Day 25: Piano Blues

Champion Jack Dupree
Blues from the Gutter

Before he was a blues singer and pianist, Champion Jack Dupree was a professional boxer. This bit of history, which is reflected in his stage name, is not hard to believe given his style of performance. Dupree, who grew up in New Orleans at the same Colored Waifs' Home for Boys that once housed Louis Armstrong, learned a style of piano playing known as "boogie-woogie" or, alternatively "barrelhouse," that was characterized by an ostinato bass in the left hand and a trills and ornamentation in the right hand. On his Atco debut from 1958, Blues from the Gutter, Dupree takes things at a slower pace than barrelhouse, but his roots are nevertheless perceptible, particularly in his right-hand technique. Rhythmically, Blues from the Gutter is characteristic of Louisiana blues, meaning it has a laid-back, plodding feel that lacks that the heavy backbeat of say, Chicago blues. Dupree sings and plays like a heavyweight; he is gruff and powerful and his movements are unrushed. Produced by Atlantic records legend Jerry Wexler and featuring Pete Brown on alto saxophone and Larry Dale on guitar, Blues from the Gutter takes on eight Dupree originals and two traditionals, "Frankie and Johnny" and "Stack O'Lee." While the latter two tracks have an R&B lilt in this context, other songs, such as "TB Blues" are back-alley, down-and-out blues. The sparse, "Bad Blood" features a wicked guitar solo before Dupree returns for the last stanza: "Well I am your doctor, you can call me on the phone, and any time you need the doctor, said the doctor's comin' on." Let the healing begin.

Champion Jack Dupree in the barrelhouse style: