Hour #1 gets this week’s Blues Before Sunrise underway with a lively mixture of jump blues, rhythm & blues, jazz, vocal harmony, and boogie-woogie. There may be no special theme for this week’s program, but there is certainly no shortage of great music. The opening hour moves comfortably between familiar names and lesser-known artists, creating the kind of musical variety that has always been a hallmark of the program.

Wild Bill Davis starts things off with “Hi-Diddle-Diddle,” setting up the swinging atmosphere that follows. Then comes a four-song set from Louis Jordan, one of the most important figures in the development of jump blues and early rhythm & blues. “Choo Choo Ch’ Boogie” is followed by “Don’t Worry ’Bout That Mule,” “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You Cryin’,” and “Jack You’re Dead.” Jordan’s recordings combined blues, jazz, humor, and an infectious rhythmic drive, making his music enormously influential on the generation of R&B musicians that followed.

Lionel Hampton takes over with three sides that show another dimension of the era’s big-band and small-group swing. “For You My Love,” “Drinking Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee,” and “Hamp’s Gumbo” demonstrate Hampton’s ability to bring a powerful rhythmic energy to virtually anything he played. His music occupies an important position between swing, jazz, blues, and the emerging sounds of postwar popular music.

Ricky Jordan follows with three selections: “Drop Dead,” “ABC Blues,” and “Ricky’s Blues.” These recordings continue the hour’s exploration of the energetic, good-time side of rhythm & blues before the program shifts to one of the most influential small groups in American popular music.

The King Cole Trio contributes “Call the Police,” “Babs,” and “This Will Make You Laugh.” Nat King Cole’s trio was remarkably important in the development of the intimate piano-trio format, combining sophisticated musicianship with an unmistakably blues-based sensibility. Even when the arrangements sound polished and relaxed, there is a strong rhythmic foundation underneath the performances.

“Are You Fer It” completes the King Cole Trio set before Cats & the Fiddle offer “Blue Skies.” Their vocal harmonies provide another reminder of how closely the worlds of jazz, blues, swing, and vocal-group music were connected.

The hour then moves toward the instrumental side of the blues and jazz tradition. Meade Lux Lewis contributes “Bass on Top,” showcasing the boogie-woogie piano style that had such a profound influence on later rhythm & blues. Perry Bradford’s “Skiddle De Scow” follows, bringing in another important figure from the early history of Black popular music. Bradford was a songwriter, producer, and bandleader whose career stretched back to the formative years of recorded jazz and blues.

Stan Getz closes the hour with “For Stompers Only,” providing a fitting finish to a set that has moved through several generations of American music. From Louis Jordan’s jump blues to Lionel Hampton’s swing, the King Cole Trio’s intimate jazz, vocal-group harmony, and the driving rhythms of boogie-woogie, the hour demonstrates just how interconnected these musical traditions really were.

It is precisely the kind of hour that makes a no-special-theme edition of Blues Before Sunrise work so well. There is no single subject to follow and no musical box to stay inside. Instead, the recordings themselves provide the journey.

Playlist

HI-DIDDLE-DIDDLE — WILD BILL DAVIS
CHOO CHOO CH BOOGIE — LOUIS JORDAN
DON’T WORRY BOUT THAT MULE — LOUIS JORDAN
DON’T LET THE SUN CATCH YOU CRYIN’ — LOUIS JORDAN
JACK YOU’RE DEAD — LOUIS JORDAN
FOR YOU MY LOVE — LIONEL HAMPTON
DRINKING WINE SPO-DE-O-DEE — LIONEL HAMPTON
HAMP’S GUMBO — LIONEL HAMPTON
DROP DEAD — RICKY JORDAN
ABC BLUES — RICKY JORDAN
RICKY’S BLUES — RICKY JORDAN
CALL THE POLICE — KING COLE TRIO
BABS — KING COLE TRIO
THIS WILL MAKE YOU LAUGH — KING COLE TRIO
ARE YOU FER IT — KING COLE TRIO
BLUE SKIES — CATS & THE FIDDLE
BASS ON TOP — MEADE LUX LEWIS
SKIDDLE DE SCOW — PERRY BRADFORD
FOR STOMPERS ONLY — STAN GETZ