Jimmie Rivers
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texas-eddie
- Posts: 29
- Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 4:09 pm
- Location: Mountain View, CA
Jimmie Rivers
I have given much thought to western swing, so when I ran across an album by Jimmie Rivers, Brisbane Bop, I was pleasantly surprised . I could swear it was as if Charlie Christian had left Benny Goodman's Quartet to play somewhere in Texas. I've looked around for other albums of the same vein (I can't seem to find any other Jimmie Rivers albums) but I'm not sure where to start. Any recommendations?
Sadly, he's dead.
http://www.westernswingsociety.org/riversjbio.html
RIVERS, JIMMY (1926-2003)
Despite his relative obscurity, Jimmie Rivers was one of the great western swing guitarists, with a near-unparalleled ability to construct exciting, melodic solos in the vein of Charlie Christian. Born Walter James Fewell on Feb. 12, 1926 in Hockerville, Oklahoma, and later changing his name to Jimmy Rivers, he passed away peacefully in his home in Placerville, California on August 29, 2003. Jimmy Rivers was an extraordinary man; a gifted musician who picked up his first instrument, a fiddle, at age four. His father, a coal miner and hoedown fiddler, bought him his first guitar at age six. Jimmy served in the Navy where he became an accomplished pilot and paratrooper. The music of Bob Wills gave the youth his first influence, in particular the twin electric
guitar arrangements of Leon McAuliffe and Eldon Shamblin. In high school, he also played trumpet before his family moved west to Oakland in the early ‘40s. Although Rivers' style had largely matured by the time he was a late teenager, it was in Oakland that he received his greatest musical instruction. Sitting in with a jazz combo one evening, he met a pianist named Don Burke, who introduced him to the music of the great electric guitar pioneer Charlie Christian. (Amazingly, although Rivers' guitar playing was already saturated with be-bop stylings, the youth had never heard of Christian; rather, he had absorbed the technique of Barney Kessel, another Christian fan.)
After two years in the Navy, in 1946 Rivers moved to Corpus Christi, TX and formed a trio called the Gadabouts. His reputation as a guitarist was growing, bringing job offers from both Spade Cooley and Bob Wills. Rivers, however, declined, as by this time he was making more money on his own than either bandleader could promise.
In 1954, he moved back to Oakland and took work as a DJ at KVSM. Before his first broadcast, he was re-christened “Jimmie Rivers" by a local man who expressed distaste for the name Fewell. (Rivers, who was half-Indian, had explained that his original family name was “Two Rivers.") Soon after, he formed a western swing group called the Cherokees, who began appearing on the California Hayride television show dressed in Indian headdresses. The Cherokees also cut some records for the Cavalier label and frequently backed Tommy Duncan on his solo recordings. In 1958, the group took up residence at the 23 Club in Brisbane, CA.
That same year, Rivers hooked up with ex-Billy Jack Wills steel guitarist Vance Terry, and in 1959 Terry joined what would become the definitive Cherokees lineup. They played the 23 Club for six years, before Rivers disbanded the group in 1964.
He came to the Sacramento area in 1961 and became involved in western swing music and jazz. He was a Gold Card Member of the Sacramento Jazz Society and was inducted into the Western Swing Hall of Fame. He performed at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee for many years, first with Bob Ringwald and the Fulton Street Jazz Band, later with his own Jimmy Rivers Jazz Band.
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http://www.jimcampilongo.com/about/gear.php
I was lucky enough to meet Jimmie Rivers in a small restaurant in Placervlle, Calif where he held his every Sunday residency. I walked in the place (I forget the name, The Blue Gill or something like that ...) and couldn't believe the sound coming from a corner in the restaurant was the unmistakable sound of Jimmies guitar style. There was no stage and Jimmie and his band played on the carpeted restaurant floor. This is no hard-luck story, one could feel the joy and comaraderie transmitted into sound as the band played. This wasn't "Brisbane Bop" but it was well played swing by excellent, talented pros. Jimmie was teasing the waitress to bring him a drink while he joked, smoked, taunted and took everything around him . He spotted me and during the break walked over. He was interested in me, why I came. When I told him his guitar work was big influence. He became self-effacing and emotional. He really couldn't understand the interest "Brisbane Bop" was receiving When I asked if the "Jimmies Blues" solo was worked out, he roared with laughter and cried out "We were all drunk!" I was lucky enough to sit in with the band. They were all really nice and supportive despite my nervousness and occasional musical shortcomings. Later Jimmie invited to visit his house and meet his wife Maria. I overcame my fear and called a few weeks later. This led to many thrilling opportunities including playing his "Retirement Show" at the Great American Music Hall and to a few guitar lessons.
His guitar lessons were amazing! He was very into sharing his concepts and was thrilled I was interested. I couldn't help think that being 70 years old had him feeling like someone should carry on the flame. He'd show me ideas and say" People go nuts when you play this at the end of a song !". He was not Mr. Music Theory, he called Emi7b5 (prefacing A7 ), "Little C7" but he had a profound genius in cutting away all the useless fat and showing the essentail "meat". Many of his ideas were based on Jazz trumpeter Bill Davison and Charlie Christian via Barney Kessel He once said the only solo he liked from "Brisbane Bop" was "Rose Room" in which he plays the Chistian solo pretty much note for note. Jimmie could break down and simplify like a true Zen Master and many of his concepts I still draw upon and share.
http://www.westernswingsociety.org/riversjbio.html
RIVERS, JIMMY (1926-2003)
Despite his relative obscurity, Jimmie Rivers was one of the great western swing guitarists, with a near-unparalleled ability to construct exciting, melodic solos in the vein of Charlie Christian. Born Walter James Fewell on Feb. 12, 1926 in Hockerville, Oklahoma, and later changing his name to Jimmy Rivers, he passed away peacefully in his home in Placerville, California on August 29, 2003. Jimmy Rivers was an extraordinary man; a gifted musician who picked up his first instrument, a fiddle, at age four. His father, a coal miner and hoedown fiddler, bought him his first guitar at age six. Jimmy served in the Navy where he became an accomplished pilot and paratrooper. The music of Bob Wills gave the youth his first influence, in particular the twin electric
guitar arrangements of Leon McAuliffe and Eldon Shamblin. In high school, he also played trumpet before his family moved west to Oakland in the early ‘40s. Although Rivers' style had largely matured by the time he was a late teenager, it was in Oakland that he received his greatest musical instruction. Sitting in with a jazz combo one evening, he met a pianist named Don Burke, who introduced him to the music of the great electric guitar pioneer Charlie Christian. (Amazingly, although Rivers' guitar playing was already saturated with be-bop stylings, the youth had never heard of Christian; rather, he had absorbed the technique of Barney Kessel, another Christian fan.)
After two years in the Navy, in 1946 Rivers moved to Corpus Christi, TX and formed a trio called the Gadabouts. His reputation as a guitarist was growing, bringing job offers from both Spade Cooley and Bob Wills. Rivers, however, declined, as by this time he was making more money on his own than either bandleader could promise.
In 1954, he moved back to Oakland and took work as a DJ at KVSM. Before his first broadcast, he was re-christened “Jimmie Rivers" by a local man who expressed distaste for the name Fewell. (Rivers, who was half-Indian, had explained that his original family name was “Two Rivers.") Soon after, he formed a western swing group called the Cherokees, who began appearing on the California Hayride television show dressed in Indian headdresses. The Cherokees also cut some records for the Cavalier label and frequently backed Tommy Duncan on his solo recordings. In 1958, the group took up residence at the 23 Club in Brisbane, CA.
That same year, Rivers hooked up with ex-Billy Jack Wills steel guitarist Vance Terry, and in 1959 Terry joined what would become the definitive Cherokees lineup. They played the 23 Club for six years, before Rivers disbanded the group in 1964.
He came to the Sacramento area in 1961 and became involved in western swing music and jazz. He was a Gold Card Member of the Sacramento Jazz Society and was inducted into the Western Swing Hall of Fame. He performed at the Sacramento Jazz Jubilee for many years, first with Bob Ringwald and the Fulton Street Jazz Band, later with his own Jimmy Rivers Jazz Band.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
http://www.jimcampilongo.com/about/gear.php
I was lucky enough to meet Jimmie Rivers in a small restaurant in Placervlle, Calif where he held his every Sunday residency. I walked in the place (I forget the name, The Blue Gill or something like that ...) and couldn't believe the sound coming from a corner in the restaurant was the unmistakable sound of Jimmies guitar style. There was no stage and Jimmie and his band played on the carpeted restaurant floor. This is no hard-luck story, one could feel the joy and comaraderie transmitted into sound as the band played. This wasn't "Brisbane Bop" but it was well played swing by excellent, talented pros. Jimmie was teasing the waitress to bring him a drink while he joked, smoked, taunted and took everything around him . He spotted me and during the break walked over. He was interested in me, why I came. When I told him his guitar work was big influence. He became self-effacing and emotional. He really couldn't understand the interest "Brisbane Bop" was receiving When I asked if the "Jimmies Blues" solo was worked out, he roared with laughter and cried out "We were all drunk!" I was lucky enough to sit in with the band. They were all really nice and supportive despite my nervousness and occasional musical shortcomings. Later Jimmie invited to visit his house and meet his wife Maria. I overcame my fear and called a few weeks later. This led to many thrilling opportunities including playing his "Retirement Show" at the Great American Music Hall and to a few guitar lessons.
His guitar lessons were amazing! He was very into sharing his concepts and was thrilled I was interested. I couldn't help think that being 70 years old had him feeling like someone should carry on the flame. He'd show me ideas and say" People go nuts when you play this at the end of a song !". He was not Mr. Music Theory, he called Emi7b5 (prefacing A7 ), "Little C7" but he had a profound genius in cutting away all the useless fat and showing the essentail "meat". Many of his ideas were based on Jazz trumpeter Bill Davison and Charlie Christian via Barney Kessel He once said the only solo he liked from "Brisbane Bop" was "Rose Room" in which he plays the Chistian solo pretty much note for note. Jimmie could break down and simplify like a true Zen Master and many of his concepts I still draw upon and share.
-
texas-eddie
- Posts: 29
- Joined: Thu Aug 31, 2006 4:09 pm
- Location: Mountain View, CA
Wow. Thanks for the great info/story, Eyeball. Didn't know he used to play so close to home (I'm in SF). Shame I just missed him 
Figures Andreas found that album. I actually just started looking through Bob Willis' earlier stuff, based on a suggestion from Manu; that Proper set looks interesting. I'll probably bust some out at the Sac Exchange
.
Figures Andreas found that album. I actually just started looking through Bob Willis' earlier stuff, based on a suggestion from Manu; that Proper set looks interesting. I'll probably bust some out at the Sac Exchange
.