Before the electric guitar, the screaming, honking and smoking tenor sax was THE instrument for popular music. One of the biggest names and sounds belonged to Sam “The Man” Taylor, best known for his classic solos on “Shake, Rattle and Roll”, “Sh’Boom” and “Money Honey”, all of which are the “Giant Steps” of solos for R&B saxists to learn. This two disc, 52 song collection puts together his material as a leader, both on singles and albums and is guaranteed to liven up your hipster party.
His material with his “Cat Men” includes bel canto takes of “My Reverie” and “This Can’t Be Love”. His albums from the 50s include a rollicking take of “Blue Sued Shoes” and swinging “O Ho, Oh Yeah, Uh Huh”. He had some jukebox hits with “Blue Mist”, “The Big Beat” and “Road Runner” and he showed his lyrical side with room filling takes of “Early Autumn” and “Solitude”. He swung with the best with a rollicking read of “Lester Leaps In” and gives Illinois Jacquet a run for his money on his own read of “Flyin’ Home”. The fog is rolling in!
Another of the tenor titans was Big Jay McNeely (1927-2018), whose flamboyant style on “honking” the blues became the mating call for a generation of Baby Boomers. This two disc, 53 song set puts together his most important singles from various labels, most notably, Savoy, Aladdin, Imperial, Vee Jay and Swingin’, and it’s a masterpiece of what a saxophone injected with testosterone can sound like.
Almost all of the songs are in fairly small settings, like his Blu Jays, with a fog rolling in on “Benson’s Groove” or searing through “The Deacon’s Hop” and ”California Hop” with Duke Ellington alumnus Britt Woodman/tb. With brother Bob McNeely on baritone sax and the mellow soul of vocalist Theodore Shirley, McNeely strides right on “Roadhouse Boogie” and ”K & H Boogie”. There are also some recordings with McNeely with an orchestra, in a more bel canto mood for “I’ll Never Love Again”, “Love From The Heart” , while a teaming with organ-meister and vocalist Leon Heywood turn the lights down low for “Without A Love” and “The Squat” and “Let’s Do It”. There’s an iconic photo of McNeely blowing out a solo on his back on stage, surrounded by a group of fans in ecstatic joy. That one picture gives some hint of his effect on the ears, feet and heart of those within shouting distance.