The Unsung Blues Legend: The Living Room Sessions

Performer: Lonnie Johnson
Distributor: City Hall

Notes: Solo performer: Lonnie Johnson (vocals, guitar). Reissue producer: Jim Eigo. Recorded in Queens, New York in 1965. Includes liner notes by Bernie Strassberg. Digitally remastered by Malcolm Addey. New Orleans-bred guitarist/singer Lonnie Johnson is a seminal figure in American music. Johnson, one of the 1920s' first recorded jazz guitarists, played both blues and jazz brilliantly, and recorded with Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington and Helen Humes, while his songs were recorded by such luminaries as Big Joe Turner and Elvis Presley. This previously unreleased session, recorded in 1965 at the house of a friend/fan in Queens, New York, captures the master musician in an intimate and relaxed setting. Johnson has a mellow yet spirited voice, somewhat like B.B. King if he were a crooner, and, though it's not as innovative as his '20s/'30s work, his guitar playing glistens, combining Delta blues dexterity with urban savoir faire. The tunes are a surprising mix of originals ("New Orleans Blues"), blues gems (Bessie Smith's "Back Water Blues," "Jelly Jelly"), and Frank Sinatra (Ol' Blue Eyes' "This Love of Mine" and "September Song"). Though the recording quality is primitive by digital-age standards, it's still uniformly crisp and clear.

Entertainment Weekly (7/21/00, pp.78-9) - "...A major addition to the Johnson canon....[His] unaffected voice aches with feeling..." - Rating: B+ Down Beat (12/00, p.88) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...Every time Johnson's handsome but overwrought singing threatens to sink a tune, his guitar crackles with urgency and sets things right." JazzTimes (10/00, p.121) - "...A rarity in his lengthy discography....A fascinating document and revealing look at this fabulous interpreter of classic melodies..." Dirty Linen (4-5/01, pp.82-3) - "...Essential listening for blues/jazz aficionados....showing the guitarist at the end of his career...still in fine form..."

In contrast to such contemporary country blues musicians as Blind Lemon Jefferson and Charley Patton, guitarist Lonnie Johnson performed a sophisticated, jazz-inflected blues. Active throughout most of the 20th century, he left a profound imprint on blues history, influencing such diverse giants as Robert Johnson, T-Bone Walker, Charlie Christian, and B.B. King.

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