George V. Johnson, Jr.
It was a beautiful day in September
Now I was busy gazing out the window
Then all of the sudden as I looked right to the corner
I could see her walking down the street.
George V. Johnson, Jr., "My Little Suede Shoes"
This up-and-coming singer stakes a solid claim as the musical heir to
Eddie Jefferson. Heck, while I was
entering the track listing of my latest Jefferson album, I stuck Next
in Line! in the CD player, and within a track I was convinced I was
listening to Jefferson. That said, Johnson has his own style and his
own songs, and I look eagerly forward to hearing more from him.
Links
Recordings
- Next In Line! (2000 Your Majesty Records)
The first track is a grainy snippet of Eddie Jefferson
introducing George at a concert in 1977. The next five tracks
are studio recordings. The last two are live recordings, and
while the sound isn't as clean, it's still quite adequate. This
album is well worth a listen, particularly if you are a fan of
Eddie Jefferson. (And who isn't?)
- "Eddie Jefferson" Eddie introduces George.
- "Opening Night" Very catchy Johnson original.
- "My Little Suede Shoes" Johnson vocalese on a Charlie Parker
solo.
- "Star Eyes" Johnson vocalese on a Charlie Parker tune.
- "Nigerian ju ju Highlife" Johnson sets lyrics to a
traditional African melody.
- "Gingerbread Boy" Johnson vocalese on a Jimmy Heath tune.
- "Freedom Jazz" The Eddie Jefferson "Freedom Jazz Dance",
complete with a tap-dance solo.
- "Bitches Brew" Chris Hall's vocalese on the Miles Davis
tune.
(I originally reviewed a CD-R version of this album. Since then
it has had a proper CD pressing, and now that I've got a copy of
that, I've updated this entry. The new pressing adds the Eddie
Jefferson sound bite, and cleans up the few audio glitches of
the CD-R. It may also have been remastered a bit; it sounds
great.)
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