From:   "Dik de Heer" 
Date:  Thu Mar 21, 2002  1:14 am
Subject:  Born To Be With You : Otis Spann
 
OTIS SPANN

Born 21 March 1930, Jackson, Mississippi
Died 24 April 1970, Chicago, Illinois

Arguably the most important pianist of the Chicago blues scene, Otis
Spann started playing piano at an early age, without any formal instruction.
After moving to Chicago in 1947 and leaving the Army in 1951, Spann
joined the Muddy Waters Group, which also included Jimmy Rogers and
Little Walter. Spann remained Muddy's pianist, bandleader and musical
right hand till his untimely death in 1970. From 1953 onwards, Otis not
only participated in numerous Muddy Waters recording sessions but was
also in great demand by Chess as house pianist, accompanying artists like
Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, Sonny Boy Williamson, Howlin' Wolf, Jimmy
Rogers and Little Walter; not to mention all the extra-curricular studio
activities. However, the Chess brothers failed to spot his vocal talents and
as a result, Spann's Chess recording career under his own name is limited
to one 1954 single, 'It Must Have Been The Devil', coupled with the frantic
instrumental 'Five Spot', on Checker.
His solo career did not really start until August 1960, when he recorded 30
songs for Nat Hentoff's Candid label in one day. Ten of these were released
on the LP "Otis Spann Is The Blues" (which boogie woogie historian Peter
Silvester has called a tour de force); most of the remaining tracks were
released posthumously in 1972, on the album "Walking The Blues". The year
1960 also saw him appearing with Muddy Waters at the 1960 Newport Jazz
Festival. In 1963 and 1964 he toured Europe, after he began a thriving solo
recording career which showcased not just his remarkable talent on the piano
but also a skilled composer and vocalist. Albums to be found on Prestige and
Bluesway are all worth investigating. He also recorded with the early
Fleetwood Mac (Peter Green, Danny Kirwan and John McVie) - the resulting
album, "The Biggest Thing Since Colossus" proved to be Spann's last
significant work. Just as his superb and singular talent was being
recognised as worthy of far more than sideman status, his health started to
fail. Contemporary reports tended to suggest that this was alcohol related,
but his death in Cook County Hospital in Chicago in 1970 was through
cancer following a series of debilitating illnesses.

Master discography (very detailed) at:
http://www.bluespower.com/osdiscog.html
CD recommendation: This Is The Blues (Roots). 1960 recordings.