09/07/2008	Â	Â	Â	Â
Artist	Title	Label	Number	Time
Gary Burton	Walkin' Music	Concord	2277	6:26:00
Stop Set	Â	Â	Â	1:10:00
Hank Mobley	No Room For Squares	BlueNote	24523	6:55:00
Dianna Krall	Hit That Jive Jack	Impulse	182	4:16:00
Charles Mungus	Boogie Stop Shuffle	CBS	65512	4:59:00
Stopset	Â	Â	Â	1:10:00
McCoy Tyner	Once Upon A Time	Telarc	83488	5:28:00
Ella Fitzgerald	Over the Raindow	Verve	5329206	4:16:00
Bill Evans	When You Wish Upon A Star	Milestone	470966	5:44:00
Stopset	Â	Â	Â	1:10:00
Sarah Vaughan	September Song	Verve	543305	5:43:00
Stan Getz	Early Autumn	Verve	543601	4:42:00
Stopset	Â	Â	Â	0:40:00
Oliver Nelson	Yearnin'	Impulse	154	6:23:00
Stopset	Â	Â	Â	0:25:00

  

  

Jimmy Witherspoon: Shouting the Blues

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Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Jimmy Witherspoon's hit "Ain't Nobody's Business" was one of the biggest records of its era.

"You go see Spoon, you are transported immediately from the time he opens his mouth and starts to sing. He transports you from wherever you were to another place."

Joe Williams, vocalist

NPR.org, July 2, 2008 - Born August 8, 1923 in Gurdon, Ark., Jimmy Witherspoon grew up during the Great Depression. His parents were both active in their church choir, and Witherspoon joined the group at age five. He later credited the experience for shaping much of his singing style. He also listened to the big bands of Andy Kirk, Bennie Moten and Count Basie, absorbing the styles of their male singers.

Witherspoon left Arkansas for Los Angeles where the jazz scene was jumping, especially on L.A.'s club-lined Central Avenue. There, he met blues singer Big Joe Turner, one of his idols. Turner proved supportive, and Witherspoon soon began singing in bands with other young, Central Avenue musicians. He met performers such as Buddy Collette, who remembered how Witherspoon hung around and wanted to sit in with the band — and how audiences loved him.

In 1941, Witherspoon joined the U.S. Merchant Marines as a cook. During his World War II tour of duty, he sailed throughout Asia picking up singing gigs where he could. During an engagement in Calcutta, India, Witherspoon sang with a band led by the obscure but legendarily-talented pianist Teddy Weatherford.

In 1943, Witherspoon returned to L.A. to dedicate himself to music, and hooked up with Jay McShann's band. McShann was known for giving young musicians their start — Charlie Parker being the most famous example — and he became a mentor to Witherspoon. In 1947, Witherspoon made his first recordings under his own name, backed by McShann. One of the tunes from that session, "Ain't Nobody's Business," was his first big hit, and before long became his trademark song.

By the '50s, rock 'n' roll hit the cultural mainstream, and some audiences turned away from Witherspoon's signature blues. He struggled to find gigs, his manager stole money from him and eventually he had to declare bankruptcy. Things looked dismal for the singer in the mid-'50s but a couple of years later he gave a scintillating performance at the Monterey Jazz Festival, and completed his comeback with the release of his composition "How Long Will It Take To Be A Man." Soon, his career was back on track, and he began teaming up with the finest musicians in jazz, including saxophonist Ben Webster and trumpeter Buck Clayton.

In the early '80s, Witherspoon was diagnosed with throat cancer. Radiation treatment cured the disease, but damaged his vocal cords. He spent years learning to sing again, and received a Grammy nomination in 1996 for his performance of "What A Wonderful World." Jimmy Witherspoon died in 1997, still doing what he loved to do — singing the blues and captivating audiences around the world.