Classic Piano Blues from Smithsonian Folkways

Smithsonian Folkways – SFW CD 40196

Country: Unites States
Released: 2008
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Piano Blues
[Tracklist]
01 Dedication to Pete Johnson: Memphis Slim (3:12)
02 Early in the Morning: Booker T. Laury (3:06)
03 How Long Blues: Speckled Red (3:20)
04 Yellow Dog Blues: James P. Johnson and Katherine Handy Lewis (2:56)
05 Key to the Highway: Jazz Gillum, Memphis Slim (2:54)
06 Medium Blues: Meade "Lux" Lewis (2:51)
07 Black Wolf Blues: Champion Jack Dupree (2:57)
08 Dices Blues: Big Chief Ellis (4:54)
09 Big Fat Woman: Lead Belly (1:10)
10 Harlem Parlor Blues: Sammy Price (2:51)
11 Little Drops of Water: Henry Brown & Edith Johnson (3:03)
12 Pinetop's Boogie Woogie: Little Brother Montgomery (4:08)
13 Pinetop's Boogie Woogie: Speckled Red (3:26)
14 Wish Me Well: Memphis Slim, Willie Dixon (2:14)
15 All My Money's Gone: Henry Townsend (2:53)
16 You're My Man: Victoria Spivey (4:33)
17 On My Way to See Moe Asch: Champion Jack Dupree (4:21)
18 Sweet Old Chicago: Roosevelt Sykes (2:56)
19 No Special Rider Blues: Little Brother Montgomery (3:29)
20 Hesitation Blues: James P. Johnson (3:05)
[Credits]
Executive producers: Daniel E. Sheehy and Atesh Sonneborn, Compiled: Jeff Place and Richard James Burgess, Layout and design: Communication Visual (http://www.com-vis.com )
[Notes]
Storyville nightclubs, Beale Street juke joints, gambling houses, barrelhouse bars in the lumber and turpentine camps of East Texas—these were the places African American piano bluesmen called home. Born of ragtime and hard times, the piano blues migrated with its players from the deep South to the urban North. Classic Piano Blues revisits raucous boogie-woogie and blues legends Memphis Slim, Willie Dixon, Champion Jack Dupree, Speckled Red, Meade "Lux" Lewis, Lead Belly, Little Brother Montgomery, Roosevelt Sykes, James P. Johnson, and more, in 20 tracks drawn from the well of the Folkways Collections. Extensive notes, 32-page booklet, 64 minutes.

Little Brother Montgomery: Farro Street Jive

Folkways Records – FTS 31014

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1968
Genre: Blues, World, & Country
Style: Blues
[Tracklist]
A1 Lonesome Mama (3:07)
A2 Alabama Bound (2:17)
A3 Sweet Momma, Your Daddy's Gone Mad (3:22)
A4 I Don't Feel Welcome Here (Stingaree Blues)
(3:19)
A5 Farro Street Jive (Farish St. Jive) (2:14)
A6 Pinetop's Boogie Woogie (4:10)
B1 No Special Rider Blues (3:34)
B2 St. Louis Blues (4:56)
B3 Up The Country Blues (2:57)
B4 Vicksburg Blues (4:00)
B5 Out West Blues (3:26)
B6 Dangerous Blues (4:09)
[Credits]
Little Brother Montgomery (piano/vocals)
Recorder and Producer: Raeburn Flerlage, Artwork: Craig Mierop
[Notes]
Little Brother Montgomery was an American jazz, boogie woogie, and blues pianist and singer. This album features a number of blues and jazz standards, including "Pine Top Boogie Woogie" and "Alabama Bound." Liner notes by Raeburn Flerlage praise Montgomery's skill, calling him a "musician's musician."

Blues: Little Brother Montgomery

Folkways Records FG-3527

Format: Vinyl, LP
Country: US
Released: 1961
Genre: Blues, Folk, World, & Country
Style: Blues
[Tracklist]
A1 Pleading Blues (2:31)
A2 Vicksburg 44 (3:08)
A3 Early One Morning (3:45)
A4 Now About That Prisoner (3:45)
A5 Crescent City Blues (2:55)
A6 Pallet On The Floor (2:20)
A7 West 46th Street Boogie (3:08)
B1 Louisiana Rag (3:34)
B2 I Ain't No Bulldog (2:58)
B3 Mean Old Mama (3:35)
B4 London Shout (2:20)
B5 Storyville Blues (2:54)
B6 L&N Boogie (2:36)
B7 It's All Over Now (1:51)
[Creduts]
Little Brother Montgomery (piano/vocals)
Producer: Rudi Blesh
[Notes]
Although the barrel house may no longer exist, the piano style that took its name finds rich expression in Blues. On this album, released in 1961, Little Brother Montgomery, who is known as "one of the keepers of [the] heritage of the blues," performs music known to convey tragedy, despair, and revolt, but also a message of hope. Liner notes include an introduction to blues heritage and Little Brother Montgomery.