This 49-track 2-CD collection comprises recordings from sessions in the early 1950s at the dawn of the vinyl LP era. - Gene Ammons, often known as 'The Boss' was a jazz tenor saxophonist who was the son of the highly successful and influential boogie-woogie pianist of the 1930s and '40s, Albert Ammons. Gene's music was characterised by being a highly accessible and straightforward style of jazz, redolent with influences from blues, R&B and soul, bringing him hits in the US R&B chart, although he embraced the innovations of bebop and integrated it's techniques into his distinctive approach. He was very much a part of the soul jazz movement of the '60s which introduced the electric organ into the instrumentation. This 49-track 2-CD collection comprises recordings from sessions in the early 1950s at the dawn of the vinyl LP era. It includes tracks released on singles by the Prestige, Chess, Decca and United labels, plus titles from his early 10' albums on Prestige, 'Battle Of The Saxes' and 'Favourites Vols. 1, 2 & 3'. It includes his Top 10 R&B hits 'My Foolish Heart' and 'Jug' and a new version of his 1947 hit 'Red Top'. It features recordings with Sonny Stitt, Bill Massey, Jo Jones, Duke Jordan, Tommy Potter, Art Blakey, Matthew Gee, Charles Bateman, Eugene Wright, Wesley Landers, Junior Mance, Clarence Anderson, Teddy Stewart, J.J. Johnson and others. It's a great showcase for the trademark tone and texture of his playing, and an entertaining musical snapshot of his music during a key era of his career.
Add Cripple Clarence Lofton, Henry Brown and Speckled Red to the boogie woogie triumvirate cited in the album title, and you've got one solid, piano-pounding collection! Includes Pinetop's Blues Albert Ammons; Doll House Boogie Meade Lux Lewis; Dirty Dozens Speckled Red; Boogie Woogie Prayer Albert Ammons, Pete Johnson & Meade Lux Lewis; Deep Morgan Henry Brown; G-Flat Blues Pete Johnson; Streamline Train Cripple Clarence Lofton, and more.
Ammons' name is on the marquee, but Pete Johnson and Meade Lux Lewis share the ivories as you hear 18 live and studio cuts from '38 and '39! It's a boogie-woogie blowout: Bear Cat Shuffle; Mama's Blues; Jesse James; Yancey Special; Try Again; Shout for Joy; Boogie Woogie Stomp, and more.
