JOHNNY MOORE'S THREE BLAZERS w/Oscar Moore "Los Angeles Blues" - Complete RCA Recordings 1949-1950

This double-disc anthology gathers all of the sides that Johnny Moore's Three Blazers documented during their brief tenure on RCA Records. The outfit featured here had evolved out of Nat King Cole's enormously successful King Cole Trio -- featuring Oscar Moore (guitar). Oscar's brother Johnny Moore (guitar) and Eddie Williams (bass) -- who wanted to create a derivative of Cole's laid-back and suave synthesis of jazz with R&B. The aggregate was solidified with the addition of Charles Brown (piano/vocals) as his unique and personalized style was rooted more deeply in the blues, yielding a notable distinction and separating them from their contemporaries. After some unpleasant business dealings resulted in Oscar Moore leaving Cole in 1947 to join his sibling's act, less than two years later Brown signed a solo deal and Williams formed his own band. From the remnants, the Moore brothers, Johnny Miller (bass) -- another King Cole Trio renegade -- as well as Lee Barnes (piano/vocals) began cutting platters for RCA Records in February of 1949, most notably "A New Shade of Blues" and "What Does It Matter." Also included are the previously unissued titles "Rosamay," "I Was Wrong" and "Fire, Fire, Fire" from this specific incarnation. Barnes would be replaced by a Charles Brown sound-alike -- although far less captivating -- named Billy Valentine. While certainly not on par with some of the Blazers' earlier recordings, there are a few standout selections, such as the incendiary instrumental "Shuffle Shuck," and some above-average overhauls of songs from their heyday with Brown, in the form of "So Long" and the Blazers' biggest hit "Driftin' Blues." Among the unreleased material from the latter outfit are "Los Angeles Blues," "Three Handed Woman," "Competition Blues" and "Wrackin' My Brain Over You." Valentine's departure in the fall of 1950 effectively marked the end of Johnny Moore's Three Blazers' -- however, packages like these are a testament to the combo's resilience. (by Lindsay Planer, AMG)trax:
disc 1
01 How Blue Can You Get? 02 How Could I Know? 03 Rosamay 04 What Does It Matter? 05 Blues For What I've Never Had 06 I Was Wrong 07 Fire, Fire, Fire 08 This Is One Time, Baby (You Ain't Gonna Two Time Me) 09 A New Shade Of Blues 10 When I Meander In The Meadow 11 Bop-A-Bye Baby 12 Citation 13 Forever 14 What Am I Gonna Do This Christmas? 15 Walkin' Blues 16 You Can Go Feed Yourself
disc 2
01 Rock With It 02 Johnny's Guitar Blues 03 Driftin' Blues 04 Shuffle Shuck. 05 Cut Off The Fat (Take Out The Bone) 06 So Long 07 Misery Blues 08 Los Angeles Blues 09 The Jumping Jack 10 Rain-Chick 11 Melody 12 Three Handed Woman 13 Someday You'll Need Me 14 Competition Blues 15 Wrackin' My Brain Over You
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