Grammy Winner – Best Jazz Vocal Performance
with Red Holloway & His Blues All-Stars
According to Joe… Enthusiasm coming from every pore! That’s how I’ve felt about this album, right fromt he first day, when Ralph Jungheim hit me with the idea of doing an all-blues album with an all-star blues band. Overseas, jazz is looked on and respected as part of our classical presentation. So, recording the first jazz album on a prestigious American classical label like Delos is a giant step toward broadening our audience here in this country. About this band. I’ve worked with most of these guys before at one time or another, but never expected to work with them all at once! That’s why these dates were such a tremendous experience for me. I don’t remember singing the blues with such verve for a long time! All four sessions were special. For one thing, there wasn’t one note on paper, except for “Ray Brown’s Back In Town,” Red Holloway’s instrumental. All the other tunes were spontaneous, on-the-spot head arrangements, which really only works when you have players with really big ears, all really listening to each other and everybody contributing. You can’t rehearse the blues (not that we needed to) so we nailed most of the tunes on the first take. Another special thing was the relaxed atmosphere we had happening in the studio, with friends dropping in to visit. You know how you can get that magic and electricity going on a live date with a good audience? Well, that’s the feeling we had right there in the studio. There was a lot of love in that room. “Nothin’ But The Blues” captures the magic. It is the blues! – Joe Williams
program
Who She Do 5:15
Just A Dream 4:44 Hold It Right There 2:42
Please Send Me Someone To Love 5:11
Going To Chicago Blues 4:48
Ray Brown’s In Town 3:51
In the Evening/Rocks In My Bed 6:55
Alright, OK, You Wind 4:41
Mean Old World/Wee Baby Blues 7:34
The Comeback 5:03
Tell Me Where To Scratch 5:04
Sent For You Yesterday 3:29
