Jimmy Blythe (May 20, 1901 – June 14, 1931) was an influential American jazz and boogie-woogie pianist.
He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, United States, and moved to Chicago, Illinois around 1916, studying with …
“Lovin’s been here and gone to Mecca Flats” so states the lyric of Jimmy Blythe’s most famous and well known composition.
Mecca Flats was an apartment building designed in 1891 and finished just in time for the “Columbian World Exposition” in Chicago in 1893. It was at the corner of 35th and State Street …
Virtually nothing is known about Priscilla Stewart. An excellent second-level classic blues singer, Stewart recorded 25 performances during 1924-1928, all of which are on Document DOCD-5476. In the majority of the cases, she is accompanied by pianist Jimmy Blythe, who is in excellent form throughout. Altoist Stump Evans and cornetist Shirley Clay make …
Lem Fowler is a mystery figure in jazz history. Although he lived over 60 years, he largely disappeared after 1932 and his birth and death dates and locations have not been positively identified. What is known is that during 1922-32 he recorded 57 songs and 23 player piano rolls in New York and …
THOMAS, HERSAL (1906–1926). Child prodigy pianist, was born in Houston in September 9, 1906. Hersal was one of thirteen children of George and Fanny Thomas. George, Sr., was a deacon at Shiloh Baptist Church, where his children often sang in the choir and played the piano and organ. The Thomas family was …
