“Saturday Night Blues” – Sidney Bechet’s Blue Note Quartet (1940)

An early Blue Note 78 by the legendary Sidney Bechet, performing a chill blues perfect for a melancholic last call late on Saturday night.

Blue note said of the tune: “Bechet’s charged but restrained melodic line reaches an unprecedented artistic summit. Collaborating with Bechet is a rhythm section of unparalleled distinction – Teddy Bunn, whom the famous French critic, Panassie, calls ‘the world’s greatest guitarist’; and George ‘Pop’ Foster and Sidney Catlett, celebrated bassist and drummer respectively of Louis Armstrong’s orchestra.”

The label notes the performance is an improvisation, and one imagines a late night jam session on an easy blues. Alas, March 27, 1940 was a Wednesday night so the illusion is spoilt. But as we listen, it ceases to matter: Bechet and company take us there regardless.

Hope your Saturday night is not blue – but if it is, here is the remedy. 💙

Recorded at Reeves Sound Studios, NYC, on March 27, 1940.
Released as Blue Note 502.

Credits:
Sidney Bechet – clarinet
Teddy Bunn – guitar
George “Pop” Foster – bass
Sidney Catlett – drums