Boogie-woogie pianist Jimmy Yancey and his wife, Mama Yancey, used to have musical gatherings at their Chicago home. The performances heard on this CD were recorded by a wire recorder three months before Yancey's death, and were released for the first time on this 1997 CD. The recording quality varies greatly, ranging from listenable to quite noisy, so this is not a release for general listeners. However, Jimmy Yancey collectors will definitely want it, because there are some unique moments heard along the way. First, an unknown pianist is featured on four numbers, playing very good boogie-woogie, accompanying Mama Yancey on "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" and "Chicago in Mind." Jimmy Yancey, who was not feeling that well but still playing excellently, is featured on the next five numbers, although two of the three selections that also feature Mama Yancey and have Phil Kiely providing a third hand on the piano, playing the high notes, are a bit damaged. Walter Joplin (no relation) performs "Scott Joplin's New Rag." A jam session takes place with both of the Yanceys (they share the vocals on "Royal Garden Blues"), with clarinetist Buzz Reynolds and banjoist Dick Mushlitz featured on six mostly listenable numbers. In addition, Mushlitz switches to piano for a solo "Blues" recorded a day later, and there are repeats of three of the performances from a clearer but scratchier source. The joy of the music generally shines through on this historic release.
Brazilian guitarist, Celso Salim continues to channel the soul of American Blues with his namesake band in his new and truly inspiring album, Mama’s Hometown, due for release on September 28 thfrom Wide Track Records. There are a lot of reasons why Salim is a multi-award winning musician and widely acknowledged Blues master on both sides of the equator, and you’ll find plenty of them on this almost too short nine-song collection. The album is produced by Mike Hightower and Celso Salim.
Known in her heyday as "the blues sensation of the West," the big-voiced Sara Martin was one of the best of the classic female blues singers of the '20s. Martin began her career as a vaudeville performer, switching to blues singing in the early '20s. In 1922, she began recording for OKeh Records, cutting a number of bawdy blues like "Mean Tight Mama." She continued recording until 1928. During this time, Martin became a popular performer on the southern Theater Owners' Booking Association circuits, eventually playing theaters and clubs on the east coast as well. In the early '30s, Sara Martin retired from blues singing and settled in her hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. While she was in Louisville, she ran a nursing home and occasionally sang gospel in church. Sara Martin died after suffering a stroke in 1955.
22-year old Kawano Ayu was brought up way out in the country. She's a rough-mannered tomboy. When she meets Tetsu, a divorced beautician, the two fall in love and get married. Immediately after their happy new life begins, they are visited by a 5-year old boy, Yuki, who claims to be Tetsu's son. Ayu reluctantly becomes the boy's mother, but has no idea how to raise a child. What's more, at kindergarten, she must confront the elegant mothers of the neighborhood. Ayu's humorous life as a rookie mother begins.Fuji TV