Joe Sullivan • 1934-41

JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH

Pianist Joe Sullivan was a superior stride pianist who was most influenced by Earl Hines’ “trumpet style” approach to playing octaves. He was an important contributor to the 1920s Chicago jazz scene, worked with Red Nichols, Bing Crosby (1934-36), Bob Crosby’s orchestra (although a bout with tuberculosis cut short his first stint with Crosby), and on and off with Eddie Condon. The Classics CD 1933-41 has all of his solo piano records of 1933, 1935 and 1941 along with a trio session with clarinetist Pee Wee Russell and drummer Zutty Singleton, and four numbers with his Café Society Orchestra which was actually an octet with clarinetist Edmond Hall and blues singer Big Joe Turner.

Highlights include Sullivan’s solo playing on “Honeysuckle Rose,” “Gin Mill Blues,” and “My Litle Pride and Joy.” Strangely enough, Sullivan’s earliest recording of his most famous original, “Little Rock Getaway” (1933), while having the chord changes, completely lacks its melody. Fortunately, his 1935 recording has both, resulting in the piece becoming a standard for pianists.

Joe Sullivan • 1934-41
Classics 821
www.amazon.com

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.