Search - Louis Jordan :: World Transcriptions

A gem

Thomas Honig | Santa Cruz, CA United States | 02/21/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I thought I had everything by the great Louis Jordan. I wasn't sure what this CD was, but it turns out that they're recordings that you probably don't own. These are transcriptions that he made for Decca, but they're different versions than the ones that were released. With an artist as accomplished as Mr. Jordan, that means interesting versions of songs you know, and a couple new ones. My favorite: his own treatment of "She Said Yes," which I had heard as a duet with Bing Crosby. A must-buy."

Little known LJ for the hardcore Jordanites

Andre M. | Mt. Pleasant, SC United States | 02/28/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Louis Jordan (1908-1975), the super-lunatic madman supreme, King of Jazz comedy, and sultan of the saxophone and storytelling, is known for his canon of comical jazz recrds and scorching instrumentals. This set contains some mostly unreleased stuff from 1940 to 1946.



For the most part, these are good additions to the Jordan canon. As usual, his wacky comical jazz stories are worth the price of admission. "Bounce the Ball" a collection of really crazy jokes, is sort of a forerunner to the Chips/Blues Brothers classic "Rubber Biscuit." "Stretch My Shoes" and "Bobby Sox Bounce" are standard bits of typical Jordan lunacy, and "Up Jumped the Devil in a White Nightgown" shows off our man's storytelling skills with an interesting bit of folklore (Like his comical mentor Bert Williams, Jordan often studied African-American folklore in search of ideas for his routines).



The set also includes some really amazing instrumentals where Jordan and his Tympani Five make you want to run to the floor with a lady friend with your index fingers waving in the air and swing your partner around the ballroom. However, a few tunes feature our hero doing some ballad singing. He had a good singing voice, but he was not an exceptional crooner.



The liner notes say little about the recordings themselves, but it does a service by restating LJ's place in history by citing his influence on people such as James Brown, BB King, Chuck Berry, Ray Charles, and Sammy Davis Jr.



Those who like this will enjoy the CD "5 Guys named Moe-The best of LJ and the Tympani 5," which is a collection of rare Jordan radio broadcasts consisting largely of songs he never publicly recorded. If you ever get depressed again, listen to some LJ and kiss your therapist goodbye."