Happy Birthday, Jelly Roll Morton

Jelly Roll Morton, the first major arranger of jazz, was born on October 20, 1890 (based on his baptismal certificate), in New Orleans, Louisiana. Morton claimed that he invented jazz, and while that claim is a stretch, he was certainly an important transitional figure between the stiff approach of ragtime and the flexibility and freedom of jazz.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends two albums by Jelly Roll Morton: Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers, 1926-1927, Volume 3 (RCA France 731 059); and Jelly Roll Morton, 1923-1924 (Milestone M-47018, 2 LPs). These are available in vinyl only. There is a CD version of the latter album, but it omits the cuts from side 4 of the vinyl LP.

Jim Determan, who has updated Lyons's list of albums for CD, recommends instead the following titles:

• Jelly Roll Morton: The Jelly Roll Morton Centennial (Purchase at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Jelly Roll Morton: 1926-1930 (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  
• Jelly Roll Morton: Birth of the Hot (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  
• Jelly Roll Morton: Rare Recordings of Piano Solos, 1923-1926 (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  

Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers play "Dead Man Blues" here. It is a good example of Morton's sense of collective improvisation.

Robert
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