Dave Clark's Blues Swingers Feat. Floyd McDaniel - Switchin' In The Kitchen

Album: Switchin' In The Kitchen
Size: 139,1 MB
Time: 60:04
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 2003
Styles: Jump Blues
Art: Front, back

1. Untrue Woman (2:07)
2. How Long Blues (4:27)
3. Swing Time (4:19)
4. St. Louis Blues (3:46)
5. Cold, Cold Feeling (3:25)
6. Switchin' In The Kitchen (4:52)
7. Our Delight (4:43)
8. Caldonia (2:50)
9. West Side Baby (5:55)
10. High Stakes Woman (3:34)
11. Mary Jo (3:06)
12. What A Wonderful World (4:41)
13. Corner Pocket (3:59)
14. Spin, Flip, And Dip (4:14)
15. St. Louis Blues (Alternate) (3:58)

Although some quality bands came out of the retro-swing trend of the '90s, many of them were amateurish, and by the end of the decade, retro-swing had pretty much dried up. But that doesn't mean that's the last of jump blues, only that a bunch of young bands aren't coming along and emulating the Cherry Poppin' Daddies, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, or the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Those who are in it for the long haul - Dave Clark, for example - are still plugging away. Born in 1955, the saxophonist/bandleader was playing jump blues long before the neo-swing trend took off and was still doing his thing after its popularity faded. Actually, Clark shouldn't be compared to the neo-swing artists of the '90s because what he does is undeniably different; while the Cherry Poppin' Daddies and similar artists played a blend of jump blues and early rock & roll (with a big dose of irony), Switchin' in the Kitchen has a more authentically '40s-like sound.

Assembled by Delmark in 2003, this 60-minute CD focuses on recordings that Clark made with his Chicago-based Blues Swingers band in 1991, 1992, and 1999. The material (some of which features the late singer/guitarist Floyd McDaniel) is quite faithful to the spirit of classic jump blues, swing, and early, pre-doo wop R&B; if it wasn't for the clean digital sound quality, one could easily assume that these recordings were actually made back when Harry Truman was president. Clark has since discontinued the Blues Swingers and moved to Los Angeles. Thankfully he's still playing jump blues, and this CD is a solid and enjoyable - if derivative - document of his years in the Windy City. /Alex Henderson, AllMusic

(For personnel details, see artwork included.)

Switchin' In The Kitchen mc
Switchin' In The Kitchen zippy

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Floyd McDaniel & The Blues Swingers - Let Your Hair Down!

Size: 155.5 MB
Time: 66:13
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1994
Styles: Chicago Blues, Jump Blues
Art: Full

01. Raggedy Ride (3:05)
02. Blue Mood (2:52)
03. Mary Jo (3:05)
04. Strange Things Happening (3:15)
05. It Don't Mean A Thing (4:02)
06. I Want A Little Girl (4:33)
07. St. Louis Blues (5:21)
08. God Bless the Child (5:21)
09. Sent For You Yesterday (3:28)
10. R.M. Blues (3:17)
11. Christopher Columbus (4:35)
12. West Side Baby (7:17)
13. Beale Street Baby (3:45)
14. Let Your Hair Down (2:48)
15. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out (4:02)
16. Why Life's Got To Be This Way (2:29)
17. Caldonia (2:48)

Floyd McDaniel was 78 when, in 1994, he recorded Let Your Hair Down! for the Chicago-based Delmark. Through the years, the singer/guitarist had been the type of artist who had one foot in pre-bebop jazz and one in urban blues--and that approach continues to serve him nicely on this CD. McDaniel's credentials as a jump blues shouter are illustrated by inspired versions of Louis Jordan's "Caldonia," T-Bone Walker's "Blue Mood" and Roy Milton's "R.M. Blues," while his talents as a jazz singer are evident on Duke Ellington's "It Don't Mean That Thing" and Billie Holiday's "God Bless The Child." On this album, McDaniel leads a cohesive, swinging octet known as the Blues Swingers, which consists of a hard-swinging rhythm section and four horn players, including trumpeter Mike McLaughlin, tenor saxophonist Dave Clark, alto saxophonist Paul Mundy and baritone saxophonist/clarinetist Martin "Van" Kelly. Let Your Hair Down! would be among McDaniel's last recordings; the veteran artist died the following year. ~Alex Henderson

Let Your Hair Down! MP3
Let Your Hair Down! FLAC

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Floyd McDaniel - West Side Baby: Live In Europe

Size: 140,0 MB
Time: 60:37
File: MP3 @ 320K/s
Released: 1997
Styles: Chicago Blues, Blues Jazz
Art: Full

01. St. Louis Blues (5:59)
02. West Side Baby (5:22)
03. Mean Old World (5:42)
04. Route 66 (5:51)
05. Evenin' (4:38)
06. Red Top (6:38)
07. Backwater Blues (7:27)
08. Everyday I Have The Blues (4:59)
09. Every Time (5:35)
10. Sweet Home Chicago (6:12)
11. Hold It (2:10)

Recorded in May of 1994 -- just months before McDaniel's death -- this gritty European date finds the singer/guitarist joined by Dave Specter and the Bluebirds. ~Review by Jason Ankeny

Known for blues-drenched jazz and jazz-drenched blues, Floyd McDaniel was a part of the Chicago scene for most of his 80 years. The singer/guitarist was born in Athens, Alabama but spent much of his life in the Windy City, where he'd moved to when he was 15, in 1930. As a teenager, McDaniel played and sang the blues on the streets of Chicago, and in 1933, he joined a washboard band called the Rhythm Rascals. In the early '40s, McDaniel learned to play the electric guitar and joined the Four Blazes, a jump blues combo that later became the Five Blazes and recorded for Aristocrat in 1947 and United Artists in 1952-1953. The Blazes went through their share of personnel changes; some of the artists McDaniel played with in the group included bassist Thomas Braden and pianist Ernie Harper. After The Blazes drifted apart in the late '50s, McDaniel was involved in a variety of activities, including operating a tavern on Chicago's South Side in the '50s and '60s and playing with a version of the Ink Spots in the '70s. In the '80s, McDaniel joined forces with Dave Clark, a veteran tenor saxophonist who ended up joining McDaniel's final group, the Blues Swingers. McDaniel, who recorded for Delmark in the 1990s, died in Chicago on July 23, 1995, only two days after his 80th birthday. ~Bio by Alex Henderson

Thanks to Marc.
West Side Baby: Live In Europe

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