
Delmark DVD 1796 CD DE 796
Byther Smith is a fighter, a scrapper, a hard
worker and a survivor. As a child in Monticello,
Mississippi he lost both his parents; his mother
when he was one year old and his father six
months later. Shipped off to Arizona as a young
man, Smitty took up boxing in part to deal with
the pain. "I had 69 amateur fights and I only
lost one." Smitty came to Chicago in the mid-'50s
and by the early '60s was playing at Theresa's
Lounge, where he backed Junior Wells. He also
worked with Big Mama Thornton, George "Harmonica"
Smith and Otis Rush. He recorded his first LP
for the Grits label in 1983, two for Bullseye
in the early '90s, and this is his fourth Delmark
CD - his first live album. DVD contains one
bonus track and Byther Smith commentary special
feature. Also available: Mississippi Kid
(Delmark 691), All Night Long (Delmark
708), Hold That Train (Delmark 774),
Junior Wells, Live at Theresa's 1975
(Delmark 787).
DVD: 038153179656 / CD: 038153079628
Corey Wilkes
Drop It
CD: Delmark DE 582
Jazz trumpeter Corey Wilkes burst on the Chicago
jazz scene in 2002. Corey took on the ghost of Lester
Bowie and filled the vacant seat in the Art Ensemble
of Chicago. Big shoes to fill for a new musician
but Corey isn't an ordinary musician. He began at
the age of 10, made the Illinois All State Honors
Jazz Combo in high school and honed his talent at
Berklee College of Music. His soulful notes can
be heard gracing a variety of projects such as DJ
sets by Logic, Osunlade and Josh Deep; tracks on
Hidden Beach's Unwrapped Vol. 4, also recorded with
Roscoe Mitchell, Art Ensemble, Tortoise, Ernest
Dawkins, Nicole Mitchell and Ethnic Heritage Ensemble's
Hot 'N' Heavy (Delmark DVD 1574, CD DE 574).
With Chelsea Baratz, tenor sax; Jabari Liu, alto
sax; Robert "Baabe" Irving III, piano and Fender
Rhodes; Junius Paul, bass; Jeremy "Bean" Clemmons,
drums. Drop It is Corey's debut CD as leader.
CD: 038153058227
Cy Touff &
Sandy Mosse
Tickle Toe
CD: Delmark DE 583
One of the few bass
trumpet specialists
in jazz history, Cy
Touff (1927-2003) was
a fixture in Chicago
for decades. Touff recorded
albums for Pacific Jazz
and Chess' Argo in the
'50s. He worked in the
studios, performed in
clubs and recorded with
Chubby Jackson and Lorez
Alexandria in 1957,
and with the group Hyde
Park After Dark in 1981.
Tenor saxophonist Sandy
Mosse (1929-1983) was
born in Detroit but
spent much of his American
playing time in Chicago.
He moved to Paris at
age 22 and recorded
historical sides in
the bands of Henri Renaud
and Django Rheinhardt.
He returned to Chicago
in '55 and recorded
for Argo. Touff and
Mosse co-led an octet
in the late '50s/early
'60s called Pieces of
Eight. Mosse relocated
to Amsterdam in the
late '70s where he spent
his last years. Tickle
Toe is a swinging
1981 date with John
Campbell, Kelly Sill
and Jerry Coleman.
CD: 038153058326
Willie "The Lion" Smith
& Don Ewell
Stride Piano Duets
CD: Delmark DE 249
Willie "The Lion" Smith in the 1920s was considered one of the big three of stride piano, along with James P. Johnson and Fats Waller. He was an influence on the young Duke Ellington. Although he was a braggart and (with his cigar and trademark derby hat) appeared to be a rough character, Smith was actually more colorful than menacing and a very sophisticated pianist. Because he remained active into the early '70s, Willie "The Lion" Smith was considered a living link to the glory days of early jazz. A major if underrated pianist, Don Ewell started leading his own trios in Baltimore in the mid-'30s; played during the New Orleans jazz revival (starting in the mid-'40s) and was with Jack Teagarden during 1957-1964. Ewell moved to New Orleans, where he worked regularly during his last years. This 1966 date, recorded live at the Golden Nugget in Toronto, features solo performances by Smith, Ewell and duets by the two.
CD: 038153024925
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