Jazz guitar pickers are in a class of their own. Sandwiched between Tiny Grimes in the mid-1940s and early '50s and Grant Green in the 1960s and '70s was Bill Jennings. Born in Indianapolis, Jennings began recording in 1946 as a sideman in the Stuff Smith Quartet and would become a hero to Indy native and guitarist Wes Montgomery. During the early part of his career, Jennings recorded extensively with Louis Jordan, whose band had a big influence on R&B as the genre widened at decade's end. In the early 1950s, Jennings recorded with organist Wild Bill Davis, and the pair became architects of the soul-jazz, organ-guitar sound that became popular in urban markets and on the so-called Chitlin' Circuit of Black clubs across the Midwest and South. [Photo above of Bill Jennings]
Starting in 1954, Jennings recorded extensively for King Records, the Cincinnati powerhouse R&B and blues label. By 1959, Jennings shifted to jazz-blues just as a market for the music emerged and Prestige invested in the form. On recordings as a sideman, Jennings retained his earthy flavor and pronounced picking style, applying them to a jazz feel. After recording behind Willis Jackson in 1957, Jennings recorded his only two jazz leadership albums, both extraordinary works for Prestige: Enough Said in August 1959 and Glide On in January 1960.
The first, Enough Said, featured Brother Jack McDuff (org), Jennings (g), Wendell Marshall (b) and Alvin Johnson (d). It leaned into the blues, with grooves and jazz elements coming largely from McDuff. As you listen to Jennings, you realize his stylistic guitar pecks must have influenced Grant Green. The loping title track features Jennings working a blues with relaxed intensity, like someone feverishly knitting a sweater. The song Tough Gain is an early example of Prestige's modern soul-jazz—plenty of improvisation but with a roadhouse sensibility. The two most interesting tracks are Dig Uncle Will, which has a running passage with traces of Neal Hefti's Repetition. The other is It's Alvin Again, a funky swinger that features Jennings and McDuff playing in unison.
Glide On featured McDuff (org) Jennings (g), Al Jennings (g, vib and no relation to Bill Jennings), Wendell Marshall (b) and Alvin Johnson (d). It's interesting how the vibraphone changed the sound of the group, giving it more of a jazzier, lounge feel. The tracks divide between jazz pieces such as There Will Never Be Another You and Azure-Te, and rich blues like Billin' and Bluin' and Cole Slaw. The last track, Hey Mrs. Jones, opens with a mambo feel as Jennings plays a blues over the top.
Jennings is a major guitar link between the electric blues and R&B and jazz, a combination that laid the foundation for soul-jazz to follow in the 1960s and '70s. He remains exceptional.
Bill Jennings died in 1978 at age 59.
JazzWax clips: You'll find both albums on The Complete Bill Jennings on Prestige, 1959-1960 (Fresh Sound) here.
JazzWax note: For my earlier post on Bill Jennings, go here.
JazzWax tracks: Here's the complete Enough Said...
And here's the complete Glide On...
