Witherspoon's Blues Begin on Rip
Singin' the Blues catches Jimmy Witherspoon with a band of West Coast swingers, letting the blues breathe in a relaxed, unhurried way.
The Wikipedia record for this session names a working band rather than a studio story, so the room itself is not something I can describe with confidence. What is documented is the roster: Harry Edison and Gerald Wilson on trumpet, Teddy Edwards and Jimmy Allen on tenor saxophone, Henry McDode and Hampton Hawes on piano, Herman Mitchell on rhythm guitar, Jimmy Hamilton on bass, and Jimmy Miller on drums. That is a sturdy group of Los Angeles players, and it shapes the sound. Witherspoon sings over a band that knows how to swing without crowding him.
The album came out on Rip Records in 1956, and World Pacific reissued it in 1958. That second release mattered more than the first. It drew enough notice that the organizers of the 1959 Monterey Jazz Festival booked Witherspoon, which turned a regional blues singer into a name on a national jazz stage.
As a listening experience, this is a record for anyone who likes Witherspoon's warm, conversational baritone with a tight horn section behind it. It is not his most famous work, and I would not start there. It is a solid document of his West Coast years, and it makes sense once you already know his voice.
Where next?
More by Jimmy Witherspoon
All 27 albums →
