1944-1945

James P. Johnson | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 9, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Allegro Corporation
• ASIN: B00000IAZ1
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,012,316 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Tishomingo Blues

2. Walkin' the Dog

3. Easy Rider

4. At the Ball

5. Yellow Dog Blues

6. Memphis Blues

7. Loveless Blues

8. Chantez les Bas

9. Joe Turner Blues

10. St. Louis Blues

11. Blue Moods 1

12. Blue Moods 2

13. Blue Moods, Sex

14. Yamekraw: A Negro Rhapsody, Pt. 1

15. Yamekraw: A Negro Rhapsody, Pt. 2

16. Yamekraw: A Negro Rhapsody, Pt. 3

17. Yamekraw: A Negro Rhapsody, Pt. 4

18. Lorenzo's Blues (Morning After Blues)

19. Harlem Hotcha

20. Bandana Days

See all 21 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fine Piano, April 22, 1999

By 

B. D. Tutt (London, UK.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 1944-1945 (Audio CD)

The latest in the Classics series for James P. Johnson reaches 1944-45. The band sides are unmemorable, but the Kathleen Handy sides underline what a fine accompanist Johnson was. "Yellow Dog Blues" has wonderful piano, alive to every nuance of the song. Kathleen Handy's voice, however, is an acquired taste, and she sings the W.C. Handy lyrics as published, some very un-blueslike stanzas included. Johnson's "Blue Moods" solos are magnificent (although Blue Moods 2 is simply a cut version of "Blue Moods - Sex"). Unlike Fats Waller, whose blues playing was unconvincing, Johnson was a moving blues player, producing utterly disctinctive and very poignant piano perfomances, especially in the 1940s. "Yamecraw" is Johnson's only recording of his best known classical work, which combines concert technique with spirituals and swing. The final four tracks are a delight - Omer Simeon plays beautifully, and Johnson strides away exilheratingly in "Bandana Days".

The piano solos are available in better sound quality on Smithsonian / Folkways, but this is a disc well worth getting nevertheless. There still isn't enough James P. Johnson on disc, and the Handy and Simeon sides should not be missed.