Jed Davenport

Born in Mississippi, Davenport made Memphis his home base and appeared there often except when traveling with medicine shows. Although he handled guitar, trumpet and jug, his recordings focused on harmonica, opening in 1929 with animated, strongly vocal renditions of ‘How Long How Long Blues’ and ‘Cow Cow Blues’. The following year he cut ‘Beale Street Breakdown’ with his Beale Street Jug Band, whose members included Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie; the track stands out for its harmonica fireworks and tight group interplay. An additional session by essentially the same lineup later appeared under the name Memphis Minnie And Her Jug Band, apparently to aid sales. Davenport’s final sightings in Memphis date to the 1960s.