Al Casey - Buck Jumpin' - OJCCD675

I bought this LP in 1969. It was cracked right through when I bought it; held together by the label. But it was very rare. Over the years it has become less and less playable, and I’ve played it less and less. This is totally unnecessary, since it’s been on CD since 1991. So I just bought it.

There are two Al Caseys. The other one is a Rock & Roll guitarist. The REAL Al Casey played guitar with Fats Waller from 1934 to 1943, then with a wide variety of people from Armstrong to Sarah Vaughan. By 1958, he was in King Curtis’ band. He recorded until 1994! This album, made in 1960, is by the King Curtis band, without King Curtis, but with Rudy Powell, another Waller alumnus, on alto and clarinet. Herman Foster is on piano. Much of the material is Waller-oriented and swings as well as one would expect of these musicians with their background in swing and R&B. The highlight of the album is Casey’s Blues, which is one of the greatest preaching blues I’ve ever heard by a jazz group. Casey takes a gut-bucket solo, followed by Powell, who preaches the dead up from the grave, and Foster who takes one of his normal explosive solos - AM