"Black and Blue" (February 17, 2006)

(Week 29)

This RADIOLA! goes out in honor of Black History Month, with my playlist below featuring 33 African American and Caribbean artists and bands on a "black" and/or "blue" theme. (I admit the Missourians also backed Cab Calloway, but they're really worth hearing sans Cab. Also Fats Waller is on about four of these records--soloing extensively on "Beale Street Blues.") The show airs on WHCL-FM 88.7 in Clinton, NY this Friday at 8 PM ET.

Louis Armstrong and his Orch. – Black and Blue (1929) – Columbia CK 46148
Thomas “Fats” Waller – Blue Black Bottom (1927) – Bluebird 2482-2-RB
Anonymous Ocarina Player – William Tell Overture (c. 1910) – Columbia 78 RPM
Jimmie Noone’s Apex Club Orch. – Apex Blues (1928) – King Jazz KJ 152 FS
Walter Page’s Blue Devils – Blue Devil Blues (1929) – Columbia/Legacy CK 64855
Mills Blue Rhythm Band – Blue Rhythm (1931) – Hep CD 1008
Cab Calloway and his Orch. – Black Rhythm (1931) – Masters of Jazz MJCD 182
Charlie Johnson’s Original Paradise Ten – Birmingham Black Bottom (1927) – Frog DGF8
Alphonso Trent and his Orch. – Black and Blue Rhapsody (1928) – Jazz Oracle BDW 8008
Jabbo Smith and his Rhythm Aces – Sweet ‘N Low Blues (1929) – Retrieval RTR 79013
Johnny Dodds’ Washboard Band – Bull Fiddle Blues (1928) – RCA Victor 74321-39802-2
The Missourians – Ozark Mountain Blues (1929) – Masters of Jazz MJCD 105
Bessie Smith – St. Louis Blues (1925) – Columbia/Legacy C4K 57176
The Mills Brothers – St. Louis Blues (1932) – Legacy/Columbia 57713
Joseph Robichaux and his New Orleans Rhythm Boys – St. Louis Blues (1933) – Document DOCD1016
The Executor – Hold Up Black Bird Hold Up (1937) – Rounder CD 1141
Wilmoth Houdini – Black But Sweet (1931) – Arhoolie Folklyric CD 7010
Sam Manning – Jamaica Blues (1926) – Jazz Oracle BDW 8028
King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band – Chimes Blues (1923) – Jazz Heritage 513282W
Celestin’s Original Tuxedo Jazz Orch. – Black Rag (1925) – Jazz Oracle BDW 8002
Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers – Black Bottom Stomp (1926) – JSP CD 321
Benny Carter and his Orch. – Blues in My Heart (1937) – Jazz Portaits CD 14583
Coleman Hawkins – Blue Moon (1935) – Disques Swing CDSW 8403
Art Tatum – I’ve Got a Right to Sing the Blues (1939) – Jazz Life CD 2673752
Alberta Hunter – Beale Street Blues (1927) – Bluebird 0786366065-2
Ethel Waters – True Blue Lou (1929) – Classics 721
Josephine Baker – Bye Bye Blackbird (1926) – Legacy/Columbia CK 57740
Duke Ellington – Black Beauty (1928) – Columbia C2K 46177
Clarence Williams “Blue Five” Orch. – Take Your Black Bottom Outside (1927) – Frog DGF37
Jimmy Johnson and his Orch. – Chicago Blues (1928) – Frog DGF38
Earl Hines and his Orch. – Blue Nights (1929) – Hermes HRM 6004
Bennie Moten’s Kansas City Orch. – Small Black (1929) – Classics 578
Fletcher Henderson and his Orch. – Rocky Mountain Blues (1927) – Columbia/Legacy C3K 57596
Don Redman and his Orch. – Sweet Sue–Just You (1937) – ASV Living Era CD AJA 5110