Album Review: Alexis Korner’s Blues Incorporated – BBC Sessions #1: 1962-1965

A great deal of what is thought of as the British Invasion (“beat era” if you’re from the UK) arose from the blues and r&b scene in the very early 1960s. Itself growing out of the “trad jazz” movement (Americans called it Dixieland), the British blues genre would give rise to the Rolling Stones, the Yardbirds, the Animals and many other bands. Raised on a diet of American music, those groups distilled their influences through their own British sensibilities, often coming up with something new and exciting in the process. As the ‘60s wore on, groups like Cream, Ten Years After, Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac and Led Zeppelin would all channel their own takes on blues into their respective signature styles.

A strong case can be made that the British blues boom couldn’t have happened were it not for Alexis Korner. Born in 1928, he was an early member of the influential Chris Barber Jazz Band. By the mid 1950s, Korner was leading groups of his own; with Cyril Davies, he launched Blues Incorporated in 1961. The ever-changing lineup of that group featured the cream of the crop of Britain’s up-and-coming musicians. While few of them were widely-known during their time with Korner, they would go on to high profile success. At various points, Blues Incorporated counted among its membership Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Charlie Watts, Rod Stewart, John Mayall, Jimmy Page, Jack Bruce, Ginger Baker and many others.

Blues Incorporated’s recorded body of work is rather slim; the band released only five albums during its years as a functioning unit (1961-66). And few of the musicians who would go on to major fame were present on those records. But the British Broadcasting Corporation hosted Korner’s band on multiple occasions, giving the group an opportunity to play live (in the studio) for broadcast on BBC Radio. A new collection, BBC Sessions #1: 1962-1965 draws from off-air recordings of select performances.

Featuring select tracks from six BBC performances, the set features reasonable fidelity (considering the provenance of these recordings), and the material showcases various lineups sharing their interpretations of classic blues and r&b classics. Korner is the sole constant among the tracks, but several of the aforementioned future stars appear. Also featured are other names who will be familiar to lovers of British blues: Long John Baldry, Graham Bond, Dick Heckstall-Smith (later of Colosseum) and Brian Auger. Highlights are many, but a December ‘65 reading of Herbie Hancock’s “Watermelon Man” might be the best thing here.

The playing on these tracks is primarily of an ensemble rather than soloist-showcase nature, but these recordings help underscore the virtually unbroken line between jazz, blues and what the world would come to know as classic rock, British style.