Jimmy Witherspoon: The Concerts

The 'Spoon Concerts (Fantasy 1989)

Rockin With Spoon (Charley R&B 1992)

The Concerts (Fantasy 2002)

This week features more Jimmy Witherspoon, this time of live performances which have been re-released at least three times: these are not three different CDs but three CDs of the exact same material reshuffled. The most commonly-available CD version is the one pictured to the left from Fantasy Records. Charly Records shuffled the exact same tracks and released the same material as the CD in the middle in 1992. Then Fantasy re-released the same material again, highlighting that the material comes from two Hi-Fi Jazz LPs of two 1959 live performances: one at the Moterrey Jazz Festival in October 1959 and the other at The Renaissance in L.A. in December 1959. Both Charly and Fantasy rightly have a reputation for releasing CDs with poor sound quality, but the sound quality on these CDs is great.

In 1959, Spoon got his big break as a solo singer. He had sang for Jay McShann's band out of Kansas City for a while, but had fallen into obscurity singing solo in the dingy night club circuit. Indeed, the story goes that the Monterrey Jazz Festival organizers had a difficult time even finding him to perform at the festival in October 1959. However, they found him. Toward the end of the showcase concert, Spoon strutted on the stage as some of the audience started to leave, thinking that the show was over when it really was just about to begin. He slapped Earl Hines' piano, shouted to Ben Webster, "Down Home! A-Flat!" and kicked into a show that brought him back into legendary status and propelled critical acclaim for his "Singin the Blues" LP. Hi-Fi Jazz released this concert as one album, and then released another Spoon concert from a pair of December 1959 appearances at The Renaissance on the Sunset strip in Hollywood. These CDs compile and re-arrange the material from both albums. Spoon also cut his seminal "Singin' the Blues" LP on Blue Note in 1959, which is one of the Austin Lindy Hop Top 25 Essential Lindy Hop CDs.

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