Jump Blues

3 profiles tagged Jump Blues, A-Z.

Jump blues developed in the early-to-mid 1940s, largely on the West Coast and in urban centers, as small combos distilled the energy of big-band swing into compact, up-tempo blues built around riffing horns, boogie-woogie piano, and honking saxophone solos. It is distinguished by its danceable shuffle rhythms, exuberant showmanship, and blues-based (rather than bebop-based) harmony, and it is widely considered a direct forerunner of rhythm and blues and rock and roll. Louis Jordan and his Tympany Five, along with saxophonists Big Jay McNeely and Illinois Jacquet, were central to the style.