Ragtime Music

This is another in the Classics chronological review of the recordings of stride piano master James P. Johnson.

1944 saw James P. Johnson in great demand for recording sessions, both as a solo performer and as a band pianist. This CD features him in both roles.

The first four tracks see Johnson in the piano chair for a Max Kaminsky band session. Tracks 5 - 8 conclude the series of Fats Waller tracks he was recording for Decca (see previous volumes).

Tracks 9 - 12 and 17 - 20 are amongst Johnson's best known (and most over-rated) recordings, all Johnson compositions made for Decca. They include stride showpieces "Carolina Shout" and "Keep Off the Grass" which he first recorded in 1921, "Over the Bars" (recorded as "Steeplechase Rag" on a 1917 piano roll) and "Riffs" (recorded in 1929), plus the beautiful "Snowy Morning Blues" and three of Johnson's hit show tunes, "Old Fashioned Love", "If I Could Be With You" and "Porter's Love Song". These sessions had the potential to be amongst Johnson's finest, but are marred by two things. The recording is poorly balanced so that the left hand is badly under-recorded (a cardinal sin in recording stride piano). Second, Decca insisted on including the ham-fisted and intrusive drumming of Eddie Dougherty, who rides roughshod over much of the subtlety of Johnson's pieces. That said, there is much to enjoy here, particularly with the slower tracks where Johnson's wonderfully varied right hand touch is well featured. Nevertheless, these sessions are a wasted opportunity, and are inferior to Johnson's solo recordings from the same period.

Tracks 13 - 16 are minor but enjoyable quartet tracks featuring clarinetist Rod Cless. The highlight is "I Know That You Know", given a vigorous stride workout by Johnson.

It is also worth noting that the Classics series is not totally comprehensive. It omits a series of excellent solos which Johnson recorded at Eddie Condon's Town Hall Concerts, which are available on Jazzology.

Not the single greatest Johnson CD, but some good material nevertheless.

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.

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.