Jabbo’s hidden treasure
There’s nothing like a mysterious or semi-forgotten musician to bring out the romantic jazz fan in me. Buddy Bolden, Emmett Hardy, Boyce Brown, and -the ultimate jazz Jack o’ Lantern – the enigmatic and outrageous trumpeter Jack Purvis , all provide the required fascination quota for an old-time jazz fan.
Cladys “Jabbo” Smith very nearly falls into that catagory. Back in the late 1920′s Jabbo – a red-hot trumpet player – was signed by Brunswick as their answer to Okeh’s Louis Armstrong. Of course, he couldn’t match Louis: no-one could. But the nineteen sides he recorded for Brunswick in 1928 – 29, were simply brilliant, even though they didn’t achieve the commercial success required to rival Armstrong. Then Jabbo went quiet, and apart from a few recordings in the late 1930′s, no more was heard from him…until 1961, when a group of young Chicagoan traditional – to -swing jazz players tracked him down and brought him out of retirement to record with them. And even then, the results weren’t issued until the early 1980′s.
In the meanwhile, Jabbo finally received his just recognition, being made guest of honour at the 1975 Newport Jazz festival and then starring in the show ‘One Mo’ Time’, as well as touring Europe to enthusiastic audiences throughout the 1980′s, sometimes in the company of Don Cherry!
Well, I was browsing through the Jazz section of HMV last week, and what should I come upon, but Jabbo’s 1961 “comeback” sessions reissued on the ‘Lone Hill’ label? They were originally issued as two LP’s on a label called (appropriately) “Hidden Treasure”. The ‘Lone Hill’ re-issue is made up of all the material Jabbo recorded with the then-young Chicagoans (including guitarist Marty Grosz and clarinetist Frank Chace), complete with breakdowns, false starts and studio chatter. It’s fascinating stuff and well worth tracking down: “Jabbo Smith – The Complete Hidden Treasure Sessions“, LHJ10352.
Here’s Jabbo in the late 1920′s, as a challenger for Louis’ crown:
[Youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Ia-FRgdDv0]
