Black Bottom

Performer: Ma Rainey
Artist: Fletcher Henderson; Coleman Hawkins; Georgia Tom Dorsey; Tampa Red; Buster Bailey
Producer: Mike Berniker; Nick Perls
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Personnel: Ma Rainey (vocals); Ma Rainey; Charlie Dixon (banjo); Artie Starks, Jimmy O'Bryant (clarinet); Harris (alto saxophone, tenor saxophone); Howard Scott , Joe "Fox" Smith , Shirley Clay (cornet); Al Wynn, Charlie Green (trombone); Jimmy Blake, Jimmy Blythe (piano); Joseph "Kaiser" Marshall (drums); Tampa Red (guitar); Miles Pruitt (12-string guitar); Don Redman, Buster Bailey (clarinet); Coleman Hawkins (bass saxophone); Tommy Ladnier (cornet); Kid Ory (trombone); Claude Hopkins, Fletcher Henderson, Georgia Tom Dorsey, Lovie Austin (piano). Liner Note Author: Stephen Calt. Appointed "Mother of the Blues" during her '20s heyday, singer Ma Rainey was one of the best of the many classic female blues singers of the period. An inspiration to the "Empress of the Blues," Bessie Smith, Rainey was a Georgia native who was discovered in Chicago during the early '20s. While not the possessor of a voice as powerful as Smith's, Rainey still cut a slew of strong sides featuring a fine blend of country blues intensity and jazz-band sophistication. This excellent Yazoo collection captures Rainey in her prime from 1924-1928. Backed by large combos and minimal guitar and piano tandems, Rainey shines on such highlights as "Booze and Blues," "Shave 'Em Dry," and "Lucky Rock Blues." Topped off with stellar contributions by blues and jazz luminaries like Don Redman, Coleman Hawkins, Kid Ory, and Georgia Tom Dorsey, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom makes for an excellent introduction to blues singer's small but potent catalog. ~ Stephen Cook

One of the earliest blues singers, and one of the first to record, Georgia-born Ma Rainey pretty much created the template for vocal-oriented piano blues. She started making records towards the beginning of the recording era in the '20s, but she had in fact been performing since the first decade of the century. Rainey's style was more sophisticated than the Delta sound that dominated blues in the '30s. She was often accompanied by some of the finest early jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong and Kid Ory, and her style owed as much to New Orleans jazz and ragtime as it did to what we think of as blues today. Hugely influential, she has been a key inspiration to generation upon generation of blues singers, both male and female.

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