Biography
"Now Sister Fullbosom and Brother Lowdown" announces boogie-woogie pianist Romeo Nelson right at the start of "Getting Dirty Just Shaking That Thing," launching a barrelhouse blues so explicit it could still draw stares even in the era of rap. Among the limited sides this artist cut, the number stands out for its enduring appeal; bootleggers and compilers have lifted it for more than a dozen piano collections.
Born Iromeio Nelson, he settled in Chicago at six and remained there aside from a five-year stretch in East St. Louis that began in 1915. It was during that absence that he acquired the keyboard technique he later deployed across the Chicago circuit. Through the early 1940s he worked rent parties and clubs while earning his main living at the gambling tables. Four titles were waxed for Vocalion in 1929, among them "Head Rag Hop," a piece that has surfaced repeatedly on anthologies and that director Peter Turner featured in a three-minute color film shot in 1970.
Devotees of blues piano often rank Nelson’s sides among the strongest boogie-woogie showcases preserved on record. The performances combine formidable keyboard command, an inventive approach to harmony, and a sharp sense of humor; he routinely seizes material by rivals such as Pinetop Perkins and accelerates it to a degree both dazzling and absurd. A Jazz Institute of Chicago interview from the 1960s reported that Nelson had left music behind, yet another account places his death as early as 1940.
Born Iromeio Nelson, he settled in Chicago at six and remained there aside from a five-year stretch in East St. Louis that began in 1915. It was during that absence that he acquired the keyboard technique he later deployed across the Chicago circuit. Through the early 1940s he worked rent parties and clubs while earning his main living at the gambling tables. Four titles were waxed for Vocalion in 1929, among them "Head Rag Hop," a piece that has surfaced repeatedly on anthologies and that director Peter Turner featured in a three-minute color film shot in 1970.
Devotees of blues piano often rank Nelson’s sides among the strongest boogie-woogie showcases preserved on record. The performances combine formidable keyboard command, an inventive approach to harmony, and a sharp sense of humor; he routinely seizes material by rivals such as Pinetop Perkins and accelerates it to a degree both dazzling and absurd. A Jazz Institute of Chicago interview from the 1960s reported that Nelson had left music behind, yet another account places his death as early as 1940.