Release Date: 04 January 2006
Label: Naxos - Jazz Legends / Naxos Jazz Legends
Packaging Type: Jewel Case
No of Units: 1
Barcode: 636943282427
Genres: Jazz
Description
Jelly-Roll Morton 'Mr Jelly Lord' Original Recordings 1924-1930 Jelly Roll Morton often seemed to operate as both his own best press agent and his own worst enemy. A brilliant pianist, composer and arranger who was one of the first major giants of jazz, Morton frequently hurt his cause by bragging and exaggerating (although usually just slightly) about his accomplishments. The truth was impressive enough without any embellishment. Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe was born 20 September 1885 in Gulfport, Louisiana, near New Orleans. After briefly toying with the guitar and trombone, he started seriously playing the piano when he was ten. He became a 'professor' in Storyville's bordellos, playing background music for customers. He learned to play the blues early on, was influenced by New Orleans brass bands (although there was no need for marching band pianists) and started composing songs as a young teenager. Always a bit of a hustler and curious about the rest of the world, he renamed himself Jelly Roll Morton, left New Orleans by 1904 and during the next eighteen years was involved in a remarkable variety of professions. During 1904-22, Morton worked with varied success as a pool shark, vaudeville comedian, gambler, pimp, hotel manager, boxing promoter, tailor and gambling house manager in addition to being a pianist. He loved to come into a town, check out the other pianists, and then defeat the locals in informal competitions. Although he did not record until 1923, by 1915 Morton was an important transition figure between ragtime and early jazz. He swung rags, infused them with bluish ideas, improvised and strided in his own original style. He performed throughout the South, visited Chicago as early as 1914 and also spent time in San Francisco, Alaska, Wyoming, Denver, Tijuana, Canada and Los Angeles, the latter his home base during 1917-22. By the time he moved to Chicago in 1923, Jelly Roll Morton was a full-time and fully formed musician. His remarkable series of recorded piano solos from 1923-24 often found him using the three-theme structure of rags and marches while emulating a full band. Among his originals that he introduced were 'King Porter Stomp', 'Grandpa's Spells', 'Wolverine Blues', 'The Pearls' and 'Original Jelly Roll Blues'. Most of Morton's earliest band recordings were unfortunately made for the Paramount label, a company infamous for its primitive recording techniques and excessive surface noise. However in 1926 Morton signed with Victor, arguably the premier label of the 1920s. During the next four years he recorded some of the finest work of his career. A close listen to the opening track, 'Black Bottom Stomp', gives plenty of evidence why Jelly Roll Morton was so special. Utilizing a three-horn four-rhythm septet, Morton came up with a seemingly infinite number of instrumental combinations during the three-minute performance without any of the musicians switching instruments. Improvised solos alternate with passa
Tracklisting
Teagarden:Goodman:Nicholas
Jelly Roll Morton
James, Harry
Hawkins, Coleman
Guthrie, Woody
Grappelli
Grappell
George Shearing
Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton
