Baby Dodds • Spooky Drums: The Father of Jazz Drumming

Warren “Baby” Dodds (1898-1959) can be considered the first influential jazz drummer. While he was preceded on records by Tony Sbarbaro with the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, Dodds’ playing on a very limited drum set (due to the primitive recording techniques of the time) with King Oliver’s Creole Jazz Band in 1923 set a high standard for what was to follow.

Baby Dodds’ recording career was pretty episodic. After the Oliver dates, he was not on records again until the 1927-29 period when he recorded with his older brother Johnny Dodds (including in overlapping groups called the Dixieland Thumpers, State Street Ramblers, Chicago Footwarmers, and Beale Street Washboard Band), Louis Armstrong’s Hot Seven, Jelly Roll Morton, and Jimmy Blythe. After a full decade off of records, he made some sessions in 1940 (his brother’s final recording and also with Sidney Bechet), and then nothing again until 1944. During 1944-47 he was at his busiest, making many sessions with Bunk Johnson, duets with pianist Tut Soper and one with pianist Jack Gardner, regular appearances on Rudi Blesh’s This Is Jazz radio series, and dates with Richard M. Jones, Kid Shots Madison, Jim Robinson, Lil Armstrong, Wooden Joe Nicholas, Chippie Hill, Mezz Mezzrow, Mutt Carey, Tony Parenti, and Bechet. In addition, Dodds led two dates that included clarinetist Albert Nicholas and either Art Hodes or Don Ewell on piano, and a series of groundbreaking solo drum records. After another five years, he concluded his career with sessions during 1953-54 with Natty Dominique and Hodes.

Spooky Drums is a 24-selection single CD from Upbeat that has many of the highpoints of Baby Dodds’ recording career. It is not programmed in chronological order but has a natural flow Other than one number apiece from 1923 (“I’m Going Away To Wear You Off My Mind” which features his drumming with Oliver) and his brother’s “Red Onion Blues” from 1940, all of the recordings are from 1927-29 and 1944-47. The classic rendition of “Wolverine Blues” in a trio with Jelly Roll Morton and Johnny Dodds is here along with three of his unaccompanied drum features. Such notables as Albert Nicholas, Art Hodes, George Lewis, Jim Robinson, Bunk Johnson, James P. Johnson (a concert duet version of “Carolina Shout”), and Louis Armstrong (singing “I’ll Be Glad When You’re Dead, You Rascal You” with cornetist Wild Bill Davison in roaring form) are among the many who make memorable appearances.

While his bass drum playing on the opening “At The Jazz Band Ball” from 1947 is a bit excessive, otherwise Baby Dodds displays swing, a mostly lighter touch, color, and versatility throughout these vintage performances which show why Gene Krupa and Max Roach were among his fans.

Baby Dodds • Spooky Drums: The Father of Jazz Drumming
Upbeat URCD 350
www.upbeatrecordings.co.uk

Scott Yanow

Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings. Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.