Louis Jordan
Let The Good Times Roll (1938-1954)

Essential Black Music. Jordan is the father of Rhythm & Blues. He got his start with Chick Webb And His Orchestra (that's how he knew Ella Fitzgerald who was the Webb band's premier vocalist). In 1938 he left the band and started the Tympany Five. There were a few years of adjusting his sound and suddenly he had the hottest Black Band in America. His influence can't be overstated. His music was humorous small group swing and Jordan was an excellent hot sax player. Jordan and The Tympany Five pushed aside big band swing and ushered in Jump Blues paving the way for Wynonie Harris, Roy Milton, Amos Milburn and Roy Brown and eventually leading the way to Rock 'n' Roll. If we judge success by R&B Top Ten entries and #1 singles he's probably the most successful Afro-American artist of all time. He was reunited on a series of duets with Ella Fitzgerald who was America's premier female Black artist at the time and also dueted with America's top white male singer Bing Crosby. The Bear Family box set has all his recordings for Decca (1938-1954) on 9 CDs (215 tracks) with excellent sound. There's a 48 page large format book/magazine with a full discography and lots of period photographs including shots of Jordan appearing in various movies including a Black Western (with sax). It's the cornerstone of any serious Black Music collection.