Mr. Q: Cocktail Boogie

Mr. Q was an old hepcat whose music just made you smile. Born in 1913, this self-taught pianist fashioned his own sound by mixing the piano styles of Art Tatum, Earl Hines and Oscar Peterson, interspersed with songs by the Ink Spots. He graduated from North Carolina A&T in the ‘30s; after finishing school he started his career by traveling and performing with Blanche Calloway’s orchestra as a singer. The orchestra performed as far away as Mexico and when Q traveled back through Texas, he took off on his own and hustled a job as a singer in a local saloon. Soon after, Mr. Q migrated to Harlem and got a job playing the harmonica with the Savoy Sultans, the house band at the Savoy Ballroom. He sang at tables at local nightclubs. He went to all-night jam sessions where he witnessed the legends of the day perform- legends such as Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum and Teddy Wilson. In 1963, Q returned to Winston-Salem and became a fixture performing at piano bars. Bluesman Guitar Gabriel introduced me to Mr. Q in 1991 in Winston-Salem. Q was always dressed in a perfect suit and thought highly of himself as a musician; his entire life, Q had made a living with his music. He loved Guitar Gabe because Gabe could follow any of the music he played. At the time, I was amazed because I was used to only listening to Gabe playing the blues (a musician who was a fine jazz guitarist when he wanted to be). Mr. Q joined Willa Mae Buckner, Macavine Hayes, Preston Fulp, Jahue Rorie and Guitar Gabriel in our early Music Maker Revue. Durham bluesman John Dee Holeman and Mr. Q traveled to Lugano, Switzerland to perform in the Blues to Bop Festival. On this trip, these two challenged each other with Toasts, long-winded colorful jokes against one another. John Dee is a legendary champion of this poetic form, but Mr. Q brought John Dee to his knees. This album was never issued when Mr. Q was alive- he passed away in 2000 of natural causes. Cocktail Boogie has been a secret treasure of the Music Maker office for years. When you listen to Mr. Q’s music you just feel happy, he makes you feel good. This is exactly what the professional piano bar entertainers of yesteryear did night after night. I hope you enjoy Cocktail Boogie as much as I do and, as always, thank you for your support.

Music Maker Series: MMCD121 Recording sessions were in 1992, 1993 & 1995 Recorded and Produced by Tim Duffy ©2010 Lucky Guitar Track Listing: 1/ Cocktail Boogie 2/Georgia 3/ We Three 4/ Mr. Q’s Blues 5/ San Francisco 6/ Every Day I Have the Blues 7/ You’ll Never Know 8/ Mood Indigo 9/ What I Say 10/ Juice Headed Woman 11/ Earl Hines Tune 12/ Thank-You Pretty Baby 13/ Begin the Beguine 14/ Don’t Take Your Love from Me