Savoy Blues Is Freed

By I Oct. 10, 2003

The “Year of the Blues” has again prompted the release of historical blues recordings.

Savoy Records has compiled three multiple-disc blues archives from its deep vaults, Savoy Blues: 1944–94, Savoy On Central Avenue and The Complete Trix Recordings, featuring music from throughout history and across the country.

Three-disc Savoy Blues: 1944–94 splits the company’s recordings into periods. Disc one showcases 1944–1947 mid- and post-war blues from Hot Lips Page, Miss Rhapsody, Billy Eckstine and others. Disc two looks at late ‘40s and early ‘50s recordings of John Lee Hooker, Brownie McGhee and some lesser-known artists like Little Esther and H-Bomb Ferguson, among others. Disc three spans mid-‘50s through mid-‘90s with Nappy Brown, Big Maybelle, Memphis Slim, Eddie Kirkland and more. The album provides a window not only into blues, but also into the influence of much of the music that has come out since 1944.

Focusing on California’s equivalent of Harlem’s 125th Street, Savoy On Central Avenue tries to capture the feel of the jazzy blues heard in clubs like the Downbeat, the Finale Club, the Last Word and the Plantation Club. It features legendary artists including Nat King Cole, Lester Young, Charlie Parker, Erroll Garner and Johnny Otis playing the music they played for Hollywood and sports celebrities that hung out on Central Avenue in the post-war era.

Robert Lockwood Jr., taught by Robert Johnson and one of the last living blues legends, recorded some powerful sessions with Pete Lowery’s Trix label in the early ‘70s. Savoy amassed these tracks together for the two-disc The Complete Trix Recordings. Using his 6- and 12-string electric guitars, Lockwood represented the Mississippi Delta blues style on tracks including “Little Boy Blue,” “Funny, But True,” “Lonely Man,” and “Walkin’ Blues.”

All albums are currently in stores. For more information, visit www.savoyjazz.com