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Max Jones

Max Jones

photo: Max Jones circa 1950  (© Max Jones Archive)

Max Jones co-founded the magazine Jazz Music, which set out "to reassert the pioneering role of the African-American, to emphasise the music’s social dimensions, and to attack the glossy commercialism of big-band swing". After 1944, Max had had a full-time job writing features for the Melody Maker in the column “Collectors’ Corner”. In the following years he gained more and more high recognition as a proven expert of New Orleans Jazz, swing, and mainstream jazz. A collection of his articles on musicians such as Coleman Hawkins, Johnny Hodges, Billie Holiday, and Mary Lou Williams was published as a book entitled Talking Jazz in 1987. In 1971 Max published a Louis Armstrong biography, Louis Armstrong Story, together with John Chilton. He also wrote a number of liner notes, e.g. for the CD edition of the Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band and theSpirits of Rhythm. He was the first jazz musician to become a professional journalist and was a model and a mentor for a younger generation of rock critics and authors. Max died in August 1993.

The Independent's obituary

161 articles

List of articles in the library

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Hoagy Carmichael: The 'Old Music Master' says "I've no patience at all with the Narrow Jazz Boys"

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 14 August 1948

A first-hand character impression of HOAGY CARMICHAEL ...

Lonnie Johnson: They don't listen today unless you play loud says Lonnie Johnson, the blues singer with electric box

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 5 July 1952

"HOW LONG have you had that Gibson electric guitar?" I asked Lonnie Johnson when he came round to my flat to hear some of his ...

Ken Colyer, Lonnie Donegan, Alexis Korner: Skiffle or Piffle?

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 July 1956

ALEXIS KORNER tells Max Jones ...

Chris Barber, Otis Spann, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Chris Barber: St. Pancras Town Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 25 October 1958

I WAS surprised to read that Muddy Waters was coolly received in Leeds. At his London appearance on Monday the applause was hot and strong. ...

Muddy Waters: This World of Jazz: Muddy Waters

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 November 1958

MUDDY WATERS, that astonishing blues artist from Lake Park Avenue, Chicago, departed for home on Monday night without too many regrets. ...

Billie Holiday: "They won't let me work in New York, so I'm settling in London"

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 February 1959

Billie Holiday was in London this week for a TV date. She returned to the States on Wednesday ...

Billie Holiday: She was original, honest — unique says Max Jones

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 August 1959

WHAT A sad, bad year it has been for jazz. The deaths of Baby Dodds, Lester Young and Sidney Bechet have been followed with tragic ...

Quincy Jones: "Bandleading... enough to make grey hair grow on my eyeballs... but I'm not quitting jazz"

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 10 February 1962

QUINCY JONES — in London for a flying visit — grabs a word with MAX JONES ...

Aretha Franklin: Aretha (UK Fontana TFL 5173)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 March 1962

'Won't be Long'; 'Over The Rainbow'; 'Love Is The Only Thing'; 'Sweet Lover'; 'All Night Long'; 'Who Needs You?'; 'Right Now'; 'Maybe I'm A Fool'; ...

Sarah Vaughan: Madame Butterfly

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 September 1963

MAX JONES talks to a new-look SARAH VAUGHAN ...

Jimmy Smith: Hobo Flats (Verve VLP9039)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 October 1963

Big band backing lifts organ tracks ...

Quincy Jones, Sarah Vaughan: Music In The Making: Quincy Jones — Sarah Makes It All Worth While

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 October 1963

Quincy Jones, who spent last week in London enjoying the sights and sounds by day and night, is one of music's all-rounders. Bandleader, composer, arranger, publisher, ...

Willie Dixon, Memphis Slim, Matt "Guitar" Murphy, Victoria Spivey, Muddy Waters, Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller): Now It's The South's Turn At The Blues

Report by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 October 1963

BLUES IN Croydon may strike a funny note to enthusiasts steeped in the lore of Mississippi and Chicago's South Side. ...

Duke Ellington: "They're trying to make me a piano player. I'll have to start practising..."

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 February 1964

MELODY MAKER'S MAX JONES PHONES DUKE ELLINGTON IN THE STATES ON THE EVE OF HIS BRITISH TOUR. ...

Bob Dylan: If You Want To Do It — Then Do It

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 May 1964

It's the rules that cause the trouble ...

Little Walter — the man who sparked off a revolution

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 September 1964

I KNOW Little Walter only from records. ...

John Lee Hooker: Your kids dig the blues...

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 10 October 1964

IT IS hardly three months since John Lee Hooker was last in Britain, but even in that short time he's noticed a change in the ...

Sugar Pie DeSanto, Willie Dixon, Sleepy John Estes, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf, Sunnyland Slim, Sonny Boy Williamson II (Rice Miller): Howlin' Wolf, Sleepy John Estes, Lightnin' Hopkins, Sonny Boy Williamson et al: American Blues Festival, Fairfield Halls, Croydon

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 October 1964

BLUES FALL ON CROYDON ...

Ben Webster: Talking of love...

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 2 January 1965

EVERYBODY TALKS about Ben Webster's big sound, but I don't remember about when, where and why he began to cultivate it. Between sets at Scott's, ...

Inez Andrews, The Five Blind Boys of Alabama, Bishop Samuel Kelsey: From Church To Concert Hall

Report by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 2 January 1965

MAX JONES PREVIEWS THE SPIRITUAL AND GOSPEL PACKAGE ...

Donovan, Bob Dylan: Dylan v. Donovan

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 March 1965

DOUBLE EXPOSURE ON THE FOLK SCENE ...

Bob Dylan: Fastest sell-out yet

Report and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 27 March 1965

When Bob Dylan first came to Britain some three years ago, his visit passed virtually unnoticed outside the folk music field. Now, on the strength ...

Donovan, Bob Dylan: Screams for Dylan

Report and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 May 1965

BOB DYLAN got the full star treatment at London Airport on Monday night. A mainly young crowd of about 150 created chaos as the 24-year-old ...

Bob Dylan: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 May 1965

Different Dylan ...

Chris Barber: Now They Can Tell The Difference

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 September 1965

CHRIS BARBER, who has been leading bands off and on for sixteen years, still approaches the business with youthful enthusiasm. In spite of beat booms, ...

Sleepy John Estes: Brownsville Blues (Delmark DL613)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 September 1965

Estes (voc. gtr), acc. on some tracks by Hammie Nixon (harmonica) or Yank Rachel (gtr), Ed Wilkenson or Ransom Knowling (bass) on three tracks. 1964/5. ...

Albert Ayler, Ornette Coleman, Dizzy Gillespie: Dizzy Gillespie: in from the storm

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 4 December 1965

DIZZY GILLESPIE was in benevolent mood when he met the press at his Mayfair hotel. Smiling amiably between mouthfuls of Worthington, he gave the impression ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland, John Lee Hooker: John Lee Hooker: John Lee Hooker Plays And Sings The Blues (Chess CRL4500); Bobby Bland: Here's The Man (Vocalion VA-PS041)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 January 1966

HOOKER RECORDS abound, but the latest from Chess, John Lee Hooker Plays And Sings The Blues (CRL4500) is a more than usually satisfying set. ...

Mahavishnu Orchestra, Sonny Rollins: Rick Laird: Musicians Over Here Sound As If They're Stuck

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 January 1966

LONDON — LATEST in a long line of British jazz musicians to trek to the United States is twenty-four-year-old Rick Laird, resident bassist at London's ...

Mose Allison: A Chunk Of Indian Music In 'I Got Rhythm' Isn't A Jazz Influence

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966

LONDON — MOSE ALLISON, Mississippi piano player now ending a two-week cabaret season at Annie's Room in London, is not quite the figure you expect ...

Son House: Father Of Folk Blues (CBS BPC62604)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 January 1966

'Death Letter'; 'Pearline'; 'Louise McGhee'; 'John The Revelator'; 'Empire State Express'; 'Preachin' Blues'; 'Grinning In Your Face'; 'Sundown'; 'Levee Camp Moan'. ...

Bob Dylan: Robert Shelton of the New York Times talks to Max Jones about his friend Bob Dylan

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 19 February 1966

BOB DYLAN remains a fascinating subject of conversation for four good reasons. Because he has talent and originality; because, in spite of brushes with the ...

Ramsey Lewis: Music for Anywhere from The In Crowd

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 March 1966

CHESS Records VP MARSHALL CHESS in Britain to bang the drum for the RAMSEY LEWIS TRIO, talks to the MM's Max Jones ...

Alexis Korner: Back to Square 1 With 'R&B' Korner

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 19 March 1966

ALEXIS KORNER, once regarded as the founding father of British R&B, is to be seen weekly on TV's Five O'Clock Club. He also works with ...

Bukka White: Sky Songs (Fontana 688804ZL)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 April 1966

BUKKA WHITE is one of the important Mississippi blues artists, an old-school singer and guitar player admired by just about every blues collector and performer ...

"Spider" John Koerner: Spider John and the 7-string itch

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 April 1966

ONE OF the first things to strike you when you hear Spider John Koerner on records, is the odd double-string flavour of the guitar work ...

Bob Dylan: Will The Real Bob Dylan Please Stand Up?

Report and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 14 May 1966

Max Jones meets the mystical mister Dylan ...

Mahalia Jackson: I Believe (GGL0367)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 9 July 1966

SEVERAL OF Mahalia Jackson's earliest Apollo recordings — and that means some of her most impressive singing — are included in the new Golden Guinea ...

Horace Silver: Ronnie Scott's club, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 September 1966

Extension of the earlier quintet ...

The Modern Jazz Quartet, Swingle Singers, Les: Modern Jazz Quartet: Sitting Tight On The Format

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 September 1966

JOHN LEWIS, amiable but reticent leader of the Modern Jazz Quartet, is that rare bird in jazz, a musician who doesn't like talking about himself. ...

Robert Johnson: King Of The Delta Blues Singers

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 September 1966

'Crossroads Blues'; 'Terraplane Blues'; 'Come On In My Kitchen'; 'Waltzing Blues'; 'Last Fair Deal Come Down'; '32-20 Blues'; 'Kindhearted Woman Blues'; 'If I Had Possession ...

Lonnie Johnson, Memphis Slim: Albums from Memphis Slim and Lonnie Johnson

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 October 1966

Memphis leads a bunch of blues ...

Horace Silver: Just Quit While You're Ahead

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 October 1966

ALREADY, AND in spite of the excessively rough luck of having his place of employment burned down on the opening night of his first British ...

Lightnin' Hopkins: Bluebird Blues (Fontana 688803 ZL)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 October 1966

Lightnin' strikes again ...

Sleepy John Estes, Little Brother Montgomery, Otis Rush, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Joe Turner, Sippie Wallace, Junior Wells, Robert Pete Williams: Sippie Wallace, Otis Rush et al: Fifth American Folk Blues Festival, Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 October 1966

Blues by three in the worst possible setting ...

Sippie Wallace: Very Much Alive And Singing...

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 October 1966

MEETING SIPPIE Wallace suddenly, after all these years of gazing at her name on ancient Okeh records, is an experience roughly comparable with running into ...

Dr. Ross, Lightnin' Hopkins, Howlin' Wolf: Albums from Howlin' Wolf, Dr. Ross and Lightnin' Hopkins

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

RARE ITEMS FROM HOWLIN' WOLF ...

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross: Lambert, Hendricks and Ross: Fully paid up in the hod carrier's union

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 October 1966

DAVE LAMBERT, 49-year-old jazz singer, composer and vocal arranger who was killed by a passing truck on the Connecticut Turnpike last week, was regarded as ...

Charles Keil: Urban Blues (The University Of Chicago Press)

Book Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 22 October 1966

THE BLUES AS AN URBAN NEGRO CULTURE ...

Dr. Ross, John Lee Hooker, Big Joe Williams: Blues Bargains from Hooker, Dr Ross, Big Joe

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 October 1966

SOME good rocking samples of Hooker R&B are found on Driftin' Thru The Blues (Ember EMB3371) 17s 9d, from John Lee's early recording days. A few tracks ...

Pete Seeger: Folk Music Live At The Village Gate (Verve VLP 5016)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 November 1966

PETE SEEGER is a man who could sing practically anywhere and give a good account of him self. On Folk Music Live At The Village ...

T-Bone Walker: Thorny Problem Of Mixing The Blues With Modern Jazz

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 December 1966

I HAVE always looked on T-Bone Walker as being more of a jazz-blues singer than a folk or country-type artist. In other words, as a ...

Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday (World Record Club TS30)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 31 December 1966

THERE ARE FEW singers in and around jazz who continue to excite our wonder long after their death. Bessie Smith is one, and Mildred Bailey ...

Duke Ellington: Concert Of Sacred Music (RCA)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 31 December 1966

Hot jazz and religion in a ducal mixture ...

Reverend Gary Davis: Say No To The Devil (Xtra 5014)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 7 January 1967

THERE CAN be no doubting the emotional force of Gary Davis's music or the variety and strength of his guitar playing. He is among the ...

Duke Ellington: Guildhall, Portsmouth

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 February 1967

DUKE ALWAYS HAS A TRICK UP HIS SLEEVE ...

Mose Allison: Down Home Piano (Transatlantic PR7423)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 February 1967

MOSE ALLISON and his work are both pretty well known by now to jazz and blues lovers over here. This album, to set down first ...

Nat King Cole: You're Listening To The Nat King Cole Trio (Music For Pleasure)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 February 1967

WE ALL SUFFER from blind spots, I guess, so I'll confess one of mine at once and admit that I'm almost totally proof against the ...

Duke Ellington: Suites in a Hotel Suite

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 18 February 1967

DUKE ELLINGTON is a musician who composes tirelessly in his own way and in his own time — which means according to the circumstances he ...

Fats Domino: Fats: Man From New Orleans

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 April 1967

DOMINO BRINGS A MISSISSIPPI TANG TO BRITAIN ...

Lou Rawls: Carryin' On (Capitol T2632)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 May 1967

LOU RAWLS is an energetic singer with a fairly rich voice and a hip sort of style influenced by blues, gospel and old and modern ...

Dave Brubeck: Teo Macero: 'It May Be What Jazz Needs, The Psychedelic Touch'

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 9 September 1967

TEO MACERO, American Columbia A&R man, arranger, and composer of experimental music, is becoming a regular visitor to Britain. Last week he was with us ...

Nina Simone: Nina Simone Sings the Blues (RCA Victor RD7S33)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 September 1967

NINA SIMONE'S singing is very much an acquired taste, and I have to confess that it is not my favourite brand. I recognise, though, the ...

Judy White, Josh White: Josh & Judy White: Josh and his Singing Family

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 October 1967

SOMETIMES IT seems as though Josh White brings a different member of his family every time he visits us, and every one is a singer. ...

Son House, Skip James, Little Walter, Brownie McGhee, Hound Dog Taylor, Koko Taylor, Sonny Terry: Skip James, Son House, Little Walter, Hound Dog Taylor et al: American Folk Blues Festival, Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 4 November 1967

THE BLUES roll on, as we're often told, and last Thursday they rolled up to the shores of Hammersmith in the form of the 1967 ...

"Brother" Jack McDuff: Silk and Soul (Transatlantic PR 7404)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 11 November 1967

BENNY GOLSON arranged some of the eight tracks on Brother Jack McDuff's SILK AND SOUL (Transatlantic PR 7404) for organ and big band, complete with ...

Duke Ellington: When Duke Shared the Bill with the Cheeky Chappie

Retrospective by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 December 1967

THE JAZZ ARCHIVES: ELLINGTON AT THE PALLADIUM BY MAX JONES ...

Fleetwood Mac, John Mayall: Beyond the Blues Horizon

Profile and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 January 1968

THE EVER-growing acceptance of blues during the Sixties has decisively affected the direction in which the popular music business has travelled in country. On the ...

Miriam Makeba: Miriam Makeba In Concert (Reprise RLP6253)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 January 1968

TODAY MIRIAM Makeba is a polished concert, cabaret and TV artist working on the fringe of folk song and popular music. ...

Humphrey Lyttelton: Humph, 20 years after

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 February 1968

"NO, IT can't be true," people can often be heard muttering when their eyes fall on a picture of the mature Shirley Temple or Jackie ...

T-Bone Walker: Stormy Monday Blues (Stateside Bluesway SL10223)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 February 1968

FIVE T-BONE originals, including his new version of the title song, are to be heard on Stormy Monday Blues (Stateside Bluesway SL10223), latest album from guitarist-singer T-Bone ...

Eddie Boyd Names Europe's Best Blues Guitar

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 February 1968

WHEN EDDIE Boyd, American blues pianist and singer, first came to Britain with the Folk Blues Festival in 1965 he was surprised to find such a ...

Little Walter: King Of The Blues Harmonica

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 9 March 1968

IT IS A sad work indeed to have to write of the death of Little Walter, outstanding harmonica player and fair blues singer, who came ...

Nancy Wilson: Nancy, Bread and Butter Singer

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 9 March 1968

IT SEEMS as though Nancy Wilson is always making flying visits to this country in order to appear in television programmes. Once she came here ...

Lambert, Hendricks & Ross: Hendricks and Ross now Seek Fame...

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 April 1968

JON HENDRICKS, indelibly associated with the Lambert, Hendricks and Ross trio and the creation of a new form of jazz singing, has been experimenting with ...

Little Walter: Little Walter (Marble Arch)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 18 May 1968

Walter — guv'nor of the harp ...

Aretha Franklin, After Her Hammersmith Odeon Clambake — What Do You Want To Tell Me About That?

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 25 May 1968

MELODY MAKER EXCLUSIVE BY MAX JONES ...

Albert King: Born Under A Bad Sign (Stax)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 June 1968

'Born Under A Bad Sign'; 'Crosscut Saw'; 'Kansas City'; 'Oh, Pretty Woman'; 'Down Don't Bother Me'; 'The Hunter'; 'I Almost Lost My Mind'; 'Personal Manager'; ...

Louis Armstrong: The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, Part 1

Report and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 June 1968

MAX JONES reports from Batley ...

Louis Armstrong: The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, Part 2

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 6 July 1968

"I'VE BEEN trying to follow you for 20 years," a trumpet player was saying to Louis Armstrong in Batley the other day. Louis raised his ...

Louis Armstrong: The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong, Part 3

Report and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 July 1968

SATCH SAYS THANKS FOR THE THRILL ...

Junior Wells: It's My Life, Baby (Fontana TFL6084)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 July 1968

'It's My Life Baby'; 'It's So Sad To Be Lonely'; 'Country Girl'; 'You Lied To Me'; 'Stormy Monday'; 'Shake It Baby'; 'Checking On My Baby'; ...

Mississippi Fred McDowell: Fred McDowell, Forest City Joe, Etc.: Roots Of The Blues (Atlantic Special 590019)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

ALAN LOMAX, assisted by Shirley Collins, made a recording expedition in the South during '59 which produced 80 hours of taped folksong and instrumental music. ...

John Lee Hooker: I'm John Lee Hooker (Joy 101)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

JOHN LEE Hooker is a fairly basic artist, and a collection of his songs from the Vee Jay label titled I'm John Lee Hooker (Joy ...

O.C. Smith: The Revolution, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 August 1968

And he triumphs, despite all, at the Revolution ...

Jimmy Witherspoon: Live (Stateside SL10232)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968

ON LIVE (Stateside SL10232), the rich-voiced Jimmy Witherspoon is heard in a typical club show accompanied by the Ben Webster quartet. ...

Lightnin' Hopkins: Earth Blues (Minit MLL40006E.)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968

SAM HOPKINS, one of the great Texas bluesmen, is well represented on records but this new release of some of his early titles is an ...

Ray Charles: Backstage With Ray, 'The Genius'

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968

RAY CHARLES, singer and pianist among other things, and his team of 16 musicians, four Raelets, manager Joe Adams and sundry helpers, flew into London ...

Skip James: Skip James Today! (Vanguard SVRLI9001.)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 September 1968

IN BLUES and other Negro folksong, as in jazz, judgments are much a matter of individual taste, though certain aspects of an artist's work are ...

Della Reese and her Mean Uncle

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 26 October 1968

DELLA REESE, halfway through her stint as special guest artist on the Tom Jones tour, rested in London on Monday and looked forward to a ...

Bob Dylan: Don't Look Back (Dir. D.A. Pennebaker)

Film/DVD/TV Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 16 November 1968

TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT DYLAN ...

Horace Silver: Eyes for the Writing Scene

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 23 November 1968

"I'D like to mention a new direction in my career." This was Horace Silver, talking at a Blue Note reception given for him at Ronnie ...

Otis Spann, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters and Otis Spann: End of the Soul Half-Brothers

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 7 December 1968

I WAS playing some records with Otis Spann and S.P. Leary in their hotel on London's Cromwell Road last week. ...

Blossom Toes, Muddy Waters: Muddy Waters, Blossom Toes: Revolution Club, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 14 December 1968

MUDDY WATERS and his Blues Band may not have been at their magic best at London's Revolution before they left — they weren't playing for ...

The Groundhogs, John Lee Hooker: Out of the Groundswell the New Groundhogs

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 14 December 1968

IF IT'S doing nothing else, the present blues boom is drawing attention to a number of singers and players who have been around the country's ...

Elmore James: Something Inside Of Me (Bell MBLL104)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

A LOT HAS been written of late about Elmore James, one of the big men of post-war blues, who died in May of '63. His ...

Jimmy Smith: If I Was To Take My Choice Between Strings And My Wife I'd Take The Strings. They Don't Fight Me Back.

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

ORGANIST JIMMY SMITH TELLS MAX JONES ABOUT HIS FIRST LOVE ...

Woody Guthrie, Cisco Houston, Leadbelly, Sonny Terry: Leadbelly: Leadbelly Sings Folk Songs (Xtra 1064)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 December 1968

"LEADBELLY is a hard name" says Woody Guthrie, "and the hard name of a harder man." The late Woody is quoted (from the book, American ...

Ben Webster: Reminiscing with Big Ben

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 28 December 1968

"DID YOU ever hear about my film? It's a half-hour thing made by Johan van der Keuken for Dutch TV last year. It would be ...

B.B. King: The Men Who Make The Blues: B.B. King

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 4 January 1969

B.B. KING is among the most popular of the newer-generation blues-men; and he has certainly been the most influential. Charles Keil, who devotes a chapter ...

Jimmy Reed: Jimmy Reed at Soul City (Joys-127)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 March 1969

IN SPITE of its title, Jimmy Reed At Soul City (JOYS-127), and the sleevenote's proclamation that the LP "is a fine study of the man ...

Freddie King: Freddie Takes a British Cold Back Home

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

"I DIDN'T have it tonight," said Freddie King after a hard workout at Art Saunders' Wood Green club on Tuesday last week. ...

Junior Wells: Coming At You (Vanguard SVRL 19011)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 22 March 1969

A GOOD TASTE, if not a feast, of modern Chicago blues is offered by the explosive Junior Wells on his latest from Vanguard (perhaps his ...

Howlin' Wolf: The Men Who Make The Blues: Howlin' Wolf

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 March 1969

HOWLIN' WOLF is, as his name suggests, one of the "heavy" bluesmen. A 6ft 3in singer, weighing 280 lbs or more, he is as tough ...

Jimmy Witherspoon: A New Look For Spoon And Back To Authentic Blues

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 April 1969

IT WAS clear at first glance, when Jimmy Witherspoon and his wife walked into the MM offices last week, that I was confronted by a new-look Spoon. ...

Willie Dixon: The Men Who Make the Blues: Willie Dixon

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 12 April 1969

...

Howlin' Wolf: The Howlin' Wolf Album (Chess CRLS4543)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 26 April 1969

ON THE front cover of THE HOWLIN' WOLF ALBUM (Chess CRLS4543) is printed the message: "This is Howlin' Wolf's New Album. He doesn't like it. ...

Lowell Fulson: The Men Who Make The Blues: Lowell Fulson

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 26 April 1969

LOWELL FULSON is one of the leading post-war blues-men, a trendsetting artist who has made and sold a great many records since he cut his ...

Duster Bennett, Fleetwood Mac, B.B. King, Brownie McGhee, Sonny Terry: B.B. King, Fleetwood Mac, Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee, Duster Bennett: Royal Albert Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 May 1969

B.B. KING SPELLS OUT THE BLUES ...

B.B. King: B.B. Brings the Story of Lucille to the Rescue

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 May 1969

EVERYONE KNOWS — everyone, that is, who knows much about the blues of the younger generation — that B.B. King is among the most original ...

Erroll Garner: Mr Garner and his New Brass Bed

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 May 1969

ERROLL GARNER arrived in London on Tuesday, last week, but not to appear in public. ...

Lowell Fulson: A Name to be Reckoned With in Blues

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 May 1969

LOWELL FULSON has been a name to be reckoned with in blues circles ever since he began recording some 23 years ago. Oddly, though, people ...

Mahalia Jackson: Why Mahalia's Still In The Book

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 31 May 1969

AFTER HER extravagantly successful Albert Hall concert the other Sunday, Mahalia Jackson sat back in her dressing-room chair looking pretty flaked. ...

Otis Spann, Muddy Waters: Otis Spann: All Alone Otis Is Feeling No Pain

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 5 July 1969

ON OTIS Spann's last visit to this country, with Muddy Waters in November, I wrote that the Waters-Spann partnership would soon be ended. ...

Buddy Guy: The Men Who Make The Blues: Buddy Guy

Profile and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 5 July 1969

BUDDY GUY is one of the younger generation of blues-men who is helping to carry the music to the younger generation of listeners. ...

Billie Holiday: Lady Day — the True Sound of Soul

Memoir by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 2 August 1969

MAX JONES writes on the tenth anniversary of Billie Holiday's death ...

Wynonie Harris: Death of a Blues Shouter

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 16 August 1969

TITLES LIKE 'Good Mornin' Judge', 'Lovin' Machine', 'Bloodshot Eyes', 'Keep On Churnin'' and 'All She Wants To Do Is Rock' may not ring a bell ...

Bo Diddley: The Men Who Make the Blues: Bo Diddley

Profile by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 September 1969

BO DIDDLEY was born in Mississippi, in or near McComb, on December 30, 1928. Like many bluesmen from the South, he made the journey up ...

Skip James

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 18 October 1969

October 3, 1969 Dear Max, Skip James died this morning after a very long and painful illness. One of his finest memories was going to Europe in ...

Sarah Vaughan: Why Miss Vaughan Isn't Recording...

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 November 1969

IF SARAH Vaughan never sang another heavenly high note she'd have earned her place, and a top place, among the immortals of jazz singing. ...

Albert King: Talking to the King

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

IT HAS taken a long time for Albert King to get to this country. But now he is among us there can be little doubt ...

Bill Coleman, Jay McShann, Charlie Shavers: Bill Coleman, Charlie Shavers, Jay McShann: Hammersmith Odeon, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 November 1969

IT LOOKED on paper like an epic evening of swinging middle-road jazz on Tuesday. It wasn't bad, either, but it wasn't quite the berries that ...

Juke Boy Bonner, John Dummer Blues Band, Jo Ann Kelly, Freddie King: Freddie King, Juke Boy Bonner, Jo-Ann Kelly, John Dummer: 100 Club, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969

TUESDAY OF last week was Big Blues Night at London's 100 Club where a large, good-humoured crowd was afforded almost non-stop entertainment by the Killing ...

Lionel Hampton: If anybody asks, tell them — Lionel is ready!

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 November 1969

LIONEL HAMPTON'S late-night appearance at Jazz Expo in London the other week caused disputation, to put it rather mildly. Some people found him exciting. Others ...

Son House: Blues Is Getting Bigger All The Time, Says Son

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 27 June 1970

"THIS IS MY last time over here. Yes, sirree. I do this visit and that's it." The speaker was Eddie James (Son) House, a tallish ...

Lonnie Johnson — Bluesman Who Played Jazz

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 27 June 1970

LONNIE JOHNSON, who died last week, was a rarity in the blues field — a man who, though a folk artist in certain respects, played ...

Aretha Franklin: The Gospel Truth From Aretha

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 August 1970

WHENEVER ARETHA Franklin comes to town, which is not all that often, I try to see her. Partly because she is a genuine unhyped star ...

War: Papa's gone to War

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 27 February 1971

SOON after meeting Dee Allen (real name Thomas Sylvester Allen), and comparing him quickly with the rest of War, you are likely to guess why ...

Alexis Korner: REACTION with Alexis Korner

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 March 1971

ALEXIS KORNER — guitarist, singer, blues fancier and scholar, and bandleader with a remarkable record as a nurseryman of young jazz talent — sat for ...

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup: Arthur Big Boy Crudup: Roebuck Man (United Artists UAS29092)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 March 1971

Big Boy in Britain ...

Louis Armstrong: Armstrong The Man...

Memoir by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 July 1971

THE ARMSTRONG STORY has been generously documented, on records and in print, and I'm doing my bit in the latter category. But I won't say ...

Stan Getz: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 18 September 1971

THERE CAN'T be anything disastrous in the state of jazz while Stan Getz can still be heard in Soho spinning fine-steel threads of melody from ...

J.B. Hutto: Southside Hawk

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 4 March 1972

IT'S NOT surprising that there should be more than a trace of Elmore James and Muddy Waters in the playing of J.B. Hutto, described in ...

Reverend Gary Davis: Rev. Gary Davis: Farewell to the Holy Bluesman

Obituary by Karl Dallas, Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 May 1972

THOUGH I'M not what most people would call a religious man, when I heard that at the age of 76 and after several strokes the ...

John Mayall: Mayall supremacy

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 21 June 1973

JOHN MAYALL has been living in Laurel Canyon, Los Angeles, for four years now, and identifying with California and American people for longer than that. ...

Ben Webster: Big Ben: Max Jones remembers Ben Webster, who died last week

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 29 September 1973

SHORTLY AFTER Johnny Hodges died in 1970, Ben Webster said to me that so many of the great saxophone names had passed. He recited them: ...

Brian Auger, Julie Driscoll, The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds: Giorgio Gomelsky: The Man Who Sold The World

Interview by Max Jones, Chris Welch, Melody Maker, 3 November 1973

Giorgio Gomelsky was a pioneer of British rock in the sixties. In the second part of an interview with MM he talks about managing Brian Auger and Julie Driscoll and his ...

Sarah Vaughan: Searching For That Natural Soul Sound

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 November 1973

MARSHALL FISHER, Sarah Vaughan's husband and personal manager, indicated that if I were to call round at the Mayfair Hotel an hour or so before ...

The Staple Singers, Pops Staples: MM Staple Singers special: Top of the Pops!

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 2 February 1974

THE STAPLE SINGERS, who gave one charging show in London on Friday, are one of America's most justly famed gospel groups. They have come a ...

Bobby "Blue" Bland: Bobby Bland: Blue Eyed Soul

Profile and Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 30 March 1974

BOBBY "BLUE" Bland is on stage now, smiling at Mel Jackson as he takes the microphone from him and swings into 'Reconsider Baby'. Then a ...

The Pointer Sisters: That's A Plenty (Blue Thumb)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 April 1974

Pointers victory! ...

Duke Ellington: Jazz's First Great Virtuoso

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 June 1974

OFTEN, DURING my years of writing on the MM, I have used a phrase such as "there'll always be an Ellington" or "there's always been an ...

Johnny Mercer: Hey, Mr Tangerine Man!

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 17 August 1974

The name should be familiar — lyricist Johnny Mercer has written hundreds of hits — 'Moon River', 'Black Magic', 'Fools Rush In' among them. He ...

Syl Johnson: Johnson — A Rough Gem

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 8 February 1975

AFTER HIS first visit to Britain, guitarist-singer-songwriter Syl Johnson returned last weekend to his home, outside Chicago. His final gigs were at Barbarella's in Birmingham ...

Louis Jordan: A First Class Original

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

MAX JONES pays tribute to a fine blues singer/alto player ...

Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin: The Age of Atlantic: Jerry Wexler

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 February 1975

Max Jones talks to Jerry Wexler, famed producer of Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles and Maggie Bell, among others — and a vice-chairman of Atlantic ...

T-Bone Walker: T-Bone — Showman and Guitar Pioneer

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 5 April 1975

Max Jones pays tribute to T-Bone Walker ...

Ella Fitzgerald: Queen of Song

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 May 1975

Ella Fitzgerald — who has just completed a week at London's Ronnie Scott club — talks to MAX JONES ...

B.B. King: Lucille Talks Back (ABC ABCL 5149)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 December 1975

B.B. KING IS back on the lists with an album of his own production on which he plays sophisticated blues, near-blues and one religioso. ...

Hound Dog Taylor: a goodtime "rocker"

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 10 January 1976

ALTHOUGH he was not a major figure of postwar blues, Theodore Roosevelt Taylor — known professionally as Hound Dog Taylor — was a good representative ...

Charlie Mingus: Charles Mingus: Beneath The Underdog (Penguin paperback 75p)

Book Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 24 January 1976

Mingus hits out ...

Fats Domino: Fats life!

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 3 April 1976

RESPLENDENT IN sharp chrome yellow suit and diamond-studded rings and things, beaming with the joys of life, and seemingly untired by the series of interviews ...

Victoria Spivey: Black Queen Spivey

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 30 October 1976

Max Jones pays tribute to VICTORIA SPIVEY ...

Muddy Waters: Muddy's Blues Power

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 13 November 1976

AT THE London New Victoria concerts last week, Muddy Mississippi Waters — which is the way McKinley Morganfield announced himself — proved not for the ...

Betty Carter: Ronnie Scott's, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 20 November 1976

A NEW EXPERIENCE awaits the visitors to Ronnie Scott's in London, this week or next, in the extrovert person of Betty Carter, a wholly original ...

Erroll Garner: Musical Magician

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

WRITERS SOMETIMES referred to him as the "Wizard of the Ivories," which is to be expected, and at least one of his EP records bore ...

Freddie King: King of rhythm 'n' blues

Obituary by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 January 1977

SOME BLUESMEN are pure country artists, folk musicians really, others are traditional-mixed-with-Chicago, others West Coast, jazz-blues Memphis stylists soul singers and what-have-you. ...

Professor Longhair: I'm A Little Rowdy With My Playing

Interview by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 1 April 1978

Professor Longhair talks to Max Jones ...

Professor Longhair: Live On The Queen Mary (EMI Harvest SHSP 4086)

Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 15 April 1978

LONGHAIR THE pianist, singer, songwriter and potent entertainer is something of a New Orleans phenomenon. He is (as he said himself in a recent MM ...

Frank Sinatra: Royal Festival Hall, London

Live Review by Max Jones, Melody Maker, 16 September 1978

"SINATRA IS Sinatra, and this is perfect," someone once wrote about one of his movies. That sentence would, I imagine, sum up the feelings of ...

Miles Davis: Teo Macero: Thoughts of Chairman Teo

Interview by Max Jones, The Wire, November 1984

TEO MACERO is best known as the producer of dozens of classic Miles Davis LPs, from Sketches Of Spain to Star People. Here he talks ...

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