New Orleans Rhythm Kings - Bluebird 10956 (1925)

These are not reissues of the same two sides found on the 1925 Victor batwing (19645) by the New Orleans Rhythm Kings...both of these tunes are alternate takes from that earlier session and were made available for the first time on this Bluebird release.

Now...I've got to find the batwing.

Paul Mares c / Santo Pecora tb / Charlie Cordella cl / Glyn Lea 'Red' Long p / Bill Eastwood bj / Chink Martin bb / Leo Adde d.

Recorded in New Orleans on March 26, 1925.



Duke Ellington & His Cotton Club Orchestra / King Oliver & His Orchestra - Victor 38034 (1928-29)

Duke Ellington p, a, dir / Arthur Whetsel t / Joe Nanton tb / Johnny Hodges cl, ss, as / Harry Carney cl, as, bar / Barney Bigard cl, ts / Fred Guy bj / Wellman Braud bb / Sonny Greer d.

Recorded in New York on October 30, 1928.


King Oliver dir / Louis Metcalf c / J.C. Higgin botham tb / Charlie Holmes cl, ss, as / Teddy Hill ts / Will Johnson bj, g / "Bass" Moore bb / Paul Barbarin d.

Recorded at Liederkranz Hall, New York on January 16, 1929.


Little Johnny Jones & The Chicago Hound Dogs - Flair 1010 (1953)

From wikipedia...

Little Johnny Jones (November 1, 1924 – November 19, 1964) was an American Chicago blues pianist and singer, best known for his work with Tampa Red, Muddy Waters and Elmore James.

Jones was born in Jackson, Mississippi in 1924. He arrived in Chicago in 1945 in the company of Little Walter and "Baby Face" Leroy Foster, and soon replaced pianist Big Maceo Merriweather in Tampa Red's band after Merriweather suffered a stroke which paralysed his right hand. He later backed Muddy Waters on harmonica, and recorded (on piano and vocals) with Waters for the Aristocrat label in 1949. From 1952 to 1956 he played and recorded with Elmore James, and in later years he worked with Howlin' Wolf, Billy Boy Arnold and Magic Sam, among others.

Like several other Chicago pianists of his era, his style was heavily influenced by Big Maceo Merriweather, from whom he had learned, and for whom he played piano after Merriweather's stroke. Jones's 1949 side Big Town Playboy is regarded as a classic of the genre, and was covered by guitarist Eddie Taylor in 1955.

Popular with audiences, Jones was a heavy drinker and had a reputation as a wild character. According to Homesick James, who worked and toured with them in the 1950s, "Elmore and Johnnie used to just have a fight every night."

Jones married his wife Letha in 1952. He died of bronchopneumonia in Cook County Hospital, and was interred at Restvale Cemetery in November 1964.

On May 14, 2011 the fourth annual White Lake Blues Festival took place at the Howmet Playhouse Theater in Whitehall, Michigan. The event was organized by executive producer, Steve Salter, of the nonprofit organization Killer Blues to raise monies to honor Jones unmarked grave with a headstone. The concert was a success, and a headstone was placed in June, 2011.

Little Johnny Jones p, v / J.T. Brown ts / Elmore James g / ? Ransom Knowling b / Odie Payne d.

Recorded in Chicago in 1953.


The Midnight Rounders / Albert Wynne & His Gut Bucket Five - Vocalion 1218 (1928)

Albert Wynne & His Gut Bucket Five: Punch Miller c, v / Albert Wynn(e) tb / Lester Boone cl, as, bar / Alex Hill p / Charlie Jackson bj / Sidney Catlett d.

Recorded in Chicago on October 9, 1928.


The Midnight Rounders: Jimmy Blythe p / Bill Johnson sb / Cliff Jones d, v.

Recorded in Chicago on October 9, 1928.

Sunny Blair - RPM 354 (1952)

Judging by appearance, I didn't hold out much hope for this one when I came across it in a stack back in 2013. But it's turning out to be a diamond in the rough.

Still trying to crack its story but it may go something like this:

In 1952, Ike Turner and Jules Bihari (one of the brothers who owned Modern, RPM, Flair, Meteor and Kent labels) brought a portable recording machine and setup into a music store in Little Rock. They recorded these two sides, among others, featuring Sunny Blair on harmonica and vocals, Baby Face Edgar Turner on electric guitar...maybe Ike on guitar? and Bill Russell on drums?

Recorded on April 1, 1952.