Josh White on Columbia

[mikeweil]

Saxist Pony Poindexter states in his autobiography that he played on a Josh White session for Columbia, in the early 1960s, around the time he played with Lambert, Hendricks & Ross. Now I got a copy of Jon Hendricks' LP Fast Livin' Blues for Columbia, and he repeats the statement in the liners, and Hendricks tells he was inspired to the lyrics of his title song while attending the very same Josh White session.

Lord or Bruynickx do not list anything like it - could this be unreleased, or does anybody know anything about this session?

Thanks, as always.

[mikeweil]

Could this have been recorded for another label, not Columbia?

[paul secor]

I checked Jepsen 1942-1962 and Blues Records 1943-1970 and couldn't find any mention of a Josh White session with Pony Poindexter. Perhaps, as you speculate, the session was unreleased.

[Chuck Nessa]

White recorded for Elektra, ABC and Mercury during that time. My best guess is Mercury MG20672/SR60672. According to Jepsen this was recorded at Town Hall in 1961 with Beverley White (vcl) unknown ts, fl, p, b, ds.

[paul secor]

Good pick up, Chuck. Blues Records also lists a 1960 Elektra recording, Empty Bed Blues, with one track, "Baby Bay Blues", where Josh White is backed by "unk ss, p, b, & d", so it could be that session also.

[mikeweil]

Thanks all - very much appreciated.

Lord lists Mercury MG20672/SR60672 with the following personnel:

Josh White (vcl,g) acc by Jerome Richardson (ts,fl) Bobby Scott (p) Bill Lee (b) Sticks Evans (d) Victor Allende (cga) Beverly White (vcl)

Lord has the Empty Bed Blues with George Coleman on some tracks, but the one with an unknown sax player, too - given the bad luck Pony often had in those years, this might be the one. I'd have to listen to it to identify Pony - maybe I can locate a copy.

Thanks again.

[mikeweil]

I was able to listen to a sample of the track Paul suggested, and indeed there is a soprano sax audible sounding a lot like Pony Poindexter - CD copies of this album are easy to find.

Thanks one more time - this was the last unresolved question in my discographical research on Poindexter.

[mikeweil]

I listened to samples of the whole Empty Bed Blues album, and Baby Bay Blues is the only one with sax and piano. I bought a download of this track. The Lord disco suggests George Coleman, but it is a soprano, and besides the fact that Coleman never played soprano in those years, it doesn't sound like him. It's clearly Pony Poindexter.

But who's the pianist?