Barrelhouse Blues & Boogie Woogie Vol. 1

In Chicago of the '30s and 40s and in the post-war West Coast jump scene the piano was arguably the blues instrument par excellence, but by the mid-to-late '50s work for pianists in the domestic blues front was becoming increasingly scarce. Around the same time, however, a new professional avenue was opening, with the stirrings of a „blues revival" in European folk and trad. -Jazz scenes, where pianists were appreciated more for their mastery of older styles than their ability to adapt to newer commercial trends. While the European market wasn't of a grand scale, its attractions – both financial and social – are perhaps best illustrated by the fact that many great pianists chose to stay in Europe, among them three we find in this CD series – Champion Jack Dupree, Memphis Slim and Eddie Boyd.