Joshua

A while back my friend Bob (aka DJ Thor, because he brings the thunder) and I were talking about the tune Joshua fit de Battle of Jericho. Pretty much everyone knows the version by Sidney Bechet--it's been overplayed for years and years. As I understand it, it's true pretty much all over the country, which is impressive as overplay often tends to be a scene-specific phenomenon. Like all perennial favorite tunes, it is overplayed for a reason--it's a really killer track. The tune itself is a big part of it, I think. It's a great, moving spiritual, the lyrics and music in combination are quite dramatic, and it has an almost hypnotic rhythmic patter.

For fun, I thought I'd go through all of the versions of the tune in my collection, and add some commentary of my own. Next time you're thinking of hitting play on the Bechet version, perhaps you could consider one of the others I list here instead. From least to most favorite (for the moment):

• Joshua Fit De Battle Of Jericho - Thelma Carpenter - Seems Like Old Times - 2:30 - 155. This version is pretty straight--Thelma's enunciation is impressive but maybe detracts from the performance. Together with the male back-up vocals and instrumentation, the recording sounds a bit too stagey to me. Borderline for playing at a dance.
• Joshua Fight The Battle Of Jericho - Gérard Messonnier And The Hot Kings - The Best Of New-Orleans Vol. 1 - 3:15 - 165. This sounds to me like a Bechet rip-off. Or to be charitable, the group is very inspired by Bechet. A little plodding.
• Joshua (1940) - Stuff Smith - Time And Again - 3:22 - 200. Typical Stuff Smith nonsense. He diverges from (forgets?) the original tune after about 8 bars, but man does this group swing like the dickens.
• Joshua Fit De Battle Of Jericho - Delta Rhythm Boys - The Best Of 1940-50 - 2:32 - 215. Nice male vocal harmony version. It's just the Boys and a piano, so too mellow for dancing.
• Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho - Kid Ory - In the Forties - 2:58 - 155. This version has a very folk-gospel feel to the vocals, but the instrumentals are chunky and driving like the rest of Kid Ory. Quite danceable.
• Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho - Mahalia Jackson - I Wonder If I Will Ever Rest - 2:02 - 175. Bob played this version at a dance a while back, which is what got me thinking about the tune. Mahalia has an amazing voice (to make the understatement of the year), and sings this tune like she's leading the charge, or at least Joshua's second-in-command. Accompanied only by piano and snare drum.
• Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho - Josh White - Josh White Vol. 5 (1944) - 2:32 - 105. Solo male vocal, self-accompanied on guitar. Very nice voice, intimate recording. This recording has some less well-known verses in it. It gets faster as it goes on, which adds to the drama.
• Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho - Milt Hinton - Bassically With Blue - 3:19 - 215. This is a super groovy, deconstructed instrumental version, featuring amazing slap-bass from Hinton. He also has a virtuosic recording called simply "Joshua" for solo bass, on the album The Judge at his Best.
• Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho - Sidney Bechet - Sidney Bechet: 1949 - 3:20 - 175. The version that everyone knows. Driving riff, great solos, great group improvisation. The moment that always gets me is right around 1:20, where everybody really starts to wail.
• Joshua Fit the Battle - Gordon Webster - Live In Philadelphia - 3:57 - 180. Current favorite. The tune is familiar enough to catch people's attention, but it has lots of interesting twists, a wide variety of voices, and a TON of energy (it's a live recording). The clarinet solo is sweet sounding (not quite so grating as Bechet's soprano sax). I love the moment around 1:45 that has a sort of second-line feel, and then around 2:20 when the rhythm section drops out.

And, as an homage to Hey Mr. Jesse, I'll even throw in a BONUS! Check out this video of a bunch of kids singing the tune with multi-part harmonies, on a subway somewhere.

Do you have a favorite version that I haven't listed? Leave a comment.

My Daddy Rocks Me

Just had one of those little moments that other jazz fans may identify with, where things get connected up for you in a surprising way. Actually it may be old news to all you, but it was a little "aha" for me. Bear with me...what follows is a bit stream-of-consciousness...

Most dancers are probably familiar with the tune Six Appeal, played by the Benny Goodman Sextet with Lionel Hampton and Charlie Christian (EMusic, Amazon, iTunes). Even if you don't recognize the name, you've probably heard it many times at dances. If not, download it immediately and tip off your local DJ's, because it's an incredible recording. It's both laid back and driving at the same time, devious, moody, and yet playful. Though it's a only a small group, and for large portions of the arrangement only three instruments are playing at any given time, in my experience it will still raise the energy in the room. By the way, there's also a good recording by Jonathan Stout and his Campus Five, a little slower and using a little fuller instrumentation (Amazon, iTunes).

So what I've just realized is that the tune comes from a blues song called "My Daddy Rocks Me." The lyrics are simple, bawdy fun:

My daddy rocks me with one steady roll.
There's no slippin' when he once takes hold.
I looked at the clock and the clock struck one.
I said "Now Daddy, ain't we got fun."
He kept rockin' with one steady roll.

My man rocks me with one steady roll.
There's no slippin' when he once takes hold.
I looked at the clock and the clock struck three.
I said "Now Daddy, you a-killin' me!"
He kept rockin' with one steady roll.

My man rocks me with one steady roll.
There's no slippin' when he once takes hold.
I looked at the clock and the clock struck six.
I said "Now Daddy, you know a lot of tricks!"
He kept rockin' with one steady roll.

My man rocks me with one steady roll.
There's no slippin' when he once takes hold.
I looked at the clock and the clock struck ten.
I said "Glory! Amen!"
He kept rockin' with one steady roll.

I'm a sucker for this kind of stuff. I found the lyrics on a 1938 recording with vocals by Trixie Smith, accompanied by Sidney Bechet (available on EMusic, Amazon, iTunes--don't miss that there are two parts). This is a pretty awesome recording too--the vocals are gritty, Bechet's fills are plaintive and intricate, and it all pushes forward enough that I could play it at a dance if the moment called for blues.

I should say, hat-tip to Steve from Australia/Norway for recommending the track that connected the dots for me. He suggested a recording of "My Daddy Rocks Me" by Benny Goodman, featuring a nice Slam Stewart bass solo (available here on Emusic and Amazon--couldn't find it on iTunes). As I was listening to it I realized that it was the same tune as "Six Appeal" and from there I found the vocal version from Trixie Smith. This recording is cool too--its slow for lindy hop, about 100 bpm, but you could certainly play it at a dance. I'll have to report back once I test it out on some dancers.

So there you have it: four track recommendations for the price of one--five if you count the two parts of the vocal version separately.