Jabo Williams (possible 1895 – 1953 or 1954) was an American

boogie-woogie Boogie-woogie is a genre of blues music that became popular during the late 1920s, developed in African-American communities since 1870s.Paul, Elliot, ''That Crazy American Music'' (1957), Chapter 10, p. 229. It was eventually extended from pian ...

and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

pianist and songwriter. His total recorded output was a mere eight sides, which included his two best-known "stunningly primitive" songs, "Pratt City Blues" and "Jab's Blues" (1932). Details of his life outside of music are scanty.

Career

It is supposed that Williams, who was

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

, was born in Pratt City, a neighborhood of

Birmingham, Alabama Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% fr ...

, but this is based exclusively on the mention of that location in his recording of "Pratt City Blues". He may have been named Jimmie Williams and may have been born 1895.Jabo Williams Discography
Wirz.de. Retrieved 12 December 2022. What is certain is that he relocated to

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the Greater St. Louis, ...

, and was recommended to

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramount Records was formed in 19 ...

by Jesse Johnson, a local

record store A record shop or record store is a retail outlet that sells recorded music. In the late 19th century and the early 20th century, record shops only sold gramophone records, but over the 20th century, record shops sold the new formats that were ...

owner and talent scout. In May 1932, Williams recorded eight tracks in a

recording studio A recording studio is a specialized facility for sound recording, mixing, and audio production of instrumental or vocal musical performances, spoken words, and other sounds. They range in size from a small in-home project studio large enoug ...

Grafton, Wisconsin Grafton is a village in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Located about north of Milwaukee and in close proximity to Interstate 43, it is a suburban community in the Milwaukee metropolitan area. The village incorporated in 1896, and at ...

, for Paramount. The timing was not fortuitous, as Paramount stopped recording that year and went out of business in 1935. Consequently, Williams's output was limited in both national distribution and the number of

records A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...

issued. His "Kokomo Blues" followed previous recordings in a similar style with the same

refrain A refrain (from Vulgar Latin ''refringere'', "to repeat", and later from Old French ''refraindre'') is the line or lines that are repeated in music or in poetry — the "chorus" of a song. Poetic fixed forms that feature refrains include the vi ...

, but included the counting line "One and two is three, four and five and six". This partly paved the way for the better-known song "

Sweet Home Chicago "Sweet Home Chicago" is a blues standard first recorded by Robert Johnson in 1936. Although he is often credited as the songwriter, several songs have been identified as precedents. The song has become a popular anthem for the city of Chicago de ...

". By the late 1940s and early 1950s, some of Williams's tracks were reissued by

American Music Records American Music Records is a jazz record company and label that was established by Bill Russell in 1944. Russell produced new recordings and reissues, concentrating on New Orleans jazz musicians such as Bunk Johnson, George Lewis, Baby Dodds, an ...

, amongst others. His playing style was somewhat unusual, but such belated recognition failed to unearth Williams, the details of whose life remain a mystery. He was recalled briefly by

Henry Townsend Henry Townsend may refer to: *Henry Townsend (Norwich) (1626–1695), early American colonist born in Norwich, Norfolk, England *Henry Townsend (Oyster Bay) (1649–1703), American colonist born in Oyster Bay *Henry Townsend (missionary) (1815–18 ...

, who stated, "I knew him from down on Biddle Street and I played guitar behind him around town". He added that Williams was "an average guy and he was very entertaining ... he disappeared from St. Louis and went down in Arkansas some place. I never knew what the hell happened to him." St. Louis bluesman Joe Dean (1908-1981) also remembered him, from a pool hall in St. Louis with a piano that had regular dances; Williams frequented the place when Dean was in his late teens. According to the researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc, Williams reportedly died in Birmingham in 1953 or 1954.

Discography

His total recorded output consists of the tracks "Fat Mama Blues", "House Lady Blues", "Jab's Blues", "Kokomo Blues" Parts 1 and 2, "My Woman Blues", "Polock Blues", and "Pratt City Blues". All were included on the

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

''Boogie Woogie & Barrelhouse Piano, Vol. 1 (1928–1932)'', issued in 1992 by

Document Records Document Records is an independent record label, founded in Austria and now based in Scotland, that specializes in reissuing vintage blues and jazz. The company has been recognised by The Blues Foundation, being honoured with a Keeping the ...

References

External links

Discography at Discogs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Jabo 1890s births 1950s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain Musicians from Birmingham, Alabama Boogie-woogie pianists American blues pianists American male pianists African-American pianists St. Louis blues musicians Paramount Records artists Songwriters from Alabama 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century American pianists African-American songwriters 20th-century African-American musicians American male songwriters

Career

Discography

See also

References

External links