Jelly
Roll Morton
Ferdinand
Joseph Lemott
BORN: October 20, 1890, New Orleans, LA
DIED: July 10, 1941, Los Angeles, CA
One of the very first giants of jazz, Jelly Roll Morton did himself a lot
of harm posthumously by exaggerating his worth, claiming to have invented
jazz in 1902. Morton's accomplishments as an early innovator are so vast
that he did not really need to stretch the truth.
Morton was jazz's first great composer,
writing such songs as "King Porter Stomp," "Grandpa's
Spells," "Wolverine Blues," "The Pearls,"
"Mr. Jelly Roll," "Shreveport Stomp," "Milenburg
Joys," "Black Bottom Stomp," "The Chant,"
"Original Jelly Roll Blues," "Doctor Jazz," "Wild
Man Blues," "Winin' Boy Blues," "I Thought I Heard
Buddy Bolden Say," "Don't You Leave Me Here," and
"Sweet Substitute." He was a talented arranger (1926's
"Black Bottom Stomp" is remarkable), getting the most out of the
three-minute limitations of the 78 record by emphasizing changing
instrumentation, concise solos and dynamics. He was a greatly underrated
pianist who had his own individual style. Although he only took one vocal
on records in the 1920s ("Doctor Jazz"), Morton in his late-'30s
recordings proved to be an effective vocalist. And he was a true
character.
Jelly Roll Morton's pre-1923 activities
are shrouded in legend. He started playing piano when he was ten, worked
in the bordellos of Storyville while a teenager (for which some of his
relatives disowned him) and by 1904 was traveling throughout the South. He
spent time in other professions (as a gambler, pool player, vaudeville
comedian and even a pimp) but always returned to music. The chances are
good that in 1915 Morton had few competitors among pianists and he was an
important transition figure between ragtime and early jazz. He played in
Los Angeles during 1917-22 and then moved to Chicago where for the next
six years he was at his peak. Morton's 1923-24 recordings of piano solos
introduced his style, repertoire and brilliance. Although his earliest
band sides were quite primitve, his 1926-27 recordings for Victor with his
Red Hot Peppers are among the most exciting of his career. With such
sidemen as cornetist George Mitchell, Kid Ory or Gerald Reeves on
trombone, clarinetists Omer Simeon, Barney Bigard, Darnell Howard or
Johnny Dodds, occasionally Stomp Evans on C-melody, Johnny St. Cyr or Bud
Scott on banjo, bassist John Lindsay and either Andrew Hilaire or Baby
Dodds on drums, Morton had the perfect ensembles for his ideas. He also
recorded some exciting trios with Johnny and Baby Dodds.
With the center of jazz shifting to New
York by 1928, Morton relocated. His bragging ways unfortunately hurt his
career and he was not able to always get the sidemen he wanted. His Victor
recordings continued through 1930 and, although some of the performances
are sloppy or erratic, there were also a few more classics. Among the
musicians Morton was able to use on his New York records were trumpeters
Ward Pinkett, Red Allen and Bubber Miley, trombonists Geechie Fields,
Charles Irvis and J.C. Higginbotham, clarinetists Omer Simeon, Albert
Nicholas and Barney Bigard, banjoist Lee Blair, guitarist Bernard Addison,
Bill Benford on tuba, bassist Pops Foster and drummers Tommy Benford, Paul
Barbarin and Zutty Singleton.
But with the rise of the Depression,
Jelly Roll Morton drifted into obscurity. He had made few friends in New
York, his music was considered old-fashioned and he did not have the
temperament to work as a sideman. During 1931-37 his only appearance on
records was on a little-known Wingy Manone date. He ended up playing in a
Washington D.C. dive for patrons who had little idea of his contributions.
Ironically Morton's "King Porter Stomp" became one of the most
popular songs of the swing era but few knew that he wrote it. However in
1938 Alan Lomax recorded him in an extensive and fascinating series of
musical interviews for the Library of Congress. Morton's storytelling was
colorful and his piano playing in generally fine form as he reminisced
about old New Orleans and demonstrated the other piano styles of the era.
A decade later the results would finally be released on albums.
Morton arrived in New York in 1939
determined to make a comeback. He did lead a few band sessions with such
sidemen as Sidney Bechet, Red Allen and Albert Nicholas and recorded some
wonderful solo sides but none of those were big sellers. In late 1940 an
ailing Morton decided to head out to Los Angeles but, when he died at the
age of 50, he seemed like an old man. Ironically his music soon became
popular again as the New Orleans jazz revivalist movement caught fire and,
if he had lived just a few more years, the chances are good that he would
have been restored to his former prominence (as was Kid Ory).
Jelly Roll Morton's early piano solos
and classic Victor recordings (along with nearly every record he made)
have been reissued on CD. ~ Scott Yanow, All-Music Guide
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