Wake Up and Live!

by Floyd Dixon

Overview

There was a time when swing-oriented jazz, R&B and blues overlapped to form an accessible yet intelligent style of music. In the late '40s Louis Jordan, Charles Brown and Amos Milburn were popular figures and Floyd Dixon (although a bit in their shadow) was not far behind. When rock & roll suddenly took over pop music in the mid-'50s, the middle-aged black performers were tossed off the charts in favor of their younger white imitators and work began to become scarce. Fortunately Floyd Dixon survived the lean years and, as with Charles Brown, he made a "comeback." This CD is a definitive Floyd Dixon release, mixing together older hits (including his signature tune "Hey, Bartender") with newer originals; all 16 selections were written or co-composed by Dixon. Joined by a jumping band that features a liberal amount of solo space for guitarist Port Barlow, tenor saxophonist Eddie Synigal and the old-time styled trombone of Danny Weinstein (plus a couple of spots for Charles Owens' baritone), Dixon sounds in excellent shape. His voice had not aged much, his enthusiasm is very much intact and his piano playing (whether on slow blues, medium-tempo novelties or the closing instrumental blues "Gettin' Ready") is quite jazz-oriented. Chip Deffaa's liner notes are an added plus. Highly recommended. ~ Scott Yanow

Product Details

Release Date:	05/21/1996
Label:	Alligator Records
UPC:	0014551484127
Rank:	190154

Tracks

1. Hey Bartender
2. My Song Is Don't Worry
3. You Know That'll Get It
4. A Long Time Ago
5. A Dream
6. You're the Only One for Me
7. 450 Pound Woman
8. Mean and Jealous Man
9. I Wanna Rock Now
10. Don't Send Me No Flowers in the Graveyard
11. Wake up and Live
12. Livin' a Lie (Weak for a Woman)
13. Rockin' at Home
14. Got the Blues So Bad
15. Skeet's California Sunshine
16. Gettin' Ready

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Floyd Dixon   Primary Artist,Vocals,Piano
Charlie Owens   Guest Artist,Sax (Baritone)
Leslie Baker   Bass (Acoustic)
Jimi Bott   Drums
Dan Weinstein   Trombone
Joe Campbell   Trumpet
Eddie Saxman Synigal   Sax (Tenor),Sax (Baritone)
Eddie Clark   Drums
Marc Anton   Horn (Alto)
Port Barlow   Guitar (Electric),Guitar (Acoustic)
James Arvans   Drums
Rick Reed   Bass (Acoustic)
Danny "Bone" Wenstein   Trombone
Mark Goldberg   Bass (Acoustic)

Technical Credits

Port Barlow   Engineer,Producer,Composer,Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer
Oscar Moore   Composer
Chip Deffaa   Liner Notes
Jay O'Rourke   Mastering
Bruce Iglauer   Mastering
Matt Minde   Design
Paul Natkin   Photography
Marc Anton   Horn Arrangements
David Hutson   Horn Arrangements
Michael Schwartz   Photography
Floyd Dixon   Composer