Switching in the Kitchen

Big Joe Turner was the ultimate blues shouter, with a voice loud enough to cut through an entire jazz orchestra without a microphone. This early Atlantic session shows Turner firmly transitioning from his boogie-woogie Kansas City roots into the driving rhythm and blues that would soon morph into rock and roll. Backed by a horn section arranged to mimic the percussive attack of a blues piano, Turner's booming, rhythmic delivery demonstrates exactly how horn sections were used as rhythm instruments in jump blues.