The Complete Library of Congress Recordings [Box set] [Enhanced] [Original recording remastered]

Amazon.com
When folklorist Alan Lomax made these epic 1938 recordings of Jelly Roll Morton's reminiscences and piano playing, he was creating the first great oral documentation of early jazz. This material has never been issued with the care, sensitivity and completeness that it gets here, with the complete interviews and musical performances sequenced over seven CDs in the order in which they took place. Morton was almost as great a raconteur as he was a musician, and his accounts of New Orleans in the early years of the 20th century--from bordellos to riots to funeral parades--are vivid, bawdy, and sometimes hilarious. His accounts of the music and his performances, from "King Porter Stomp" to the lengthy "Murder Ballad," provide a brilliant window on the mechanics and progress of jazz in its earliest years. The sound restoration is excellent and the complete package--cover art by R. Crumb, a piano-shaped box, a reprinting of Lomax's groundbreaking book Mister Jelly Roll, and an additional book with an essay by John Szwed and extensive photographs--befits a document of this significance. An eighth CD excerpts interviews Lomax conducted in 1949 with various New Orleans musicians (most notably Johnny St. Cyr) reminiscing about Morton and the early years of jazz. --Stuart Broomer

Product Description
The stories and songs on these recordings are a document of the big bang of jazz music at the dawn of the 20th Century. New Orleans composer, pianist and pool shark Jelly Roll Morton was one of the key figures in the creation of jazz. Alan Lomax was the visionary folklorist who created a legacy that illuminated roots music sounds from around the world. Together, in 1938 at the Library of Congress, they made these groundbreaking recordings--the first recorded oral history in jazz.

The Complete Library of Congress Recordings,Jelly Roll Morton,Rounder Records,Box Sets (Audio Only),Classic Jazz,Dixieland,Jazz,Jazz Traditional,New Orleans Jazz,Pop,Trad Jazz,United States of America

Average customer rating: Very good, but somewhat obsolete Very essential stuff (for acoustic blues guitar players) Very essential stuff (for acoustic blues guitar players) McTell Tells It Like It Was One of the best.

Complete Library of Congress Recordings (1940) Blind Willie McTell Manufacturer: Document ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD Delta Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | Blues | Styles | Music Traditional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music Acoustic Blues | Blues | Styles | Music East Coast Blues | Regional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | Traditional Country | Country | Styles | Music Traditional Blues | Blues | Indie Music | Stores | Music ASIN: B000000JI1 Release Date: 1995-09-26

Tracks:

1. Just As Well Get Ready, You Got To Die/Climbing High Mountains, Tryin' To Get Home
2. Monologue On Accidents
3. Boll Weevil
4. Delia
5. Dying Crapshooter's Blues
6. Will Fox
7. I Got To Cross The River Jordan
8. Monologue On Old Songs/Old Time Religion/Amen
9. Amazing Grace
10. Monologue On History Of The Blues/Monologue On Life As Maker Of Records/Monologue On Himself
11. King Edward Blues
12. Murderer's Home Blues
13. Kill-It-Kid Rag
14. Chainey
15. I Got To Cross De River O'Jordon

Customer Reviews:

Very good, but somewhat obsolete.......2004-04-04

This CD compiles everything recorded by Blind Willie McTell for the Library of Congress, including a handful of often fascinating monologues (or, in some cases, dialogues with the ageing and obviously racist John A. Lomax).

The sound is reasonably good, and there are plenty of excellent cuts here, some blues tunes, and numerous religious songs as well. McTell's playing is masterful as always...the only "problem" with this CD is that all of these tracks are available on JSP's phenomenal Willie McTell-box set "The Classic Years 1927-1940", so there's really not much point in going out and buying this disc unless you already have McTell's commercial sides and just want the LoC recordings to go with them.

Very essential stuff (for acoustic blues guitar players).......2002-08-20

If you are a fan of oldschool acoustic blues get this C.D. for real this C.D. is awesome you get to hear Blind Wllie McTell like you have never heard him before it's very interesting to get to hear any blues legend from Blind Willies era talk and especially to hear him get interveiwed from one of the Lomaxes. Here Blind Willie kicks back and plays some songs from his childhood, and his era (early 1900's) tells you the history of the blues this may also be the only C.D. where Blind Willie plays slide (on a 12 string!) after hearing this I'm almost convinced Mr. Lomax thought he had come across Blind Willie Johnson that may be the reason McTell plays slide and sings some spritual songs (Willie McTell is more known as a ragtime player) any ways get it I feel very privlaged to own this . Thank you amazom.com & Libray of congress 5stars all the way. Oh yeah there are some excellent songs on here : muder's home blues, dying crapshooters blues, bo weevil blues just to name a few

Very essential stuff (for acoustic blues guitar players).......2002-08-20

If you are a fan of oldschool acoustic blues get this C.D. for real this C.D. is awesome you get to hear Blind Wllie McTell like you have never heard him before it's very interesting to get to hear any blues legend from Blind Willies era talk and especially to hear him get interveiwed from one of the Lomaxes. Here Blind Willie kicks back and plays some songs from his childhood, and his era (early 1900's) tells you the history of the blues this may also be the only C.D. where Blind Willie plays slide (on a 12 string!) after hearing this I'm almost convinced Mr. Lomax thought he had come across Blind Willie Johnson that may be the reason McTell plays slide and sings some spritual songs (Willie McTell is more known as a ragtime player) any ways get it I feel very privlaged to own this . Thank you amazom.com & Libray of congress 5stars all the way. Oh yeah there are some excellent songs on here : muder's home blues, dying crapshooters blues, bo weevil blues just to name a few

McTell Tells It Like It Was.......2001-08-19

This is a very good collection of spirituals, blues and rags, played and sung with panache for the Lomax field-recording clan. It's rare to hear McTell singing hymns and he's a remarkably moving, if not sincere, performer of these religious numbers. The slight flaw with this disc is inconsistency, as McTell was apparently asked to provide samples of the different types of material he knew. The disc has a unity of purpose, however, that makes it more listenable from start to finish than most compilations of 78 rpm blues recordings. The conversation between McTell and the Lomaxes is VERY interesting, as others have noted here. McTell is asked about Blind Willie Johnson, and from the tone of the inquiry it sounds as if the Lomaxes thought they had the other "Blind Willie" when they arranged this recording session. (That would account for the initial preponderance of spirituals.) This is a remarkable historical document and a superior McTell disc.

One of the best........2000-03-14

Just an incredible recording. Anyone who likes Mctell and/or acoustic blues should own this CD. Mctell's 12 string slide playing is breath taking. An amazing talent playing his usual excellant material. I can't say enough good things about this CD or Blind Willie.

Average customer rating: Even when he did not invent jazz in the year 1904 ..... Given as gift.

The Complete Library of Congress Recordings Jelly Roll Morton Manufacturer: Rounder / Umgd ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Blues | Styles | Music Traditional Blues | Blues | Styles | Music General | Jazz | Styles | Music New Orleans Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Traditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music New Orleans & Dixieland Jazz | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music Dixieland | Jazz | Styles | Music Rounder Records | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Jelly Roll Morton: 1926-1930 King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band: The Complete Set Jelly's Blues: The Life, Music, and Redemption of Jelly Roll Morton Mister Jelly Roll: The Fortunes of Jelly Roll Morton, New Orleans Creole and "Inventor of Jazz" The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings: Eighth Edition (Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings) ASIN: B000GFLE36 Release Date: 2006-08-22

Tracks:

1. Story of "I'm Alabama Bound"/I'm Alabama Bound [Spoken][Version]
2. Time in Mobile/I'm Alabama Bound [Continued][Excerpt][Version]
3. King Porter Stomp [Piano Instrumental/The Story of "King Porter Stomp"
4. Story of "King Porter Stomp, [/You Can Have It, ISpoken]
5. Jelly Roll's Background [Spoken]
6. Music Lessons/Miserere [Piano Instrumental][Instrumental][Version]
7. Miserere [/The French Opera HousePiano Instrumental][Instrumental][Vers
8. Stomping Grounds [Spoken]
9. Style of Sammy Davis [Piano Instrumental/The Renown of Tony ...
10. Tony Jackson Was the Favorite/Dope, Crown, and Opium [Spoken][Version]
11. Poor Alfred Wilson/Tony Jackson's "Naked Dance" [Piano ...][Version]
12. Honky Tonk Blues/In New Orleans, Anyone Could Carry a Gun [Spoken]
13. New Orleans Was a Free and Easy Place/Levee Man Blues [Spoken][Version]
14. Story of Aaron Harris [Spoken]

Tracks:

1. Story of Aaron Harris (Continued)/Aaron Harris Blues [Spoken][Version]
2. Aaron Harris, His Hoodoo Woman, And the Hat That Started a Riot ...
3. Story of the 1900 New Orleans Riot and the Song of Robert Charles ...
4. Story of the 1900 New Orleans Riot (Continued) /Game Kid Blues [Spoken]
5. Game Kid Blues [/Buddy Carter Rag ...Piano Instrumental][Instrumental][
6. New Orleans Funerals/Steal Away/Nearer My God to Thee [Spoken][Version]
7. Funeral Marches/Flee as the Bird to the Mountain [Piano ...][Version]
8. Oh! Didn't He Ramble [Piano Instrumental/Evolution of Tiger Rag ...
9. Tiger Rag Third, Fourth, And Fifth Strains [Piano Instrumental]
10. Tiger Rag [Piano Instrumental/PanamaPiano Instrumental][Instrumental][V
11. Right Tempo Is the Accurate Tempo/Ha ... [Interview and Demonstration]
12. Jazz Discords and Story of the Kansas City Stomp [Interview and ...]
13. Kansas City Stomp (Continued)/Breaks in Jazz ... [Piano Instrumental][I
14. Slow Swing and Sweet Jazz Music [Interview and Demonstration]
15. Salty Dog/Bill Johnson, Jelly's Brother-In-Law [Spoken]
16. Hesitation Blues [Interview and Song]

Tracks:

1. My Gal Sal Original and Transformation [Interview and Song]
2. St. Louis Scene/Randalls' Tune/Maple ... [Piano Instrumental][Instrumen
3. Maple Leaf Rag St. Louis Style, Conclusion [Instrumental][Version]
4. Jelly Roll Carves St. Louis [Spoken]
5. Jelly Roll Carves St. Louis (Continued)/Miserere, ... [Spoken][Version]
6. New Orleans Blues
7. Winin' Boy Blues [Continued]
8. Winin' Boy Blues [Continued]
9. Anamule Dance
10. Anamule Dance [/The Story of the "The Anamule Dance"Spoken][Version]
11. Great Buddy Bolden/Buddy Bolden's Blues [Continued]
12. Great Buddy Bolden [Continued][Version]
13. Mr. Jelly Lord
14. How Jelly Roll Got His Name/Original Jelly Roll Blues ... [Spoken][Vers
15. Original Jelly Roll Blues [Continued]
16. Honky Tonk Blues/Old-Time Honky Tonks [Spoken]

Tracks:

1. Real Tough Boys [Spoken]
2. Sporting Attire and Shooting the Agate [Spoken]
3. Sweet Mamas and Sweet Papas/See See Rider [Spoken][Version]
4. See See Rider (Continued)/Parading with the Broadway Swells [Spoken]
5. Parading with the Broadway Swells (Continued) [Spoken]
6. Fights and Weapons/Stars and Stripes Forever [Piano ...][Version]
7. Luis Russell and New Orleans Riffs [Interview and ...]
8. Jelly's Travels: From Yazoo to Clarksdale [Spoken]
9. Jelly's Travels: From Clarksdale to Helena [Spoken]
10. Jelly's Travels: From Helena to Memphis [Spoken]
11. In Memphis: The Monarch Saloon and Benny Frenchy/Benny ... [Spoken][Ver
12. Benny Frenchy's Tune (Continued)/Bad Sam, Memphis' [Piano Instrumental]
13. Make Me a Pallet on the Floor [Interview and Song]
14. Make Me a Pallet on the Floor [Continued]
15. Make Me a Pallet on the Floor [Continued]
16. Make Me a Pallet on the Floor [Conclusion]

Tracks:

1. Dirty Dozen [Interview and Song]
2. Murder Ballad, Pt. 1
3. Murder Ballad, Pt. 2
4. Murder Ballad, Pt. 3
5. Murder Ballad, Pt. 4
6. Murder Ballad, Pt. 5
7. Murder Ballad, Pt. 6
8. Murder Ballad, Conclusion
9. Fickle Fay Creep [Piano Instrumental][Instrumental][Version]
10. Jungle Blues [Piano Instrumental][Instrumental][Version]
11. King Porter Stomp [Piano Instrumental][Instrumental][Version]
12. Sweet Peter [Piano Instrumental][Instrumental][Version]
13. Hyena Stomp [Piano Instrumental][Instrumental][Version]
14. Wolverine Blues [Continued]
15. Wolverine Blues [Continued]
16. State and Madison [Piano Instrumental]
17. Pearls [Piano Instrumental]
18. Pearls [Continued][Instrumental][Version]

Tracks:

1. Bert Williams [Piano Instrumental]
2. Freakish [Piano Instrumental]
3. Pep [Piano Instrumental]
4. Georgia Skin Game [Continued][Version]
5. Georgia Skin Game [Continued][Version]
6. Georgia Skin Game/I'm Gonna Get One and Go ... [Conclusion][Version]
7. Ungai Hai, The Sign of the Indians [Interview and Song]
8. New Orleans Blues [/The Spanish TingeSpoken]
9. Spanish Tinge [Continued]
10. Improving Spanish Tempos and Creepy Feeling [Interview and Piano ...]
11. Creepy Feeling [Continued][Instrumental][Version]
12. Crave [Piano Instrumental]
13. Mamanita [Piano Instrumental]
14. C'ait N'Aut' Can-Can, Payez Donc/If You ... [Interview and Song]
15. Spanish Swat [Piano Instrumental]
16. Ain't Misbehavin'
17. I Hate a Man Like You/Rolling Stuff [Interview and Song]
18. Michigan Water Blues [Interview and Song]

Tracks:

1. Winin' Boy Blues
2. Winin' Boy Blues [Continued]
3. Boogie Woogie Blues [Piano Instrumental/Albert Carroll's Tune ...]
4. Buddy Bertrand's Blues [/Mamie's ...Piano Instrumental][Instrumental][V
5. When the Hot Stuff Came In [Spoken]
6. First Hot Arrangements [Spoken]
7. Pensacola Kid and the Cadillac CafSpoken]
8. At the Cadillac CafLos Angeles [/Little Liza ...Spoken][Version]
9. Little Liza Jane [Continued]
10. In the Publishing Business/Tricks Ain't Walking No More [Spoken][Versio

Tracks:

1. Original Jelly Roll Blues [Guitar Instrumental] - Johnny St. Cyr,
2. Jelly Roll's Early Playing Days in the District [Spoken] - Alan Lomax, Johnny St. Cyr,
3. Hot Bands and Creole Tunes [Spoken] - Alan Lomax, Johnny St. Cyr,
4. Eh, La Bas/Riffs and Breaks from Creole Songs [Spoken] - Alan Lomax, Johnny St. Cyr,
5. Old-Time Creole Musicians and the French Element [Spoken] - Leonard Bechet, Alan Lomax
6. Playing Hot with Buddy Bolden [Spoken] - Paul Dominguez, Jr., Alan Lomax, Alphonse Picou
7. High Society [Instrumental] - Paul Dominguez, Jr., Alphonse Picou
8. Sporting Life Costumes [Spoken] - Leonard Bechet, , Alan Lomax
9. Buddy Bolden: Man and Musician [Spoken] - Leonard Bechet, , Alan Lomax
10. Creoles Playing with Negroes: Getting That Drive [Spoken] - Leonard Bechet, Alan Lomax
11. Jelly Roll's Compositions [Spoken] - Alan Lomax, Johnny St. Cyr,
12. How Johnny St. Cyr Learned to Play Guitar [Spoken] - Alan Lomax, Johnny St. Cyr,
13. Guitar Blues/Just the Guitar Blues [Guitar Instrumental][Instrumental][ - Alan Lomax, Johnny St. Cyr,
14. Bad Men and Pimps [Spoken] - Alan Lomax, Johnny St. Cyr,
15. Story of the Coon Blues [Spoken] - Alan Lomax, Alphonse Picou
16. Coon Blues [Instrumental] - Paul Dominguez, Jr., Alphonse Picou
17. Jazz Is Just a Makeup: Buddy Bolden, Honky Tonks, Brass Band Funerals, - Leonard Bechet, , Alan Lomax
18. Young Sidney Bechet: Jim Crow and the Dangers of the District [Spoken] - Leonard Bechet, Alan Lomax
19. Main Idea in Jazz: Just Watch Me - Improvising and Reading Music ... - Leonard Bechet, , Alan Lomax
20. Of All His Mother's Children He Loved Jelly the Best: A Little Tale of - Alan Lomax, Johnny St. Cyr,

Amazon.com

When folklorist Alan Lomax made these epic 1938 recordings of Jelly Roll Morton's reminiscences and piano playing, he was creating the first great oral documentation of early jazz. This material has never been issued with the care, sensitivity and completeness that it gets here, with the complete interviews and musical performances sequenced over seven CDs in the order in which they took place. Morton was almost as great a raconteur as he was a musician, and his accounts of New Orleans in the early years of the 20th century--from bordellos to riots to funeral parades--are vivid, bawdy, and sometimes hilarious. His accounts of the music and his performances, from "King Porter Stomp" to the lengthy "Murder Ballad," provide a brilliant window on the mechanics and progress of jazz in its earliest years. The sound restoration is excellent and the complete package--cover art by R. Crumb and a book with an essay by John Szwed and extensive photographs--befits a document of this significance. An eighth CD excerpts interviews Lomax conducted in 1949 with various New Orleans musicians (most notably Johnny St. Cyr) reminiscing about Morton and the early years of jazz. --Stuart Broomer

Customer Reviews:

Even when he did not invent jazz in the year 1904 ............2007-01-19

Nearly every jazz-friend has heard about the legendary recordings, Jelly Roll Morton made for the Library of Congress, and that there he declared to have invented this music in 1904 or so....
I play jazz as an amateur since more than 50 years, and I never expected to be able to have these recordings. Now I hear his voice, I hear him play and declare, what he plays. And suddenly an important time of history of jazz, an important musician and composer got to be living for me. It's great, and I wish that every oldtime-jazz musician would listen to the stories he tells.
And I think: it does not matter, whether they are true or not - they in any case are full of a musicians life.

Given as gift........2007-01-09

This set was requested as a Christmas gift by the recipient. He has said it is great. I respect his judgement and look forward to hearing the records when we are next together (we live at opposite ends of the country).

Average customer rating: If you care about early jazz, you need this! A TREASURE........period. Do not buy if you're only interested in the music! Fabulous Restoration of New Orleans Jazz History Important release marred by sound "restoration"

The Complete Library of Congress Recordings Jelly Roll Morton Manufacturer: Rounder Records ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD General | Jazz | Styles | Music New Orleans Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music Traditional Jazz General | Traditional Jazz & Ragtime | Jazz | Styles | Music New Orleans & Dixieland Jazz | Compilations | Jazz | Styles | Music Dixieland | Jazz | Styles | Music Rounder Records | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Pure Genius: The Complete Atlantic Recordings (1952-1959) Jelly Roll Morton: 1926-1930 Good For What Ails You: Music of the Medicine Shows 1926-1937 The Cellar Door Sessions 1970 Town Hall, New York City, June 22, 1945 ASIN: B000AOF9W0 Release Date: 2005-09-27

Tracks:

1. I'm Alabama Bound
2. Time in Mobile
3. King Porter Stomp
4. The Story of "King Porter Stomp"
5. Jelly Roll's Background
6. Music Lessons
7. Miserere
8. The Stomping Grounds
9. The Style of Sammy Davis
10. Tony Jackson was the Favorite / Dope, Crown, and Opium
11. Poor Alfred Wilson
12. Honky Tonk Blues / In New Orleans, Anyone Could Carry a Gun
13. New Orleans was a Free and Easy Place
14. The Story of Aaron Harris

Tracks:

1. The Story of Aaron Harris, continued / Aaron Harris Blues
2. Aaron Harris, His Hoodoo Woman, and the Hat That Started a Riot
3. The Story of the 1900 New Orleans Riot and the Song of Robert Charles
4. The Story of the 1900 New Orleans Riot, continued
5. Game Kid Blues
6. New Orleans Funerals
7. Funeral Marches
8. Oh! Didn't He Ramble
9. Tiger Rag, third, fourth, and fifth strains
10. Tiger Rag / Panama
11. The Right Tempo is the Accurate Tempo
12. Jazz Discords and Story of the Kansas City Stomp
13. Kansas City Stomp, continued
14. Slow Swing and "Sweet Jazz Music"
15. Salty Dog / Bill Johnson, Jelly's Brother-in-Law
16. Hestitation Blues

Tracks:

1. My Gal Sal
2. The St. Louis Scene
3. Maple Leaf Rag, St. Louis style / Maple Leaf Rag, New Orleans style
4. Jelly Roll Carves St. Louis
5. Jelly Roll Carves St. Louis, continued
6. New Orleans Blues
7. Winin' Boy Blues
8. Winin' Boy Blues, continued
9. The Anamule Dance
10. The Anamule Dance, continued
11. The Great Buddy Bolden / Buddy Bilden's Blues
12. The Great Buddy Bolden, continued
13. Mr. Jelly Lord
14. How Jelly Roll Got His Name
15. Original Jelly Roll Blues
16. Honky Tonk Blues

Tracks:

1. Real Tough Boys
2. Sporting Attire and Shooting the Agate
3. Sweet Mamas and Sweet Papas
4. See See Rider
5. Parading with the Broadway Swells
6. Fights and Weapons
7. Luis Russell and New Orleans Riffs
8. Jelly's Travels: From Yazoo to Clarksdale
9. Jelly's Travels: From Clarksdale to Helena
10. Jelly's Travels: From Helena to Memphis
11. In Memphis: The Monarch Saloon and Benny Frenchy
12. Benny Frenchy's Tune, continued
13. Make Me a Pallett on the Floor
14. Make Me a Pallett on the Floor, continued
15. Make Me a Pallett on the Floor, part 3
16. Make Me a Pallett on the Floor, concluded

Tracks:

1. The Dirty Dozen
2. The Murder Ballad, part 1
3. The Murder Ballad, part 2
4. The Murder Ballad, part 3
5. The Murder Ballad, part 4
6. The Murder Ballad, part 5
7. The Murder Ballad, part 6
8. The Murder Ballad, part 7
9. Fickle Fay Creep
10. Jungle Blues
11. King Porter Stomp
12. Sweet Peter
13. Hyena Stomp
14. Wolverine Blues, begun
15. Wolverine Blues, concluded
16. State And Madison
17. The Pearls, begun
18. The Pearls, concluded

Tracks:

1. Bert Williams
2. Freakish
3. Pep
4. The Georgia Skin Game
5. The Georgia Skin Game, continued
6. The Georgia Skin Game, conclusion
7. Ungai Hai
8. New Orleans Blues
9. The Spanish Tinge
10. Improving Spanish Tempos
11. Creepy Feeling, concluded
12. The Crave
13. Mamanita
14. C'it N'aut' Can-Can, Payez Donc
15. Spanish Swat
16. Ain't Misbehavin'
17. I Hate a Man Like You / Rolling Stuff
18. Michigan Water Blues

Tracks:

1. Winin' Boy Blues
2. Winin' Boy Blues, continued
3. Boogie Woogie Blues
4. Buddy Bertrand's Blues, continued / Mamie's Blues
5. When the Hot Stuff Came In
6. The First Hot Arrangements
7. The Pensacola Kid and the Cadillac Caf
8. At the Cadillac CafLos Angeles
9. Little Liza Jane, continued / On the West Coast
10. In the Publishing Business

Tracks:

1. Original Jelly Roll Blues
2. Jelly Roll's Early Playing Days in the District
3. Hot Bands and Creole Tunes
4. Eh, La Bas
5. Old-Time Creole Musicians and the French Element
6. Playing Hot with Buddy Bolden
7. High Society
8. Sporting Life Costumes
9. Buddy Bolden: Man and Musician
10. Creoles Playing with Negroes: Getting that Drive
11. Jelly Roll's Compositions
12. How Johnny St. Cyr Learned to Play Guitar
13. Guitar Blues
14. Bad Men and Pimps
15. The Story of the Coon Blues
16. Coon Blues
17. Jazz is Just a Makeup: Buddy Bolden, Honky Tonks, Brass Band Funerals, and Parades
18. Young Sidney Bechet: Jim Crow and the Dangers of the District
19. The Main Idea in Jazz: "Just Watch Me" - Improvising and Reading Music
20. Of All His Mother's Children He Loved Jelly the Best

Amazon.com

When folklorist Alan Lomax made these epic 1938 recordings of Jelly Roll Morton's reminiscences and piano playing, he was creating the first great oral documentation of early jazz. This material has never been issued with the care, sensitivity and completeness that it gets here, with the complete interviews and musical performances sequenced over seven CDs in the order in which they took place. Morton was almost as great a raconteur as he was a musician, and his accounts of New Orleans in the early years of the 20th century--from bordellos to riots to funeral parades--are vivid, bawdy, and sometimes hilarious. His accounts of the music and his performances, from "King Porter Stomp" to the lengthy "Murder Ballad," provide a brilliant window on the mechanics and progress of jazz in its earliest years. The sound restoration is excellent and the complete package--cover art by R. Crumb, a piano-shaped box, a reprinting of Lomax's groundbreaking book Mister Jelly Roll, and an additional book with an essay by John Szwed and extensive photographs--befits a document of this significance. An eighth CD excerpts interviews Lomax conducted in 1949 with various New Orleans musicians (most notably Johnny St. Cyr) reminiscing about Morton and the early years of jazz. --Stuart Broomer

Album Description

The stories and songs on these recordings are a document of the big bang of jazz music at the dawn of the 20th Century. New Orleans composer, pianist and pool shark Jelly Roll Morton was one of the key figures in the creation of jazz. Alan Lomax was the visionary folklorist who created a legacy that illuminated roots music sounds from around the world. Together, in 1938 at the Library of Congress, they made these groundbreaking recordings--the first recorded oral history in jazz.

Customer Reviews:

If you care about early jazz, you need this!.......2006-07-01

I believe Duke Ellington once said that to listen to jazz with no knowledge of its history is to miss much of its charm. This is a real treasure of recordings that will broaden and deepen my appreciation of the many charms of jazz for years to come. The recordings themselves, as well as the accompanying notes and book, have already changed my concept of the roots of early jazz, Jelly's contributions to it, and his character as a human being. I no longer believe he was the outrageously self-aggrandizing braggart that some writers made him out to be. While not a flashy virtuoso like Hines or Tatum, there are some gorgeous pianistic moments.

A TREASURE........period........2006-01-11

Let me first say that the box this is packed in, though unique, is in fact a bit flimsy. I have reinforced mine with clear packing tape. End of problem. That said, I have listened to 2 of the 8 discs and they are wonderful. Who would want to just hear the music? The story telling is first rate. It is the story of a by-gone era, when Jazz was forming, when New Orleans was in it's prime (Morton played in the fabled "Storyville"). It is story of the players, the personalities, the songs, the city, with some music theory thrown in ....absolutely fasinating. No, the music has not been worked over by a sound engineer. It is true to the raw material, and it IS raw, but I love it JUST AS IT IS. I am new to Morton's music and have not been swayed by the sound quality of previous releases. It is a "no-brainer" that this an important historical document. I am looking forward to reading the book which comes with this set. I was surprised by the size of the box. It is BIG! Check out the measurments. If you appreciate a great story and great music then you can't go wrong. Get this while you can. You won't be sorry.

Do not buy if you're only interested in the music!.......2005-11-12

The below reviewer (a reader) is absolutely right. The new audio restoration has impressively gotten rid of almost all of the extraneous hissing and popping that you heard on the 1993 release, but unfortunately, this has been carried out at the expense of the bass! It now sounds like you're listening to something recorded in 1903- everything is tinny and jarring. What's really a shame, though, is that the lower register of Jelly Roll's rich, rolling God-like baritone is attenuated, so though he's still chilling and wonderful to listen to, his voice no longer carries the same kind of authority it did in the old releases.

That said, this is an absolutely invaluable historical document, and even though it's no longer as pleasurable to the ear, Jelly Roll is still Jelly Roll, and listening to his unexpurgated conversation is sublime and worth twenty times the price of admission.

Fabulous Restoration of New Orleans Jazz History.......2005-11-06

All the previous releases of these timeless recordings, especially the 1993 Rounder release, have been plagued by speed problems and muddy sound issues. This new presentation of the Jelly Roll/Lomax Library of Congress Recordings has been made using high resolution DSD technology along with the brand new Cedar Cambridge System. All disc transfers were done at The Library of Congress. The results are remarkable. Finally at the right pitch and restored using original discs lost until today, this is the definitive story of Jelly Roll, New Orleans and the history of Jazz. Not to be missed!!!

Important release marred by sound "restoration".......2005-11-05

These recordings are legendary, and it's taken 67 years for them to fully emerge. Though they are complete here for the first time (including all of Morton's spoken narration and incidental music), I feel this release has been mishandled.

The audio "restoration" here is vastly inferior to the 1993 Rounder issue of these sessions. Some pre-release apprehension arose when Rounder announced their use of the notorious Cedar remastering system for this 2005 edition. Concern was well-founded: the sound is thin, sharp and tinny. Even turning the treble response all the way down seems to have no effect. I've listened on different systems, with the same frustration--the material is great, but enjoyment is limited. The 1993 (music only) discs had a few minor speed/pitch inconsistencies, but the sound was rich and full, and made for pleasant listening.

This 2005 set does have some positive features. The booklet includes 25 pages of Morton's fascinating 1938 prose writings; another highlight is Disc 8, an audio/data CD with over 200 pages of written material, including a complete transcript of the Library of Congress interviews and other documents, enough to keep Morton scholars and enthusiasts busy for a while...

About the packaging: the box is rather unwieldy (shaped like a piano), a bit flimsy, and about twice as large as it should have been.

To conclude: a disappointing release (I recommend hanging on to those 1993 discs, if you have them). However, it contains much additional material (especially the data disc) essential to those interested in jazz history.

Pop Music:

1. The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings, 1961 [Live] [Original recording remastered]
2. The Ground
3. The Hot Fives & Sevens [Box set]
4. The Köln Concert [Live]
5. The Lonely Bull [Original recording remastered]
6. The Rolling Stones Project
7. The Season [Enhanced]
8. The Ultimate Blue Train [Enhanced] [Original recording remastered]
9. The Very Best of Chris Botti
10. The Very Best of John Coltrane

Pop Music