According to the usual discographies, Jaybird Coleman not only recorded sessions under his own name (some of which were later reissued under other names to cheat him out of his royalties), but also recorded as an accompanist to Bertha Ross, as a gospel singer/harmonica player under the name of Frank Palmes and as a member of the Birmingham Jug Band. To my ears, Jaybird is almost certainly the harp player with Bertha Ross's Bessemer Blues Pickers, on the 1927 recording of "My Jelly Blues". This tune was recorded in Birmingham, Alabama in early August 1927, for Gennett Records. Jaybird had already made some test recordings in Birmingham for Gennett the previous month and went on to do a few more sessions for them over the next few weeks, his field-holler influenced style working much better as a soloist, rather than as a team player.
A couple of years later, a solo singer/harp player recorded a pair of gospel tunes in Chicago for Paramount. These were issued under the name Frank Palmes and many discographers claim that this is a pseudonym for Jaybird Coleman. Although there are some stylistic similarities, they don't really sound like the same player to me. Jaybird had a very distinctive approach to the 2 draw bend that doesn't turn up in either of the Frank Palmes sides. Similarly, Frank Palmes leans quite a bit on the 2 draw/4 draw doublestop, something that doesn't show up at all in Jaybird's recordings. I also don't really think their voices sound the same.
The Birmingham Jug Band recorded a single session for Okeh in Atlanta, Georgia in December 1930 and Jaybird is often credited as being the harp player. I believe this information originally came from Big Joe Williams, who also claimed to have been a member of the band himself at the time. This alone should raise some skepticism, as Big Joe claimed to have played on several recordings which did not feature him. Aside from that, I have never thought that the harmonica playing on these sides sounds anything like Jaybird Coleman. This was an extremely tight band, harmonica included, but Jaybird was simply not that kind of ensemble player. Just a few months before this session, he had recorded two sides for Columbia ("Coffee Grinder Blues" and "Man Trouble Blues") and they had the bright idea of giving him an accompanying pianist. The results were just as chaotic as his session with Bertha Ross. Jaybird was amazing, but strict 12-bar blues was just not his thing. Also, because the harmonica on these sides never overlaps the vocals, it seems probably that the harp player and singer were the same person, but I don't think the vocals on these sides sound much like Jaybird.
Other people have voiced similar opinions on this topic, but hard facts are somewhat lacking. However, I recently stumbled across something very interesting in an old newspaper. From The Birmingham Post, Friday, March 1, 1935:
Frank Palms alias "Slim", alias "Harp Player," Negro, who allegedly broke up the Birmingham Jug Band in April, 1933, by fatally stabbing Will Gaines, the jug player, with an ice pick, was held in Jefferson County jail today on a charge of murder.
Deputies George Houtz and Melbourne Huff, who arrested Palms at Nashville, said they understood the Negroes had quarreled over a woman and that Gaines had broken his jug over Palms' head before the stabbing occurred. Palms, the officers said, played a harmonica in the band.
So Frank Palm(e)s was a singer and harmonica player from the Birmingham area and it seems likely that he was the one who traveled to Chicago to record those two gospel tunes, not Jaybird Coleman. Was he the singer and harmonica player on that session by the Birmingham Jug Band? I don't know. The vocals on the BJB sides sound more like Palm(e)s than Coleman, but I can't swear that they sound exactly like the same person. Also, that distinctive 2 draw/4 draw dyad does not show up at all in the harp playing on those tunes. Perhaps Palm(e)s played differently with a band vs when he was playing solo. Perhaps he played with the BJB from time to time, but wasn't the harp player on their recordings. Perhaps there was more than one Birmingham Jug Band. I don't know, but it seems more than just a coincidence that a harmonica player with the name Frank Palms was definitively linked with them and I think it makes it even less likely that Jaybird Coleman played on any of these records.
The complete recordings of Jaybird Coleman (including his track with Bertha Ross), Frank Palmes and The Birmingham Jug Band can be found on the album Jaybird Coleman and the Birmingham Jug Band 1927 - 1930 (Document DOCD-5140). This is an affiliate link - if you you buy anything via this link, I receive a small commission at no extra charge to you. For more information about the Amazon Associates scheme, please read this page.
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