Tiny Grimes - Blues & Rhythm Series 5146: The Chronological Tiny Grimes 1951-1954

Size: 132 MB
Time: 53:12
File: FLAC
Released: 2005
Styles: Blues, R&B, Jazz
Art: Full

01. Blues Round Up (2:51)
02. Solitude (2:39)
03. Tiny's Boogie Woogie (2:59)
04. Rockin' The Blues Away (2:58)
05. Why Did You Waste My Time (2:56)
06. No Hug, No Kiss (3:14)
07. Begin The Beguine (2:57)
08. The Man I Love (2:52)
09. Franky And Johnny (2:58)
10. Call Of The Wild (2:58)
11. Ho Ho Ho (3:09)
12. Pert Skirt (2:56)
13. Juicy Fruit (2:50)
14. Second Floor Rear (2:56)
15. Rock The House (3:01)
16. 125Th Street Sunrise (2:55)
17. Frivolous Gal (3:00)
18. Showboat Mambo (2:54)

How interesting that Tiny Grimes, an accomplished jazz musician with ties to bebop, swing, and jive, has a portion of his recorded legacy partitioned off into the category of R&B. That's the way Classics divvies it up, and this disc has therefore been designated as "the third and final CD of Tiny Grimes' rhythm & blues years." While genre delineations are usually arbitrary, the presence of Red Prysock, Freddie Redd, and Screamin' Jay Hawkins certainly tips the scales in favor of the R&B tag. Note also the presence of gifted swing-to-bop pianist Sir Charles Thompson. This exciting chronological compilation presents what appear to be all of the recordings issued under Grimes' name that were made between November 1951 and May 1954. Hopping from Chicago to New York to Philadelphia, Grimes cut 18 sides during this time period for the Gotham, United, Apollo, Atlantic, and Red Robin record labels. The Red Robin sides were issued as by Tiny Grimes & His Rocking Highlanders. A press photo of the entire band wearing kilts and tams bears silent witness to this curious phase of the guitarist's eventful career. ~arwulf arwulf

The Chronological Tiny Grimes 1951-1954

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Tiny Grimes - Blues & Rhythm Series 5106: The Chronological Tiny Grimes 1949-1951

Size: 110 MB
Time: 53:12
File: FLAC
Released: 2004
Styles: Blues, R&B, Jazz
Art: Full

01. Things Ain't What They Used To Be (2:30)
02. Drivin' And Jivin' (Flying Saucer Boogie) (2:24)
03. I'm In Love With You Baby (2:36)
04. Frankie And Johnny Boogie (2:55)
05. Riverside Jump (3:06)
06. Loch Lomond (3:04)
07. Sanctifying The Blues (3:00)
08. Marie (2:39)
09. Battle Of The Mass (2:39)
10. Hawaiian Boogie (2:20)
11. My Baby's Cool (2:47)
12. St. Louis Blues (3:20)
13. 1626 Blues (2:47)
14. Rockin' And Sockin' (2:33)
15. Am I Blue (3:09)
16. Tiny's Jump (3:09)
17. Howling Blues (Blues) (2:28)
18. Bananas (2:35)
19. Jackie's Dance (3:04)

Lloyd "Tiny" Grimes was a vital force in swing, bebop, and R&B. Ungratefully jettisoned from the roster of the Atlantic record company in 1949, Grimes lined himself up with Gotham Records in Philadelphia. In 2004, the Classics Blues & Rhythm Series reissued all of Grimes' Gotham recordings made between 1949 and 1951. While this is rocking R&B at its very best, the jazz element runs strongly through these tasty vintage jams, and is personified by saxophonists Benny Golson, John Hardee, and Red Prysock; bassist Ike Isaacs; and pianists George Kelly and Freddie Redd. On the first two tracks the great Sonny Payne, later famous for his work with Count Basie, is all over the drums. Grimes himself had developed by 1949 into a first-rate jam-up electric guitarist. No melody was safe from this man's good-time sensibilities, be it "Frankie and Johnny," "Down by the Riverside," "Things Ain't What They Used to Be," or even "Loch Lomond." So successful was this last tune when performed in person that Grimes and his guys put on kilts and started calling themselves the Rocking Highlanders. Most of this stuff is solid, groovy, exciting instrumental dance music. There are only two vocalists on the entire compilation -- Georgia native Claudine Clark and George Grant, who went by the name of Haji Baba. As slim as John Hardee's discography is (mostly Blue Note sides, usually mentioned in the same breath as those of Ike Quebec), his instrumental collaborations with Tiny Grimes are precious indeed. This outstanding compilation ends with a surprise tidbit predating the scope of this segment of the Grimes chronology; inadvertently omitted from an earlier volume in the series, "Jackie's Dance" was recorded near the end of 1947 and features Red Prysock on the tenor sax. ~arwulf arwulf

The Chronological Tiny Grimes 1949-1951

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Tiny Grimes - Blues & Rhythm Series 5048: The Chronological Tiny Grimes 1944-1949

Size: 164 MB
Time: 68:39
File: FLAC
Released: 2002
Styles: Blues, R&B, Jazz
Art: Full

01. Tiny's Tempo (2:56)
02. I'll Always Love You Just The Same (3:00)
03. Romance Without Finance (3:03)
04. Red Cross (3:09)
05. Groovin' With Grimes (3:05)
06. C Jam Blues (2:50)
07. Flying Home Part 1 (3:07)
08. Flying Home Part 2 (3:00)
09. Tiny's Boogie Woogie (3:00)
10. Profoundly Blue (2:46)
11. Blue Harlem (2:58)
12. That Old Black Magic (2:37)
13. Boogie Woogie Barbecue (3:07)
14. Annie Laurie (2:58)
15. Hot In Harlem (2:47)
16. Flying High (3:05)
17. Nightmare Blues (3:09)
18. Midnight Special (2:43)
19. See See Rider (2:48)
20. Jealousy (2:46)
21. The Sidewalks Of New York (3:23)
22. Rock The House (3:05)
23. Jumpin' At Gleason's (3:05)

Tiny Grimes was one of the earliest jazz electric guitarists to be influenced by Charlie Christian, and he developed his own swinging style. Early on, he was a drummer and worked as a pianist in Washington. In 1938, he started playing electric guitar, and two years later he was playing in a popular jive group, the Cats and the Fiddle. During 1943-1944, Grimes was part of a classic Art Tatum Trio which also included Slam Stewart. In September 1944, he led his first record date, using Charlie Parker; highlights include the instrumental "Red Cross" and Grimes' vocal on "Romance Without Finance (Is a Nuisance)." He also recorded for Blue Note in 1946, and then put together an R&B-oriented group, "the Rockin' Highlanders," that featured the tenor of Red Prysock during 1948-1952. Although maintaining a fairly low profile, Tiny Grimes was active up until his death, playing in an unchanged swing/bop transitional style and recording as a leader for such labels as Prestige/Swingville, Black & Blue, Muse, and Sonet. ~Scott Yanow

The Chronological Tiny Grimes 1944-1949

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Various - The Birth Of Rock N Roll NYC 1950-1960 Vol. 2

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 33:47
Size: 77.4 MB
Styles: Rock n Roll, R&B
Year: 2016
Art: Front

[2:28] 1. Charlie Singleton Orchestra - Earthquake
[2:25] 2. Champion Jack Dupree - Shake Baby Shake
[2:38] 3. Red Prysock - Hard Rock
[2:46] 4. Tiny Grimes - Juicy Fruit
[3:06] 5. Brownie McGhee - Don't Dog Your Woman
[2:25] 6. The Upsetters - Jay Walkin'
[2:09] 7. Jimmy Spruill - Scratch 'n' Twist
[2:43] 8. Mary Ann Fisher - Wild As You Can Be
[2:27] 9. Riff Ruffin - Gravy Train
[2:33] 10. Buster Brown - The Madison Shuffle
[2:19] 11. Wilbert Harrison - 1960
[2:59] 12. Tarheel Slim - Number Nine Train
[2:43] 13. Junior Lewis - Can She Give Me Feverhree Days On

At the start of the 1950s, midtown Manhattan was the centre of the American music industry, containing the headquarters of three major labels (RCA, Columbia, and Decca), most of the music publishers, and many recording studios. Publishers were the start of the recording process, employing “song pluggers” to go across town and persuade each of the major label artists-and-repertoire (A&R) men to record a new song with one of their established singers. Alongside traditional publishers, whose writers composed for stage shows and Hollywood musicals, were newer companies specializing in country music (including Peer-Southern and Hill and Range) and many affiliates of independent rhythm-and-blues labels. Some larger independent publishers made copublishing arrangements with smaller companies and acted as midwives for the birth of rock and roll by instigating pop cover versions of hits from the country and rhythm-and-blues markets. ~Charlie Gillett

The Birth Of Rock N Roll NYC 1950-1960 Vol. 2 mc
The Birth Of Rock N Roll NYC 1950-1960 Vol. 2 zippy

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Various - Tiny Grimes & Friends

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 40:08
Size: 91.9 MB
Styles: R&B
Year: 1990
Art: Front

[2:39] 1. The Cats & The Fiddle - Movin' Out Today
[2:22] 2. The Dixieaires - Things Got Tough Again
[2:32] 3. The Dixieaires - Long Lean And Lanky
[2:51] 4. The Dixieaires - Keep Me With You
[2:37] 5. Haji Baba - I'm In Love With You Baby
[3:25] 6. The Cats & The Fiddle - Do You Really Love Me
[3:22] 7. The Cats & The Fiddle - Start Talking Baby
[2:58] 8. The Cats & The Fiddle - Start Talking Baby (Take 2)
[2:52] 9. The Cats & The Fiddle - I'll Never Let You Go
[2:54] 10. Johnny Davis - I'm A Wine Drinker
[2:29] 11. Johnny Davis - I Love To Make Love To You
[2:32] 12. JB Summers - I Want A Present For Christmas
[3:28] 13. Lionel Robinson - I Can't Go On Without Your Love
[3:02] 14. Tiny Grimes - Call Of The Wild

An interesting collection of early Tiny, working with Cats & The Fiddle on five of the 14 collected tracks on this hodgepodge compilation. The rest of it is Grimes backing everyone from gospel group the Dixieaires to R&B singers Johnny Davis, Lionel Robinson, J.B. Summers and George Grant (recorded here for Gotham Records under the pseudonym of Haji Baba), along with an unissued and much wilder take of his own "Call of the Wild." Not the place to start a Tiny Grimes collection, but a nice one to add to the collection along the way. ~ Cub Koda

Tiny Grimes was a drummer and a pianist before he began playing electric guitar in 1938. He was also part of The Cats And The Fiddle, a popular jive group. On this disc, we hear a lot of Grimes' work with that group, as well as his other work with greats such as Johnny Davis, J.B. Summers, and Lionel Robinson.

Tiny Grimes & Friends mc
Tiny Grimes & Friends zippy

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