Jazz is at the roots of the Chess Records story, a legacy that's silent in “Cadillac Records."
Leonard Chess broke into the local music scene in 1949 by opening the Macomba Lounge at 47th and South Karlov. The late-night club attracted jazz legends Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington, who were headlining earlier in the evening at other Bronzeville venues.
“[Jazz pianist] Ahmad Jamal was one of the greatest artists at Chess," says mid-1960s Chess arranger-producer Gene Barge. “Ramsey Lewis did more than 20 records for Chess [on the label's Argo and Cadet imprint, even the home of psychedelic rockers Rotary Connection]. Jazz guys coming to jam at the Macomba is what got the whole thing going."
The label, he says, was more diversified than R&B rivals Motown and Stax.
“Chess started with jazz," he says. “One of the first people the Chess brothers recorded was [Chicago tenor saxophonist] Gene Ammons. It was one of the first big-time records with echo: 'My Foolish Heart.' “
Leonard Chess broke into the local music scene in 1949 by opening the Macomba Lounge at 47th and South Karlov. The late-night club attracted jazz legends Ella Fitzgerald and Dinah Washington, who were headlining earlier in the evening at other Bronzeville venues.
“[Jazz pianist] Ahmad Jamal was one of the greatest artists at Chess," says mid-1960s Chess arranger-producer Gene Barge. “Ramsey Lewis did more than 20 records for Chess [on the label's Argo and Cadet imprint, even the home of psychedelic rockers Rotary Connection]. Jazz guys coming to jam at the Macomba is what got the whole thing going."
The label, he says, was more diversified than R&B rivals Motown and Stax.
“Chess started with jazz," he says. “One of the first people the Chess brothers recorded was [Chicago tenor saxophonist] Gene Ammons. It was one of the first big-time records with echo: 'My Foolish Heart.' “
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