Ry Cooder - Available Space

It all started with gospel music. After the American Civil War, in the mid 19th century, people moved north from the plantations to the cities, St Louis, Chicago and Memphis. By the end of the 19th century the syncopated rhythms of ragtime and the improvisational nature of jazz had arrived.

Hard times in the great depression of the 1930s drove many swing jazz big bands out of business. Jump blues filled the gap. Patrons of dance halls needed small groups who could match the volume and atmosphere of the departed big bands. Singers would shout and saxophonists would honk. This gave performers names like shouters and honkers.

Jump blues was an uptempo jazz tinged style of blues. Usually characterised by a vocalist in front of a large horn driven orchestra or medium sized combo with multiple horns. The style had a driving rhythm, intensely shouted vocal and honking tenor saxophone solos. There was also less reliance on the guitar as a lead instrument. It also had a hard, rhythmic drive and snare beat emphasis on the backbeat, 2 and 4. Very much a precursor of rock’n roll. Jump blues provided a bridge between the older styles of blues and the big band jazz sound of the 1930s.

The term R&B wasn’t coined until the late 1940s. There is a considerable overlap between, blues, jazz, jump blues, R&B and Doo Wop. The crossover from one genre to another is very hazy.

Source: R&B Before Rock’n’Roll Story by Derek Shelmerdine

Ry Cooder - Available Space

• Producer by: Lenny Waronker
• Released: 1970
• Genre: Rock, Folk, Country

"Ry Cooder has worked as a studio musician and has also scored many film soundtracks, of which perhaps the best known is that for the 1984 Wim Wenders film Paris, Texas."

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