In 1956, Elvis had the number 1 song with Heartbreak Hotel and Columbus was a very different place from today. Saxophonist Rusty Bryant managed to break through with a poppy brand of jazzy R&B and rock and roll. Ohio State’s student newspaper, The Lantern, wrote that Bryant was largely responsible for the “current rock and roll craze” gripping the city. Maybe a little ironic, then, that a collection of his early singles would be released as America’s Greatest Jazz. Overseas, it was released as Rock ‘N’ Roll With Rusty Bryant on London Records. I’ve never understood the obsession with defining what is and isn’t jazz (or rock). Genres are for marketing departments.
Rusty Bryant And The Carolyn Club Band
Dot Records - DLP-3006
1956
In the early 1950s, Rusty Bryant’s various bands had been as popular in the OSU frat houses as they were in the clubs. A 1953 self-released live recording of a speedy version of Jimmy Forrest’s "Night Train" apparently sold well enough to get the attention of Gallatin, Tennessee-based Dot Records, just outside of Nashville.
By early 1954 Dot would reissue Night Train, recorded live at the Carolyn Club on Marion Rd., as "All Nite Long," and Rusty had what would ultimately be the biggest hit of his career. A series of singles released between 1954 and 1956 would eventually make up America’s Greatest Jazz, giving it the feel of a compilation. But that’s what most LPs were in those days. This was the single era. The somewhat generic looking cover art features a somewhat caucasian looking sax player. It's not clear whether any of the album’s tracks are studio recordings, but they were likely all recorded live, whether at the Carolyn Club, a studio, or elsewhere.
Listening to the tracks now, the recordings hold up quite well. "All Nite Long" in particular, with its train whistle and chanting, captures the party atmosphere of what a sweaty night in the Carolyn Club must have been like. The musicians have a chemistry honed with years of relentless gigging.
No musicians aside from Rusty are credited. Half the tracks were written by Henry "Hank" Marr and he often played with Rusty, so he's gotta be on here. Hank largely played piano at this time before later becoming a monster Hammond B-3 organist. Guitarist Warren Stephens, bassist Bernie Decker and drummer Jimmy Rogers are known to have played with Rusty in this era as well.
Bryant would release much better, artistically satisfying albums later on - in particular his run of releases on Prestige, but "Night Train’"s success and the deal with Dot gave him the juice to tour nationally, including a gig with Sammy Davis, Jr. in New York City. Bryant strikes me as a seriously underrated tenor sax player. He’d go on to record with Steve Gadd, Tony Levin, Joe Beck, and others. Although this wasn’t his best album, it’s a great early example of a Columbus-bred (Huntington, West Virginia born) world class musician getting signed and making a lifelong career with the key ingredients of talent, hard work, and luck.
Tracklist
A1 Castle Rock
Written-By – Forrest
Written-By – Joe Liggins
A4 Slow Drag
Written-By – Henry Marr
A5 House Rocker
Written-By – Henry Marr
Written-By – Henry Marr
B1 Back Street
B2 Honeydripper
Written-By – Joe Liggins
B3 Hot Fudge
Written-By – Hal Singer
Written-By – Henry Marr
Written-By – Henry Marr
B6 Hanka Boo
Written-By – Henry Marr
"Many of the fast-moving, pulsating hits in this album were actually recorded in the Carolyn Club in Columbus, Ohio, where Rusty proved that the great jazz centers of the nation were not concentrated in New Orleans or Chicago alone." - rear cover liner notes
Although Bryant's greatest commercial success may have come relatively early in his career, he kept at it his whole life, which I have the ultimate respect for. Being a professional musician ain't as easy as it may seem from the outside, but he was clearly in it for the right reasons. And Rusty Bryant would become one of the greatest musicians to ever emerge from Columbus.