Disc of the day: 03-06-09

Jimmy Rushing: The Scene – Live In New York (High Note HC7196)
The liner notes are a little vague about the exact dates of these recordings. What can be established is that between 1965 and 1970 the big man who had achieved possibly his greatest fame with the Basie band would regularly be in residence at a New York club with a quintet led by the twin tenors of Zoot Sims and Al Cohn. Dave Frishberg was on piano, John Beal or Major Holley on bass and Mousey Alexander.

Here Rushing takes the roof off with the opening number, Deed I Do, and we’re open to the elements for the rest of the set. Gee Baby, Ain’t I Good To You?, Goin’ To Chicago, I Cried For You, Everyday I Have The Blues… they are all here. Somehow Rushing managed to sing of his woes with so much joy – that’s the magic of the blues. A great big horn-like blues voice with some hard-swinging tenor playing between the lines and soloing in the middle – there’s nothing quite like it.

The sound quality isn’t exactly hi-fi, with the mic sometimes distorting under Rushing’s breath, but it has been remarkably well cleaned up for this charming slice of 1960s New York night life and one of the great singers of the last century.