Movatterモバイル変換

Big Jay McNeely

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

American R&B saxophonist (1927–2018)

Big Jay McNeely
Birth name	Cecil James McNeely
Also known as	King of the Honkers
Born	(1927-04-29)April 29, 1927 Los Angeles,California, U.S.
Died	September 16, 2018(2018-09-16) (aged 91) Moreno Valley, California, U.S.
Genres	Jump blues West Coast blues jazz blues R&B
Occupation	Musician
Instrument	Tenor saxophone
Years active	Late 1940s–2018
Labels	Cleopatra Blues, a division ofCleopatra Records^[1] Swingin'

Musical artist

Cecil James "Big Jay"McNeely (April 29, 1927 – September 16, 2018)^[2]^[3] was an AmericanR&B saxophonist.

Biography

[edit]

Inspired byIllinois Jacquet andLester Young, McNeely teamed with his older brother Robert McNeely, who playedbaritone saxophone, and made his firstrecordings with drummerJohnny Otis, who ran theBarrelhouse Club that stood only a few blocks from McNeely's home.^[3] Shortly after he performed on Otis's "Barrel House Stomp."Ralph Bass,A&R man forSavoy Records, promptly signed him to a recording contract. Bass's boss,Herman Lubinsky, suggested thestage name Big Jay McNeely because Cecil McNeely did not sound commercial. McNeely's firsthit was "The Deacon's Hop,"^[4] an instrumental which topped theBillboardR&B chart in early 1949.^[3]

Big Jay McNeely performed for the famed fifth Cavalcade of Jazz concert held atWrigley Field in Los Angeles produced byLeon Hefflin, Sr. on July 10, 1949. It was at this concert that McNeely andLionel Hampton got into a showdown that resulted in pillows being thrown along with other items.^[5] His recording of "Blow Big Jay Blow" catapulted him into National prominence. McNeely and his Orchestra would come back to Los Angeles, to perform at the eleventh Cavalcade of Jazz on July 24, 1955 along withLionel Hampton's Orchestra.The Medallions,The Penguins andJames Moody would also be featured that same day.^[6]

Thanks to his flamboyant playing, called "honking," McNeely remained popular through the 1950s and into the early 1960s, recording for the Exclusive, Aladdin, Imperial, Federal, Vee-Jay, andSwingin' labels.^[3] But despite a hit R&Bballad, "There's Something on Your Mind," (1959) featuringLittle Sonny Warner on vocals, and a 1963 album forWarner Bros. Records, McNeely's music career began to cool off. He quit themusic industry in 1971 to become a postman.^[3] However, thanks to an R&B revival in the early 1980s, McNeely left the post office and returned to touring and recording full-time, usually overseas.^[3] His original tenor sax is enshrined in theExperience Music Project inSeattle, and he was inducted into theRhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.^[7]

In 1989, Big Jay McNeely was performing withDetroit Gary Wiggins^[8] (European Saxomania Tour II)^[4]^[9] at theQuasimodo Club inWest Berlin the night theBerlin Wall came down, "and Cold War legend has it that they blew down the Berlin Wall in 1989 with earth-shaking sonic sax torrents outside the Quasimodo Club in West Germany".^[10] McNeely and Wiggins toured in Germany and Italy^[11]^[12] withThe International Blues Duo,Johnny Heartsman,^[13] Daryl Taylor (who worked withArnett Cobb andArchie Bell & The Drells),Roy Gaines,^[14]Christian Rannenberg, Donald Robertson,Billy Davis Jr., "Hyepockets" Robertson, andLee Allen.^[15]

Big Jay McNeely regularly performed at the International Boogie Woogie Festival in The Netherlands, and recorded an album with Martijn Schok, the festival's promoter, in 2009. The album was entitledParty Time, and one track from the album, "Get On Up and Boogie" (Parts 1, 2, and 3)", was featured on the vintage music compilationThis is Vintage Now (2011).^[16]

He died inMoreno Valley, California, on September 16, 2018, of prostate cancer, at the age of 91.^[17]

Style

[edit]

McNeely was credited with being the most flamboyant performer out of the saxophone honkers.^[18]

Discography

[edit]

Big Jay McNeely, (1954, 10",Federal)
A Rhythm and Blues Concert, (1955, 10",Savoy)
Big Jay McNeely in 3-D (1956, Federal), (1959,King)
Live at Cisco's, (1963,Warner Bros.) – recorded live at a jazz club in Manhattan Beach, California, in 1962.
Swingin', (1984,Collectables) – 1957–1961 recordings, including unreleased sides.
Live at Birdland, 1957, (1992, Collectables – live performances recorded in stereo at theSeattle, Washington, Birdland Club in 1957.^[19]
Nervous, (1995, Saxophile) – rarities, live cuts and alternate takes (from theFederal and Swingin' Records vaults) from 1951–1957.
Blow the Wall Down, Sunset Studios, Sinzig/Rhein, Germany (1990)^[20]
Blues at Daybreak, Big Jay McNeely & Christian Rannenberg (1993)^[21]
Fool for the Ladies, by EB Davis with Detroit Gary Wiggins & Big Jay McNeely (1996)^[22]
Crazy, (1997, Saxophile) – same asNervous above.
Central Avenue Confidential, (1999, Atomic Theory) – featuring Red Young on B-3 organ.
Big Jay McNeely, The Deacon, Unabridged, Vol. 1, 1948–1950 (2006, Swingin') – complete 1948–1955 released output.
Big Jay McNeely, The Deacon, Unabridged, Vol. 2, 1951–1952 (2006, Swingin')
Big Jay McNeely, The Deacon, Unabridged, Vol. 3, 1953–1955 (2006, Swingin')
Saxy Boogie Woogie (2008, Vagabond) withAxel Zwingenberger & The Bad Boys
Party Time, featuring Martijn Schok, Rinus Groeneveld (2009)
Party Time Volume 2, featuring Martijn Schok, Rinus Groeneveld (2011)
Life Story, featuring Ray Collins' Hot-Club & Friends (2012)
Big Jay McNeely –Blowin’ Down The House – Big Jay’s Latest & Greatest (2016)
Big Jay McNeely –Honkin’ & Jivin’ at the Palomino (2017)