LONNIE JOHNSON LOSING GAME Released:1960
Label: Prestige
Format: [email protected]
The father of urban blues, song crooner and guitar master Alonzo "Lonnie" Johnson had been cutting records 35 years when he made this solo session on December 28, 1960, yet the vitality, grace, and haunting emotional quality of his music were undiminished by time. A collection of nine blues tunes and three popular standards, Losing Game includes one rare example of Johnson accompanying himself on piano--"Evil Woman"-- and a stunning guitar instrumental--"Slow and Easy"--on which he further developed the surprise-filled triplet patterns he'd made famous with his 1927 solo chorus on Louis Armstrong's "I'm Not Rough." Not rough, indeed, Johnson was one of the smoothest, sweetest blues and jazz stylists who ever lived.
Singing guitarist Lonnie Johnson looms as a major stylistic innovator in both the jazz and blues fields. His single-string approach to soloing and sophisticated harmonic sense left a profound mark on several generations of guitar players, including Eddie Lang, Charlie Christian, T-Bone Walker, Lowell Fulson, and B.B. King.
Tracklist: 1. New Orleans Blues 2:21 2. My Little Kitten Susie 2:34 3. Evil Woman 2:27 4. What A Diff'rence A Day Made 4:47 5. Moanin' Blues 3:53 6. Summertime 5:36 7. Lines In My Face 2:45 8. Losing Game 1:47 9. New Years Blues 2:11 10. Slow And Easy 4:10 11. Four Walls And Me 3:39 12. You Won't Let Me Go 3:42
Lonnie Johnson: vocals guitar (piano on Track 3)
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