Roc Doc: Louis Jordan on Mercury 1956-1957 [PA]

Performer: Louis Jordan
Producer: Dave Penny; Joe Foster
Distributor: Infinity Entertainment Gr

Notes: Personnel: Louis Jordan (vocals, alto saxophone); Dorothea Smith (vocals, congas, background vocals); Irving Ashby, Mickey Baker (guitar); Budd Johnson (tenor saxophone, baritone saxophone); Sam "The Man" Taylor (tenor saxophone); Ernie Royal (trumpet); Jimmy Cleveland (trombone); Ernie Hayes (piano); Marvin Oliver, Charlie Persip (drums). Liner Note Authors: John Chilton; Dave Penny. Recording information: Los Angeles, CA (10/22/1956-08/29/1957); New York, NY (10/22/1956-08/29/1957). When Louis Jordan hitched up with Mercury for a brief stint in 1956 and 1957, his commercial fortunes were way in decline. The strategy hit upon as an attempt to revive his recording career was not one bound to find favor with critics when his catalog was reassessed in the decades to come. On Mercury, he'd concentrate on re-recording his jump blues classics, modernizing the arrangements somewhat with an eye for the then-exploding rock & roll market. This 28-track compilation has much of what he recorded for the label, taken from two LPs and various singles. As Dave Penny's sympathetic liner notes point out, it wasn't as crass an approach at the time as it might seem from a distance; the long-playing market had just emerged, and since Jordan's original hit singles were no longer in print, for a while this was the only way to hear Louis do these tunes on record at all. Now that those classic original jump blues versions are ready available, of course, these remakes can't help but seem not only less essential, but inessential. Inessential, however, doesn't mean that these were bad recordings by any means, even if no one should acquire these before getting the original versions. Jordan's performances were nothing if not professional and lively; the backing players were talented, including quite a few sides with Mickey Baker on guitar and Quincy Jones as musical director; and he did sprinkle some tunes into the sessions that weren't remakes of familiar old hits (though listeners should be aware that one of these tracks features Dottie Smith on vocals rather than Jordan himself). Still, those remakes of familiar old hits like "Saturday Night Fish Fry" and "Caldonia" couldn't compete with the prototypes, and Baker didn't let loose on guitar as much as he could have, though he'll occasionally burn it up, especially on "Caldonia." If this was all that survived of Jordan as a recording artist, the material would be viewed more kindly, since his considerable abilities as a jump bluesman and R&B singer are well in evidence, and he wasn't all that bad even when the arrangements kowtowed to rock & roll trends. But viewed within the context of his entire discography, this has to be considered a lower-priority item, and one mostly for devoted Jordan fans. ~ Richie Unterberger

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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