Mary Jo Putney s Lost Lords Bundle Loving a Lost Lord Never Less Than A Lady Nowhere Near Respectable No Longer a Gentleman Amp Sometimes A Rogue

To hear tenor saxist A.C. Reed bemoan his fate on-stage, one might glean the impression that he truly detests his job. But it's a tongue-in-cheek complaint - Reed's raspy, gutbucket blowing and laid-back vocals belie any sense of boredom. Sax-blowing blues bandleaders are scarce as hen's teeth in Chicago; other than Eddie Shaw, Reed's about all there is. Born in Missouri, young Aaron Corthen (whether he's related to blues legend Jimmy Reed remains hazy, but his laconic vocal drawl certainly mirrors his namesake) grew up in downstate Illinois. A big-band fan, he loved the sound of Paul Bascomb's horn on an obscure Erskine Hawkins 78 he heard tracking on a tavern jukebox so much that he was inspired to pick up a sax himself…

To hear tenor saxist A.C. Reed bemoan his fate on-stage, one might glean the impression that he truly detests his job. But it's a tongue-in-cheek complaint - Reed's raspy, gutbucket blowing and laid-back vocals belie any sense of boredom. Sax-blowing blues bandleaders are scarce as hen's teeth in Chicago; other than Eddie Shaw, Reed's about all there is. Born in Missouri, young Aaron Corthen (whether he's related to blues legend Jimmy Reed remains hazy, but his laconic vocal drawl certainly mirrors his namesake) grew up in downstate Illinois. A big-band fan, he loved the sound of Paul Bascomb's horn on an obscure Erskine Hawkins 78 he heard tracking on a tavern jukebox so much that he was inspired to pick up a sax himself…

Performing accompaniment for the great tap dancer Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in 1930 may seem historic enough for most music enthusiasts, but Putney Dandridge had already been in the music business for more than a decade when he got this gig. He was part of a revue known as the Drake and Walker Show beginning in 1918 and subsequently became known as one of the most active players on the Buffalo music stampede. After several years with Robinson, the pianist and vocalist skimmed his way around the Great Lakes in order to establish a new residency in Cleveland, complete with his own band. This activity lasted through 1934…