This week’s song is neither a big band nor a small group recording, it’s performed by only one instrument, the piano. James Edwards “Jimmy” Yancey (Feb. 20, 1894 – Sept. 17, 1951) was an afro-american pianist, singer and dancer. He is considered the pioneer of Boogie Woogie piano. Boogie Woogie was a typical element of uptempo Blues and early Rock ‘n’ Roll. In the late 1930s, Boogie Woogie boomed but Yancey had started playing it already after 1915. Interestingly, Yancey didn’t begin recording before 1939. Chris Kelsey on allmusic writes about his style: “Yancey was not as technically flashy as some of [...]
