Willie Dixon - The Big Three Trio

 

Of course, I've been a fan of Willie Dixon's for as long as I've known who he was - well, actually, even before then, as I loved so many of his songs long before I knew who wrote them. Generally, his songwriting and bass playing were his (incredible) strong points, as he was not the strongest front person, but here he is part of a band and a damn good one!

Besides Dixon, the Big Three Trio consisted of pianist Leonard "Baby Doo" Caston and Bernardo Dennis (and later Ollie Crawford) on guitar and they all sang, providing impressive three part harmonies on many of their tunes. This late 40's/early 50's combo wasn't a strict blues band by any stretch - they happily played standards, pop tunes and whatever else struck their combined fancies. Their are jazzy boogies, stompin' instrumentals, novelty  numbers and pretty pop tunes, all done with superb musicianship and fine vocalizing. There's certainly a variety but it all works together and, according to the liner notes, they were hits with live audiences, as well.

That all said, this is a fairly bluesy affair, in a general sense, although with the other elements combined, for a smooth-blues kinda sound - with a bit of pop, a bit jazzy, plenty of harmonies, and, again, some impressive playing. Maybe sorta like Lonnie Johnson or Memphis Slim, in a vague way.

I dunno, i did quite like this, even if it's not the rough'n'tumble blues that I'm usually listening to. Worth checking out!