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Piano pre-war poll

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MaskedMarvel

Piano pre-war poll

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 6919

Jun 2 04 5:48 PM

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Pick one of the 20 (

) pianists... or name other

pick one favourite (Result)

Leroy Carr

Peetie Weatstraw

Big Maceo

Henry Brown

Roosevelt Sykes

Little Brother Montegomery

Speckled Red

Gorgia Tom

Walter Davis

Blind John Davis

Joshua Altheimer

Pinetop Sparks

Pete Johnson (Big Joe Turner)

Memphis Slim

Charley Taylor (The New-Orleans Nehi Boys)

Louis Johnson

Jimmie Yancy

Cow Cow Davenport

St. Louis Jimmy

Ozan Arif

All the above written is in my opinion unless it is someone else's opinion, or a fact.

Location: Zur Moshe, Israel

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MaskedMarvel

#1

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 6919

Jun 2 04 6:02 PM

3 pianists that I decided not to include in this , although they should be listed in any piano Blues great list IMO :
Jelly Roll Morton - IMO his contribution was more to Jazz than to Blues, and he is in the scope of Jazz as I see him.
Skip James - he is best known for his 12-string work and the uniq tone of his guitar rather than his piano work.
Jab Jones (recorded with Sleepy John Estes early sides) - His output is sideman only and he is somewhere behind Estes vocal, Estes guitar, and Rachel.

All the above written is in my opinion unless it is someone else's opinion, or a fact.

Location: Zur Moshe, Israel

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BlueGuitar

#2

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 3412

Jun 2 04 6:16 PM

I always get a kick out of talking piano players with Big Joe Duskin because he has met most of the great ones. He loves Roosevelt Sykes, Memphis Slim, Pete Johnson, Meade Lux Lewis and Albert Ammons. But Joe's favorite? The best blues and boogie woogie pianist, according to Big Joe Duskin is Freddie Slack!

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john4y

#3

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 11465

Jun 2 04 6:35 PM

I was with Brownie McGhee up on Lenox Avenue one day. This was near the old Savoy. A couple of us were discussing Pete Johnson and Brownie was actually recalling the times Pete used to play at those house rent parties. When I heard Pete, I was thoroughly convinced that he could whip a piano to its' breaking point. Many in your selection are great, but Pete Johnson is my favorite.

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Goldilox3

#4

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 2110

Jun 2 04 8:46 PM

In the absence of the 'man who made the boogie woogie' Pinetop Smith my vote went to Little Brother Montgomery for his brilliant playing and versatility as a sideman.

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barbequebob

#5

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 826

Jun 2 04 10:36 PM

There's one pianist who is often overlooked here who recorded with Joe Turner, and that's Roy Milton's wife Camille Howard.

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JellyRoll Baker

#6

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 2745

Jun 2 04 11:10 PM

Blind John Davis simply because I've got a live disc of his that I happen to like a lot. I'm sticking with personal reasons today!

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Tom 1960

#7

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 6152

May 1 05 1:22 PM

Another topic worth reviving. Come on folks and add you thoughts to this worthy topic.

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norman

#8

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Posts: 11

May 1 05 2:16 PM

Hey there... maybe it'll sound a bit strange, but i'm really into skip james piano sides (maybe even more than most guitar ones... which i still love) ..

I love his percussive take on the instrument

anyone can recommend similar/heavy handed piano players?

Thank you

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john4y

#9

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 11465

May 1 05 2:54 PM

Marvel.

The only one who is earth shaken' enough for me would be Pete Johnson, man. My mom and played his stuff when blues was popular in the black community. I think even without Joe Turner, Pete was da bomb.

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jaycee

#10

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 5165

May 2 05 5:24 PM

on this one i have gone for, leroy carr. with memphis slim a short head behind.

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swoon

#11

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Posts: 23

May 10 05 7:54 PM

walter roland, though a bunch of people were close.

no hersal thomas?

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volvo slim

#12

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 1236

May 14 05 11:29 PM

I voted for Big Maceo, with Leroy Carr coming in close behind. Tomorrow it could be ther other way around.

However, also counting other aspects than the piano playing of these two artists, like vocal qualities, song writing capacity and the over all sound of the recorded music, Carr would get my vote any day. But then a considerable part of that vote actually goes to Scrapper Blackwell, who I prefer to Maceos guitar player, Tampa Red. At least when it comes to backing a pianist and singer.

I saw that St Louis jimmie was included in the poll, but have no supporters - yet. Could be because very few people heard his piano playing. Did James Oden ever record playing any instrument at all? (However, he actually could play piano - at least I have read that somewhere.)

Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sverige (Sweden, Schweden, Suède, Suecia)

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MountainBlues

#13

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 2286

May 15 05 1:58 AM

Maceo, although having his own influences, was extremely innovative. He took those particular influences and background and created a powerful, definitive piano style, laying the groundwork for Otis Spann and others.

So I voted for him, but it's not an easy choice because several of the others listed were incredibly influential and original as well.

MB

"I don't do any of that hardcore blues stuff where they got a one-track mind talking about how a woman ain't nothing." (Gatemouth Brown)

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Old Mike

#14

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Posts: 400

May 15 05 4:30 AM

This one is very hard but I voted for Memphis Slim. How about William Ezell, Wesley Wallace, or Meade "Lux" Lewis.

Vancouver - Canada - Earth

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cih

#15

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 1283

May 16 05 8:32 PM

QUOTE (volvo slim @ May 14 2005, 11:29 PM)

I saw that St Louis jimmie was included in the poll, but have no supporters - yet. Could be because very few people heard his piano playing. Did James Oden ever record playing any instrument at all? (However, he actually could play piano - at least I have read that somewhere.)

He made one track at his first recording session in 1932 accompanying himself on piano - 'Petrol Wagon Blues' - and sounds heavily influenced by Roosevelt Sykes on it (Sykes is my first choice for pre-war piano...). The song is very similar to Elizabeth Washington's 'Riot Call Blues' which she made with Aaron Sparks on piano the following year, so presumably she took it from Jimmy Oden.
I read somewhere that Oden decided to stick to singing due to the large number of pianists already working in St Louis... maybe he sounded so close to Sykes that it was best to stick with the master at the keyboards on the sessions he made.

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volvo slim

#16

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 1236

May 17 05 6:43 PM

QUOTE (cih @ May 16 2005, 09:32 PM)

QUOTE (volvo slim @ May 14 2005, 11:29 PM)

I saw that St Louis jimmie was included in the poll, but have no supporters - yet. Could be because very few people heard his piano playing. Did James Oden ever record playing any instrument at all? (However, he actually could play piano - at least I have read that somewhere.)

He made one track at his first recording session in 1932 accompanying himself on piano - 'Petrol Wagon Blues' - and sounds heavily influenced by Roosevelt Sykes on it (Sykes is my first choice for pre-war piano...). The song is very similar to Elizabeth Washington's 'Riot Call Blues' which she made with Aaron Sparks on piano the following year, so presumably she took it from Jimmy Oden.
I read somewhere that Oden decided to stick to singing due to the large number of pianists already working in St Louis... maybe he sounded so close to Sykes that it was best to stick with the master at the keyboards on the sessions he made.

Thanks for the information.

Obviously, I haven't studied my Godrich-Dixon close enough - glad I put my doubts as a question rather than a statement...

Just like you, I have also read that Odens choice to concentrate on his singing and not play piano was caused by the competition - there was so many good players around already.

Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sverige (Sweden, Schweden, Suède, Suecia)

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Chris A

#17

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 555

Sep 11 06 10:39 PM

Meade Lux Lewis is a serious omission, IMO. Here are a couple of photos I took when I recorded him for Riverside, in 1961. user posted image

I may be wrong, but I think this was his last commercial studio session.

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john4y

#18

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 11465

Sep 11 06 11:08 PM

Hi, Chris.

I'm listening to that whole album as I'm typing this. What a boogie pianist! I really go for that stuff, man. After I read that you recorded this for Riverside, I went and dug it up right away. Love that C-Jam Blues!

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LoneWolf

#19

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Posts: 2407

Sep 12 06 9:21 AM

I'll have to say Leroy Carr, then Cow Cow Davenport and Roosevelt Sykes.

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MaskedMarvel

#20

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 6919

Sep 12 06 3:09 PM

Hi Chris, of course "Meade Lux" Lewis is missing from the list, it's an old list and every day there are new things to learn. Of course, I dig Lewis, no matter wether it's his highly inventive piano play, or even his excellent whistling. I can listen to him doing all this and more all day long. I think I need the 1961 recordings , for sure, thank you for mentioning it because I didn't know about it.

All the above written is in my opinion unless it is someone else's opinion, or a fact.

Location: Zur Moshe, Israel

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