Louis Jordan was one of the big stars in the R&B charts of the 1940s, racking up over 50 hits with his band The Tympany Five into the early 50s with his distinctive brand of jump blues, a swinging up-tempo hybrid of jazz, blues and boogie-woogie, with his alto sax, vocals and extrovert persona at the core of their appeal. He was dubbed “The King Of The Jukebox” as a result of his popularity (See Louis Jordan & His Tympany Five Jukebox Hits Vol. 1 1942-47 and Vol. 2 1947-51 [Acrobat ACMCD4082 & 4083]). Although he did not have hits after 1951 he continued making great R&B records through subsequent years as the pop music landscape increasingly reflected the influence that his earlier hits had on the development of rock ‘n’ roll, although it was newer artists who took that music into the charts. This great-value 52-track 2-CD set comprises selected A & B sides from the 40-odd releases he had during this era, first on his long-standing record label Decca, and after that on the RCA subsidiary labels “X” and Vik and then the Aladdin label – after 1958 his career became much less chart-focused, so the material on this collection very much rounds off his time as an artist with chart ambitions. It captures Louis performing with the same energy, humour and rocking intent as in earlier years, as his finely-honed band swings through some quality material, with the later recordings demonstrating how much he was part of the rock ‘n’ roll explosion.
