Search - Lovie Austin :: 1924-26

Lovie Austin, PowerPiano

John Weissman | Boston, MA | 01/19/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lovie played a very early, pure kind of blues, still connected to the physical labor of rural America, that is the true root of all blues. This comes thru in Jackass blues, with its rolling cantor rhythm, also featuring an Armstrong-busting solo by Tommy Ladnier. Another great song is Steppin On the Blues. Three people sound like five because of Lovie's intricate, perfect time. Her syncopation, no doubt developed in vaudeville houses, is downright devilish. The fullness of her sound comes thru despite the primitive recording technology of the early twenties. Despite inaccurate comparisons to the great Johnny Dodds, also heard on some of these cuts, clarinetist Jimmy O'Bryant, who died at about 30, possessed what may be one of the best blues voices ever, fantastically sympathetic to Ladnier, and the singers. If you like blues, you must get back to the roots, and hear where it all came from. This album is it."