Tag: Jelly Roll Morton

Oh, to be a fly on the wall in Gennett studios on July 17-18 during the summer of 1923 when Jelly Roll Morton went into the studio for his second recording session (the first was with Paramount a month earlier).

On the 17th, he spent the day alternating between recorded performances with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings and recording his own piano solos. 16 takes of 7 different tunes were recorded that day. On the 18th, Morton started with more solo piano recordings (including this one) and then finished the day recording London Blues, Milenberg Joys, and Mad (Cause You Treat Me This Way) with NORK.

For fun, also listen to the later 1928 recording of this same tune with the full Red Hot Peppers accompaniment:
https://youtu.be/jdQsglyv-U8

Recorded in Richmond, Indiana on July 18, 1923.
Released as Gennett 5218.

Credits:
Jelly Roll Morton – piano

I recently acquired a fairly beat copy of this record – which has a rough start (the first 20 grooves are quite worn), a grainy swish for the first 30 seconds, and a lengthy crack that I was able to stabilize which caused very slight tics (which I was able to digitally remove). All of that said, for what the seller called “a wall hanger”, it was still quite listenable! 😊

Between July 1923 and April 1926, Jelly Roll Morton recorded twenty piano solos. “Shreveport Stomps” was one of eleven compositions Morton recorded in one epic one-day session in 1924 at the Gennett studio in Indiana where 20 takes were made that resulted in nine sides.

Of these early solos brimming with vitality, William Russell wrote in The Needle in 1944 that “Jelly’s performance is a revelation of rhythmic variety by means of such devices as shifted accents, slight delays, and anticipations.”

Jelly himself would have been more emphatically clear about the merit of these recordings. When he asked one of the Melrose brothers what they thought of a new piece he just played, the publisher encouragingly answered “That’s good, Jelly.” Morton rose to the occasion: “Good, Hell – That’s perfect!”

Perfectly wonderful, to be sure. Please enjoy this gem of American jazz.

Recorded in Richmond, Indiana on Monday, June 9, 1924.
Released as Gennett 5590.
A master pressing was also released as Silvertone 4036.

Credits:
Jelly Roll Morton – piano