The Later Years 1953-1957

Performer: Louis Jordan
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Personnel: Louis Jordan (vocals, alto saxophone); Dorothy Smith (vocals); Bert Payne, Irving Ashby, Mickey Baker (guitar); Johnny Kirkwood (saxophone, drum); Dave McRae, Jerome Richardson, Maurice Simon (saxophone); Budd Johnson (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Sam Taylor, Lowell 'Count' Hastings, Austin Powell (tenor saxophone); Ernie Royal, Robert Mitchell (trumpet); Jimmy Clevaland (trombone); Chester Lane, Ernie Hayes (piano); Jackie Davis (organ); Thurber Jay, Wendell Marshall, Billy Hadnott (bass instrument); Charlie Persip, Marvin Oliver, Frank Cirillo (drum); Francisco Pozo, Rafael Miranda (bongos, percussion). While he never quite gets enough credit, alto saxophonist/singer Louis Jordan was one of the fathers of rhythm & blues and rock & roll. Emerging from a jazz background (Chick Webb's big band), Jordan infused a scaled-down version of big band swing with fast-tempo blues and came up with jump blues, a joyous, upbeat style that laid the foundations for the mid-`50s revolution. LATER YEARS finds Jordan competing with the sounds that he helped to create, as well as revisiting some of his biggest hits from the `40s--"Caldonia" and "Saturday Night Fish Fry," along with some pop and jazz standards. While Jordan's popularity slipped during these years, he still had the right stuff--his recordings delivered the goods, and thusly, so does the two-CD LATER

The most successful and influential purveyor of saxophone-driven jump blues, Louis Jordan was also one of the crucial transitional figures between the swing era and R&B. Although he started out mainly as a saxophonist with bandleaders such as Bessie Smith, Chick Webb, and Louis Armstrong, he found a niche singing blues and novelty tunes. After a string of hits throughout the 1940s, Jordan eventually found himself outpaced by the very rock & roll he had helped inspire.

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