Louis Jordan was one of the big stars in the R&B charts of the 1940s, racking up over 50 hits with his band The Tympany Five into the early 50s with his distinctive brand of jump blues, a swinging up-tempo hybrid of jazz, blues and boogie-woogie, with his alto sax, vocals and extrovert persona at the core of their appeal. Although he did not have hits after 1951 he continued making great R&B records through subsequent years as the pop music landscape increasingly reflected the influence that his earlier hits had on the development of rock ‘n’ roll, although it was newer artists who took that music into the charts.

This set comprises selected A & B sides from the 40-odd releases he had during this era, first on his long-standing record label Decca, and after that on the RCA subsidiary labels “X” and Vik and then the Aladdin label – after 1958 his career became much less chart-focused, so the material on this collection very much rounds off his time as an artist with chart ambitions. It captures Louis performing with the same energy, humour and rocking intent as in earlier years, as his finely-honed band swings through some quality material, with the later recordings demonstrating how much he was part of the rock ‘n’ roll explosion.

REVIEWS

"This welcome release from Acrobat features some of Jordan's music from the period following most of his hits and therefore has some songs that may not be familiar to listeners who are acquainted with Jordan's golden era. There is very generous playing time on both discs... Louis Jordan's music never fails to cheer me up and I hope it will do the same for you.”   – Paul Mooney (Blues & Rhythm February 2021)

"This is a very worthwhile collection devoted to a rather overlooked and unconsidered period of Jordan's career which contains much good music that is well worth hearing as an addition to the two previous Acrobat sets." – Gerry Stonestreet (In Tune Issue 345)

"The Louis Jordan Collection 1951-1958 is the final follow-up to the Acrobat releases Jukebox Hits 1942-1947 and Jukebox Hits 1947-1951. It is equally extensive and 52 tracks seems a rather staggering amount, but in the case of Louis “The King of The Jukebox” Jordan, it is peanuts." – François van de Linde (Jazz Journal December 2020)

"New double-CD special from the enterprising Acrobat people. With 52 tracks spread over two discs, assembled in chronological order, this provides a fascinating picture of the ever-hopeful Jordan… thoroughly recommended to those who want to know what came after Choo Choo Ch-Boogie and the rest." – Peter Vacher (Jazz Rag Issue 164)

"The Tympany Five tracks are very consistent and most of them funny and apt, but the great revelation about Jordan of this period is that he was equally able when fronting a big band. A rounded portrait of Jordan's best works…" **** – Alyn Shipton (Jazzwise Issue 259)

"This great value, 52-track, double CD set captures Louis performing with the same energy, humour and rocking intent as in earlier years, as his finely-honed band swings through some quality material, with the later recordings demonstrating how much he was part of the rock'n'roll explosion." – Pete Lay (Just Jazz Issue 272) 

"It appears that Jordan had lost his way somewhat in this period and the big band was not successful, possibly because Jordan himself had helped to hurry along the demise of big jazz orchestras with his Tympany Five, several years earlier. Nevertheless, there are tracks of interest to staunch R&B and, to a lesser extent, jazz enthusiasts, particularly slow, thoughtful structures such as Trust In Me and the ballad style Slow Down. How Blue Can You Get, by contrast, was more in the pure blues category. As for Jordan For President, it showed he was ahead of Dizzy Gillespie by at least ten years in a mock ‘Jazz musician for President of the USA’ campaign. Jordan was still belting out the solid R&B tracks he had become famous for though, as Hog Wash and Fat Sam From Birmingham prove."​​​​​​​ - Derek Ansell (Jazzviews January 2021)