I watched Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom the other night. I thought it was going to be a movie about music—it was not. Rather, it’s a largely fictionalized but powerful allegory exploring the lived experiences of African Americans in the early twentieth century (much of which remains relevant in the twenty-first). It’s definitely worth watching, if you haven’t already seen it, for its portrayals of 1920s tent shows and studio sessions as well as its acerbic social commentary.
What it didn’t do was scratch an itch I had for some knee-slapping, hip-swivelling, foot-dragging southern jazz and blues—fortunately, Turtle Bay Records had me covered with the latest offering from The Joymakers. Based out of Austin, TX, this outfit is led by two-time Grammy nominee and reedman extraordinaire Colin Hancock, whom you may have heard on records by the Intercontinental Jazz Ambassadors, the Original Cornell Syncopators, the New Wonders, and others.
Down Where the Bluebonnets Grow is a treasure trove of blue-tinged, swinging standards performed and produced by true academics of the idiom: Hancock is recognized for his work preserving 78-era recording techniques; clarinettist David Jellema is a former Smithsonian jazz archivist; saxophonist Lauryn Gould curates the Jazzwomen project; pianist Shane Dickens has researched the intersection of math and music theory; and bassist Ryan Gould co-founded educational non-profit Hot Rhythm foundation.
The result, as one might well expect, is a record par excellence, boasting a baker’s dozen classic tracks from composers you have certainly heard of (Morton, Moten, Mezzrow) and others you perhaps have not. Anthems like “Wolverine Blues” and “Tiger Rag” sit alongside less-recorded gems like “Everybody Stomp” and “Goofy Dust Rag,” with the whole collection running that gamut from roof-raising party tracks like “Tia Juana” to tear-jerking slow drags like “I’m a Thousand Miles From Home.”
This last tune is a perfect showcase of Hancock’s sax skills: his baritone solo is sweet yet dark, honking yet deft—a masterful example of one of my favorite instruments to hear. Speaking of which, there’s plenty for a keyboard-lover to wrap their ears around on “Crazy Quilt” and “Everybody Stomp,” which both have Dickens soloing wildly with his right hand while striding confidently with his left—the equivalent of doing algebra and calculus simultaneously, with pens akimbo.
The band’s sound is almost symphonic, with Dylan Blackthorn and Westen Borghesi swelling the middle frequencies on piano accordion and tenor banjo respectively. The arrangements are an appealing balance of intertwined countermelodies and solo passages, giving each artist the chance to justify their presence in melody—and justify it they do. In fact, I’d have liked to have heard more of Ryan Gould, whose bass only lets rip in the final bars of album closer “Tiger Rag.”
Hancock’s voice is solidly tuneful, if not as exciting as his playing. On the other hand Lauryn Gould’s strained, plaintive vocal contributions are some of the most moving I’ve heard recently. It all adds up to a must-have album and, better yet for the audiophiles, it’s available on vinyl. See the group’s Bandcamp and grab yourself a digital copy or pre-order physical media now.
Down Where the Bluebonnets Grow
The Joymakers
Turtle Bay Records
www.turtlebayrecords.com
thejoymakers.bandcamp.com
