Your Music Library
I bought this after hearing John Mayall's elegy, The Death of J.B. Lenoir. That piece was so moving, so filled with heart-ache, and so immediate, so raw. I was curious because I'd never heard of J. B. Lenoir.
The CD gives us a window into a little known era of "political jazz" during the 1950s, with two versions of Eisenhower Blues (which the producers at first forced Lenoir to give a different name to) and I'm in Korea. These is their own way are a fore-runner of Country Joe's "Fixing to Die" about the Vietnam war.
Lenoir has a distinct style, which grows on you as you listen to his work. Mayall's elegy has a verse: "J.B. had a struggle, playing unappreciated blues in vain," and it is easy to see why the society of the 1950s didn't appreciate this artist. But as Mayall also says "The Blues have lost a King." If you like jazz, especially jazz with a protest element to it, try this little known album.
Top reviews from other countries
James Kenney
If you like jazz, especially jazz with a protest element to it, try this little known album.
Reviewed in the United States on 17 June 2017