LOUIS JORDAN | BEWARE (1946) Photo collection

[New York]: Astor Pictures, [1946]. Set of nine (9) vintage original 8 x 10″ (20 x 25 cm.) black-and-white print still photos, near fine.

Louis Jordan was an American saxophonist, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and bandleader who was popular from the late-1930s to the early-1950s. Known as “the King of the Jukebox”, he earned his highest profile towards the end of the swing era. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an “early influence” in 1987.

Specializing in the alto sax, Jordan played all forms of the saxophone, as well as piano and clarinet. He also was a talented singer with great comedic flair and fronted his own band for more than twenty years. He duetted with some of the biggest solo singing stars of his time, including Bing Crosby, Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong. He is now considered as one of the inventors of rhythm and blues, and a trailblazer of what was to become rock and roll.

Beware is the first of three feature films starring Jordan made in the late-1940s. Jordan is present in all nine photos for this film set on a fictitious college campus.