The Complete Library of Congress Recordings
Jelly Roll Morton: The Complete Library of Congress Recordings is a 2005 box set of recordings from jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton. The set spans 128 tracks over eight CDs. It won two Grammy Awards in 2006, Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes.
| Jelly Roll Morton: The Complete Library of Congress Recordings (2005) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Box set by | |
| Released | September 27, 2005 |
| Recorded | May–December 1938; April 1949 |
| Genre | Jazz |
| Length | 539:03 (8 hours, 59 minutes and 3 seconds) |
| Label | Rounder Records |
| Producer | Jeffrey Greenberg and Anna Lomax Wood |
Background
In 1938, noted musicologist and Morton biographer Alan Lomax conducted a series of interviews with Morton at the Library of Congress.[1] Richard Cook and Brian Morton describe these recordings as Jelly Roll Morton's "virtual history of the birth pangs of jazz as it happened in the New Orleans of the turn of the century. His memory was unimpaired, although he chose to tell things as he preferred to remember them, perhaps; and his hands were still in complete command of the keyboard."[2]
Excerpts from the sessions first appeared on a 1948 album.[3] Riverside Records issued the recordings as LP records in 1955.[4] Ron Wynn and Bruce Boyd Raeburn note that "though the albums came out posthumously, the interviews generated tremendous new interest in Morton's life and music."[3] During the 1990s, Rounder Records released a series of compact discs including the musical content, but not the dialogue, from the 1938 sessions.[5] Both the Riverside and earlier Rounder releases were heavily expurgated, and as recently as 2008, when selections from the complete Rounder collection were featured in a BBC Radio 4 documentary on Morton, presenter Marybeth Hamilton noted that, even then, some of the recordings were still considered unsuitable for broadcast, due to the obscene nature of some of the lyrics and Morton's narration.[6]
2005 release
In 2005, Rounder released the 1938 recordings in their entirety as part of an eight-disc box set.[1][7] The first seven discs include Lomax's 1938 interviews, in which Morton describes his life and the early days of jazz, plays piano, and sings.[1][7] The eighth disc includes 1949 recordings of Morton's contemporaries, reminiscing about Morton and providing musical demonstrations.[1]
The set was originally released in a piano-shaped box and included a copy of Mister Jelly Roll, Lomax's biography about Morton.[7][8] The set also includes a PDF file including additional liner notes, complete transcriptions of the recorded dialogue and lyrics, additional unrecorded interviews and archival documents and photos.[7]
In 2007, Rounder released Jelly Roll Morton: The Library of Congress Recordings by Alan Lomax, a single disc consisting of selected highlights from the box set.[4][9]
Reception
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [7] |
| Austin Chronicle | [1] |
| Penguin Guide to Jazz | [2] |
| Rolling Stone |  [10] |
arwulf arwulf, writing for allmusic, described the recordings as having been "beautifully restored."[7]
Harvey Pekar, writing for The Austin Chronicle, gave the set a five-star rating (of a possible five), noting that "[Morton's] oral history here is provocative, and his playing bears out some of the hard-to-believe statements that have been made by (and about) him."[1]
Richard Cook and Brian Morton, writing for The Penguin Guide to Jazz, gave the set a four-star rating (of a possible four), describing it as "surely the most comprehensive coverage of the speech and music to date.… It is a wonderfully illustrated lecture on Morton's music by the man who created it. Indispensable records for anyone interested in jazz history."[2]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I'm Alabama Bound" | 4:03 |
| 2. | "Time in Mobile" | 4:13 |
| 3. | "King Porter Stomp" | 4:06 |
| 4. | "The Story of 'King Porter Stomp'" | 3:53 |
| 5. | "Jelly Roll's Background" | 4:22 |
| 6. | "Music Lessons" | 4:05 |
| 7. | "Miserere" | 4:05 |
| 8. | "The Stomping Grounds" | 4:15 |
| 9. | "The Style of Sammy Davis" | 4:17 |
| 10. | "Tony Jackson Was the Favorite / Dope, Crown, and Opium" | 4:00 |
| 11. | "Poor Alfred Wilson" | 4:02 |
| 12. | "Honky Tonk Blues / In New Orleans, Anyone Could Carry a Gun" | 4:20 |
| 13. | "New Orleans was a Free and Easy Place" | 4:06 |
| 14. | "The Story of Aaron Harris" | 4:06 |
| Total length: | 57:53 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Story of Aaron Harris, continued / Aaron Harris Blues" | 4:05 |
| 2. | "Aaron Harris, His Hoodoo Woman, and the Hat That Started a Riot" | 4:10 |
| 3. | "The Story of the 1900 New Orleans Riot and the Song of Robert Charles" | 4:04 |
| 4. | "The Story of the 1900 New Orleans Riot, continued" | 4:04 |
| 5. | "Game Kid Blues" | 3:57 |
| 6. | "New Orleans Funerals" | 4:17 |
| 7. | "Funeral Marches" | 4:11 |
| 8. | "Oh! Didn't He Ramble" | 4:07 |
| 9. | "Tiger Rag, third, fourth, and fifth strains" | 4:02 |
| 10. | "Tiger Rag / Panama" | 4:02 |
| 11. | "The Right Tempo is the Accurate Tempo" | 4:39 |
| 12. | "Jazz Discords and Story of the Kansas City Stomp" | 4:31 |
| 13. | "Kansas City Stomp, continued" | 4:34 |
| 14. | "Slow Swing and 'Sweet Jazz Music'" | 4:32 |
| 15. | "Salty Dog / Bill Johnson, Jelly's Brother-in-Law" | 4:22 |
| 16. | "Hesitation Blues" | 4:30 |
| Total length: | 68:07 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "My Gal Sal"" | 3:51 |
| 2. | "The St. Louis Scene" | 4:09 |
| 3. | "Maple Leaf Rag, St. Louis style / Maple Leaf Rag, New Orleans style" | 4:19 |
| 4. | "Jelly Roll Carves St. Louis" | 4:19 |
| 5. | "Jelly Roll Carves St. Louis, continued" | 4:23 |
| 6. | "New Orleans Blues" | 3:58 |
| 7. | "Winin' Boy Blues" | 3:45 |
| 8. | "Winin' Boy Blues, continued" | 4:24 |
| 9. | "The Anamule Dance" | 3:46 |
| 10. | "The Anamule Dance, continued" | 4:19 |
| 11. | "The Great Buddy Bolden / Buddy Bolden's Blues" | 4:11 |
| 12. | "The Great Buddy Bolden, continued" | 4:11 |
| 13. | "Mr. Jelly Lord" | 4:09 |
| 14. | "How Jelly Roll Got His Name" | 4:14 |
| 15. | "Original Jelly Roll Blues" | 4:09 |
| 16. | "Honky Tonk Blues" | 4:07 |
| Total length: | 66:14 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Real Tough Boys" | 4:31 |
| 2. | "Sporting Attire and Shooting the Agate" | 4:33 |
| 3. | "Sweet Mamas and Sweet Papas" | 4:20 |
| 4. | "See See Rider" | 4:24 |
| 5. | "Parading with the Broadway Swells" | 4:22 |
| 6. | "Fights and Weapons" | 4:27 |
| 7. | "Luis Russell and New Orleans Riffs" | 4:25 |
| 8. | "Jelly's Travels: From Yazoo to Clarksdale" | 4:14 |
| 9. | "Jelly's Travels: From Clarksdale to Helena" | 4:34 |
| 10. | "Jelly's Travels: From Helena to Memphis" | 4:23 |
| 11. | "In Memphis: The Monarch Saloon and Benny Frenchy" | 4:24 |
| 12. | "Benny Frenchy's Tune, continued" | 4:23 |
| 13. | "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" | 4:15 |
| 14. | "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor, continued" | 4:14 |
| 15. | "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor, part 3" | 4:14 |
| 16. | "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor, concluded" | 4:35 |
| Total length: | 70:18 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The Dirty Dozen" | 4:30 |
| 2. | "The Murder Ballad, part 1" | 4:05 |
| 3. | "The Murder Ballad, part 2" | 4:17 |
| 4. | "The Murder Ballad, part 3" | 4:29 |
| 5. | "The Murder Ballad, part 4" | 4:19 |
| 6. | "The Murder Ballad, part 5" | 4:15 |
| 7. | "The Murder Ballad, part 6" | 4:29 |
| 8. | "The Murder Ballad, part 7" | 4:32 |
| 9. | "Fickle Fay Creep" | 3:17 |
| 10. | "Jungle Blues" | 3:43 |
| 11. | "King Porter Stomp" | 2:55 |
| 12. | "Sweet Peter" | 3:04 |
| 13. | "Hyena Stomp" | 3:32 |
| 14. | "Wolverine Blues, begun" | 3:45 |
| 15. | "Wolverine Blues, concluded" | 4:04 |
| 16. | "State And Madison" | 3:48 |
| 17. | "The Pearls, begun" | 3:28 |
| 18. | "The Pearls, concluded" | 3:35 |
| Total length: | 70:07 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bert Williams" | 3:41 |
| 2. | "Freakish" | 3:59 |
| 3. | "Pep" | 3:32 |
| 4. | "The Georgia Skin Game" | 3:54 |
| 5. | "The Georgia Skin Game, continued" | 3:03 |
| 6. | "The Georgia Skin Game, conclusion" | 3:19 |
| 7. | "Ungai Hai" | 4:09 |
| 8. | "New Orleans Blues" | 4:07 |
| 9. | "The Spanish Tinge" | 4:13 |
| 10. | "Improving Spanish Tempos" | 4:06 |
| 11. | "Creepy Feeling, concluded" | 4:28 |
| 12. | "The Crave" | 4:37 |
| 13. | "Mamanita" | 4:12 |
| 14. | "C'était N'aut' Can-Can, Payez Donc" | 4:21 |
| 15. | "Spanish Swat" | 4:21 |
| 16. | "Ain't Misbehavin'" | 4:11 |
| 17. | "I Hate a Man Like You / Rolling Stuff" | 4:11 |
| 18. | "Michigan Water Blues" | 3:51 |
| Total length: | 72:15 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Winin' Boy Blues" | 3:45 |
| 2. | "Winin' Boy Blues, continued" | 4:24 |
| 3. | "Boogie Woogie Blues" | 4:21 |
| 4. | "Buddy Bertrand's Blues, continued / Mamie's Blues" | 4:25 |
| 5. | "When the Hot Stuff Came In" | 8:40 |
| 6. | "The First Hot Arrangements" | 9:00 |
| 7. | "The Pensacola Kid and the Cadillac Café" | 7:57 |
| 8. | "At the Cadillac Café, Los Angeles" | 9:54 |
| 9. | "Little Liza Jane, continued / On the West Coast" | 9:45 |
| 10. | "In the Publishing Business" | 8:50 |
| Total length: | 71:01 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Original Jelly Roll Blues" | 1:51 |
| 2. | "Jelly Roll's Early Playing Days in the District" | 1:22 |
| 3. | "Hot Bands and Creole Tunes" | 4:29 |
| 4. | "Eh, La Bas" | 2:02 |
| 5. | "Old-Time Creole Musicians and the French Element" | 3:32 |
| 6. | "Playing Hot with Buddy Bolden" | 3:17 |
| 7. | "High Society" | 2:15 |
| 8. | "Sporting Life Costumes" | 1:38 |
| 9. | "Buddy Bolden: Man and Musician" | 2:23 |
| 10. | "Creoles Playing with Negroes: Getting that Drive" | 4:28 |
| 11. | "Jelly Roll's Compositions" | 3:22 |
| 12. | "How Johnny St. Cyr Learned to Play Guitar" | 2:20 |
| 13. | "Guitar Blues" | 2:17 |
| 14. | "Bad Men and Pimps" | 3:38 |
| 15. | "The Story of the Coon Blues" | 1:33 |
| 16. | "Coon Blues" | 2:22 |
| 17. | "Jazz is Just a Makeup: Buddy Bolden, Honky Tonks, Brass Band Funerals, and Parades" | 5:25 |
| 18. | "Young Sidney Bechet: Jim Crow and the Dangers of the District" | 3:40 |
| 19. | "The Main Idea in Jazz: "Just Watch Me" | 3:23 |
| 20. | "Of All His Mother's Children He Loved Jelly the Best" | 6:17 |
| Total length: | 61:34 | |
Credits
- Jelly Roll Morton – piano, vocals, guitar, commentary
- Alan Lomax – interviewer
- Johnny St. Cyr – guitar, commentary
- Leonard Bechet – commentary
- Paul Dominguez Jr. – guitar, commentary
- Albert Glenny – commentary
- Alphonse Picou – commentary
- John Szwed - album notes
References
- Pekar, Harvey (December 9, 2005). "Jelly Roll Morton - The Complete Library of Congress Recordings by Alan Lomax (Rounder)". Austin Chronicle. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2008) [1992]. The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (9th ed.). New York: Penguin. p. 1045. ISBN 978-0-14-103401-0.
- Wynn, Ron; Raeburn, Bruce Boyd (1994), Ron Wynn (ed.), All Music Guide to Jazz, M. Erlewine, V. Bogdanov, San Francisco: Miller Freeman, p. 481, ISBN 0-87930-308-5
- arwulf, arwulf. The Library of Congress Recordings at AllMusic. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- Yanow, Scott. Kansas City Stomp: The Library of Congress Recordings, Vol. 1 at AllMusic. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- BBC Radio 4 - The Dream Time of Jazz (originally broadcast 7 July 2008)
- arwulf, arwulf. The Complete Library of Congress Recordings at AllMusic. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- "The Complete Library of Congress Recordings". Rounder Records. March 1, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- "The Library of Congress Recordings by Alan Lomax". Rounder Records. March 1, 2011. Retrieved September 17, 2012.
- Fricke, David (6 February 2006). "The Complete Library of Congress Recordings by Alan Lomax - Review". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 3 June 2008. Retrieved 21 October 2017.CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
External links
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