Jimmy Witherspoon & Ben Webster - Roots ( 1962 , Reprise-Warner Bros.)

Re-issue on Atlantic

This is a digitalization, done by myself 10 years ago, from an analog source ......please, say me a comment about sound and later I told you what source I have utilized.
Sound, for me, is similar to hi-fi CD format.

Review by Thom Jurek
Jimmy Witherspoon laid out two great records in 1962 on Reprise, 'Spoon' and this one. 'Roots' places the great blues singer and guitarist in the company of saxophonist Ben Webster, trumpeter Gerald Wilson, and a rhythm section consisting of pianist Ernie Freeman and drummer Jim Miller. The mood is laid-back, down-home, and full of emotion and sentiment. The warmth of Witherspoon's voice on material like "Your Red Wagon," "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water," "Key to the Highway" (in one of the more unique versions ever recorded), and Jimmy Rushing's "Did You Ever" is on the other side of lonesome. Webster and Wilson underscore the sung lines with fills that accent the deep blue in Witherspoon's vocal. Jay McShann's "Confessin' the Blues" is a more jazzed-up arrangement, but Witherspoon's deep in the R&B groove here, taking a hint from Joe Turner. The finger-popping read of Turner's "It's a Low Down Dirty Shame" is in the gutbucket; the rhythm section swings hard. It's not as raucous as the original, but Witherspoon's smooth, clear, and deep register is beautifully complemented first by Wilson's solo and then by Webster's. The real stunner is near the end, when the band takes on Big Bill Broonzy's "Just a Dream," where Witherspoon wails and moans the blues. It's just chilling. This is one of those recordings that is a true hidden classic. It was reissued on CD in 2006 by Collectables.

Jimmy Witherspoon : vocals
Ben webster : tenor sax
Gerald wilson : trumpet
Ernie Freeman : piano
Herman Mitchell : guitar
Ralph Hamilton : bass
Jim Miller : drums

Date of recording : 23 - May- 1962


1 I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water 3:56
2 I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town 3:36
3 Key to the Highway 2:54
4 Did You Ever 3:24
5 Confessin' the Blues 3:00
6 Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out 2:31
7 Your Red Wagon 5:12
8 Rain Is Such a Lonesome Sound 3:01
9 Cherry Red Johnson, Turner 3:15
10 It's a Low Down Dirty Shame 3:02
11 Just a Dream 3:00
12 Please, Mr. Webster 3:32