Jimmy Rushing
He was known as "Mister Five-By-Five" -- an affectionate reference to his height and girth -- a blues shouter who defined and then transcended the form. The owner of a booming voice that radiated sheer joy in whatever material he sang, Jimmy Rushing could swing with anyone and dominate even the loudest of big bands. Rushing achieved his greatest fame in front of the Count Basie band from 1935 to 1950, yet unlike many band singers closely associated with one organization, he was able to carry on afterwards with a series of solo recordings that further enhanced his reputation as a first-class jazz singer.
Raised in a musical family, learning violin, piano and music theory in his youth, Rushing began performing in nightspots after a move to California in the mid-'20s. He joined Walter Page's Blue Devils in 1927, then toured with Bennie Moten from 1929 until the leader's death in 1935, going over to Basie when the latter picked up the pieces of the Moten band. The unquenchably swinging Basie rhythm section was a perfect match for Rushing, making their earliest showing together on a 1936 recording of "Boogie Woogie" that stamped not only Rushing's presence onto the national scene but also that of Lester Young. Rushing's recordings with Basie are scattered liberally throughout several reissues on Decca, Columbia and RCA. While with Basie, he also appeared in several film shorts and features.
After the Basie ensemble broke up in 1950, a victim of hard times for big bands, Rushing briefly retired, then formed his own septet. He started a series of solo albums for Vanguard in the mid-'50s, then turned in several distinguished recordings for Columbia in league with such luminaries as Dave Brubeck, Coleman Hawkins and Benny Goodman, the latter of whom he appeared with at the Brussels World's Fair in 1958 as immortalized in "Brussels Blues." He also recorded with Basie alumni such as Buck Clayton and Jo Jones, as well as with the Duke Ellington band on Jazz Party. He appeared on TV in The Sound of Jazz in 1957, was featured in Jon Hendricks' The Evolution of the Blues, and also had a singing and acting role in the 1969 film The Learning Tree.
© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo
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Jimmy Rushing: Rushing Lullabies
Jazz - Released by Blue Velvet on 20 Oct 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Side Story (A Timeless Jazz Recordings)
Jazz - Released by Jazz Side Story on 26 Jun 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Goin' to Chicago Plus Listen to the Blues
Jazz - Released by Ascension Records on 30 May 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jazz Box (The Jazz Series)
Jazz - Released by Two Bass Hits on 27 Jun 2014
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Listen My Children And You Shall Hear (Remastered)
Count Basie, His Orchestra, Jimmy Rushing
Jazz - Released by Avid Entertainment on 25 Jan 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Jazz Odyssey Of James Rushing Esq. / Jimmy Rushing And The Smith Girls
Jazz - Released by Lone Hill Jazz on 1 Jan 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Jazz Odyssey of James Rushing Esq.
Jazz - Released by Ascension Records on 7 Jul 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Essential Jazz Masters Collection, Vol. 19: Jimmy Rushing with Humphrey Lyttleton & His Band (Live)
Jimmy Rushing, Humphrey Lyttleton & his Band
Jazz - Released by Top Tracks on 30 Oct 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Giving You Blues! (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Master Tape Records on 6 Aug 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mr. Five by Five's Hits (Remastered)
Jazz - Released by Master Tape Records on 16 Jul 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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A Night in Oxford Street 1957 (Live)
Humphrey Lyttelton Big Band, Jimmy Rushing
Jazz - Released by Supreme Media on 1 Feb 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blue Notes – A Blues Survey from 1920-1960, vol. 4
Helen Humes, Jimmy Rushing, Pinetop Smith
Blues - To be released on 14 Jun 2024 by Phontastic
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jimmy Rushing Selected Favorites
Jazz - Released by Charly Records on 20 Jun 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo