Jelly Roll Morton: 1926-1930

If you want your CD collection to contain only the greatest recordings of the 20th century, then in the field of Jazz this is one collection you should have (along with Armstrong, Bechet, Ellington, Basie, Parker, Miles Davis, and Coltrane).The music played by Morton in the 20's ranked 2nd to none, although there was no soloist of Armstrong's calibre in his bands (there was only ONE Armstrong !). Morton skills as an arranger, composer and pianist were above everyone else during this period.The first CD is from 09/26 to 06/27. There are the all time classics such as Doctor Jazz, Dead Man blues, and the tracks with the great clarinettist Johnny Dodds (the last eight tracks). Dodds presence added something extra to what was already great music. The last two tracks offer a chance to hear Morton the pianist - as he is joined only by the Dodds brothers.The 2nd CD offers anything from piano solos to a semi big band, recorded in 1929. Instead of Dodds we have the opportunity to hear Barney Bigard and Zutty Singleton, two other New Orleans giants, join Morton for a trio on the last four tracks. There are also highlights featuring a band with Henry Allen, J.C Higginbotham, Paul Barbarin and Pops Foster, among others.The 3rd CD was recorded during 1930, and is actually the last CD of the box set, as the remaing two CD's contain alternative takes of songs that appear in the first three. It contains swinging music, and such names as Wilbur De Paris, Bubber Miley and Albert Nicholas. I love "Harmony Blues", "Ponchatrain" - to me this is just outstanding music.CD's 4 and 5 are alternative takes of some of the best songs. They offer a chance to see how much of the music was actually improvised and how much was written down.Overall - for its musical depths, it historic value, its great remastering, and the very reasonable price - this is HIGHLY recommended.

I remember first hearing the wild New Orleans jazz of Jelly Roll Morton when I was only eleven. I had never heard anything like it before. The rhythms were so irresistibly untamed, energetic, unrestrained, and free. They seemed to convey the very essence of the fast-paced and gritty life of urban America in the 1920s as well as the wild character of Jelly himself. Most importantly of all, they also served to strengthen my life-long love for jazz and quickly became rivaled only by the best work of Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, Django Reinhardt, Billie Holiday, and others.That said, the restored recordings on this fantastic five-disc CD set do Jelly and his fellow musicians much justice, making them sound as fresh and crisp today as they did in the mid-to-late 1920s. There are so many great tracks here, it's difficult to discuss all of my favorites. Highlights include: Ward Pinkett's trumpet solo on "Stokin' Away", the wild trombone of Kid Ory and the insane clarinet of Omer Simeon on both takes of "The Chant", Jelly's hot piano playing in general, the proto-modal piece "Jungle Blues", and much more! Highly recommended for any serious fan of jazz, especially with that hot New Orleans/Roaring 20s flavor.

This is serious, rich music. Made over a period of years with various groups, it provides a picture of a great composer at the height of his powers. The trios with the Dodds Brothers, the Red Hot Peppers in all their incarnations, the piano solos --all are music which surpasses genre and time. If I had to choose, "Deep Creek" with its slow aching cry is my favorite. But that would mean the incomparable "Dead Man Blues" would be left out, or "Cannonball Blues." It's really impossible to pick a single selection when the whole body of work is so profound. Jelly Roll Morton may not have invented jazz, but he certainly invented Duke Ellington, whose inspiration springs forth from these tracks. The sophistication of the compositions and the arrangements looks forward many, many years. When Gil Evans arranged Morton's masterpiece "King Porter Stomp" in the 1950's, it sounded perfectly placed in time, and indeed, it does today. (For some reason "King Porter" is not on this set, but Google "Jelly Roll Morton" online and you'll find sites which have three and four versions.) Beautiful music that only grows better with time.

This collection of Chicago and NY recordings in 1926-30 far surpasses anything previously issued. The remastering achieves a wonderful balance between eliminating the pops and hisses while retaining the sounds of the music. Good remastering has become an art, rather than a science, and this is art at its finest. Kid Ory (trombone), Johnny St. Cyr (banjo) and Johnny Dodds (clarinet), who appear on some of the early tracks, also played in Louis Armstrong's Hot Fives, Hot Sevens and other groups Armstrong put together at the time (1925-27). You will want to get the Louis Armstrong box of four cd's by JSP. About half of Vol. 4 (the first part) and all of Volume 5 are retakes (or originals when retakes were used in the original release) that will be of interest mostly to students of this music; however, don't miss the 1928 NY recordings on the last six tracks of Vol. 4. The take numbers are well noted in the track listings in the notes, so it is easy to follow which take is where on the cd's. This great collection is a bargain even if you never listen to those tracks in which you have little interest.

Jelly Roll Morton's music is one of the great, elemental pleasures in American music, on a level with Ellington, Basie, Miles Davis, and a few others. I'm not really an expert on all of the various recordings, but this box set feels pretty essential. It is somewhat repetitive from disc to disc, different performances of the same material, but well structured, so that each disc is an enjoyable listen. Very joyous music. The emphasis is more on the group dynamic and polyphony than on individual playing, although Jelly Roll does have some remarkable solos. In any event, these are discs I will listen to many, many times.

This boxed set of 5 CDs has to be "5-star" value. To collect all the numbers individually would, even if possible, be ridiculously expensive as the CDs include every surviving recording made by Jelly Roll Morton over the years 1926-1930. The CDs embrace alternate takes for many of the numbers and so allow listeners to compare different versions and to trace their development.Jelly Roll Morton proclaimed himself to be the "inventor" of jazz and these CDs provide insight to his disciplined approach to recording sessions. Others have claimed to originate jazz, but the qualities demonstrated on these CDs suggest Jelly Roll Morton's self-representation may be correct. He was a great composer and the vast majority of the numbers on the CDs are his own - he was an inventive arranger as indicated by both ensemble playing and solo interjections, and different treatments with alternates on the CDs - and above all, he was clearly an inspirational bandleader as he surrounded himself with many of the best musicians of the day as described in the discographies.The CD insert notes have a reasonable amount of background material, but about the various recordings there are detailed and informative comments. It is fascinating to listen to the numbers and read up the explanatory notes - though there is at least one error (Original Jelly Roll Blues), and some remarks are flagrantly subjective - but relevant.If there is a problem it is that there is just too much, and many collectors and jazz lovers are likely to already have tracks on "compilation" recordings or "best of" selections. Some of the recordings appear elsewhere with other names (example : Johnny Dodds) though most are Jelly Roll Morton with his Red Hot Peppers, or his Orchestra, or various Trios and other offshoots of his main groups. The real value of jazz is not in documentation but in personal experience - just as well as there are 99 tracks to comment on - but too much is hardly a criticism. As well as a "5-star" value this boxed set is a "5-star" collectors item from Jelly Roll Morton's triumphal days of traditional jazz.

A wonderful set of recordings of the complete works of Jelly Roll Morton during the relevant years. Very interesting to hear the alternative takes of some very well known tracks. Sound quality excellent.

I have for a long time enjoyed the style of Jelly Roll Morton. This package came as a gift from above. We put it on and we were rocking and realing over our breakfast. Really good booklet with it too. Just like to play the CD's and listen to the beginnings of all that came after this truly enjoyable music.

I decided to buy this album after purchasing Jelly Roll's piano recordings from 1923-24, what made my decision was the glowing reviews this album had received from others. It's a great collection at a great price, I haven't stopped listening to it since I got it.

What a master of the ivory this guy was. Brill disc.