Floyd Dixon, Wake Up and Live!
Featured Album
A lusty late-career romp from a two-fisted Texan pianist
If all you know of Dixon is "Hey Bartender," as dumbed down by the Blues Brothers, you owe it to yourself to check out more from this LA-via-Texas pianist and singer (and songwriter — he wrote or co-wrote all 16 tracks here). Dixon was an incredibly gifted, two-fisted pianist whose sound incorporated jazz, boogie, gospel, barrelhouse and stride while also presaging rock 'n 'roll, and there's hardly a whiff of the autumnal about this 1996 romp, one of his last. When the man declares "I Wanna Rock Now," it's no idle boast, while the title song is a blasting, wide-open echo of Louis Jordan's "Let the Good Times Roll." In his '50s heyday, Dixon combined the roaring house-party blues of jump stars like Roy Brown with some of the urbane snazz of late-night cocktail a la Charles Brown. There's less subtlety this late in his career, but Dixon does some mighty pounding in "You Know That'll Get It," strikes an easy groove in "450 Pound Woman," and eases out with the jazzy "Gettin 'Ready." His vocals are deeper and rougher than they once were, making him even more similar to Ray Charles, who readily acknowledged Dixon as a key influence. And the smart, jazzy horn arrangements — which lend an elegant sheen to "Rockin 'at Home"-— also sometimes get as lusty as the star himself.
