Talkin’ Blues: Mr. Jukebox — A Tribute to Louis Jordan, King of the Jump-Blues Sax

The following content is related to the September 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.

By the late Forties, electric guitar was firmly established as an important instrumental voice in down-home blues, but in the realm of uptown rhythm and blues, with the exception of T-Bone Walker and a few of his disciples, guitar solos were still relatively rare. Saxophone was king, and no saxophonist of the era was more popular than Louis Jordan, a.k.a. “Mr. Jukebox.”

In addition to his witty vocals and swinging arrangements on classics like “I’m Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town,” “Let the Good Times Roll,” “Caldonia,” and many others, Jordan’s wailing, bluesy alto solos foreshadowed the dynamic string stretching of a new generation of electric guitar heroes.

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