Country blues meets jazz
Berlioz | San Antonio, Texas USA | 04/02/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Mississippi bluesman Johnnie Temple was a protege of Skip James who never achieved stardom but influenced a number of important blues musicians including Robert Johnson. This CD covers his late recorded output from April of 1940 to 1949. The accompanying personnel in the sessions is impressive -- they include Buster Bailey, Sam Price, "Red" Allen, Lil Armstrong and Al Casey. Remarkably, the combination of country blues singing and sophisticated jazz works perfectly. In the last few sessions, Temple successfully transitions into Chicago electric blues with elements of bop, boogie woogie and r and b. Highly recommended."