Jelly Roll Morton Interviews Series Of Brilliant

In 1935 he moved to Washington D.C. where he played piano and managed a bar that was known as the Music Box, later renamed the Blue Moon Inn and the Jungle Inn.

As a pianist who had his own easily recognizable style, Morton was a major transition figure between ragtime and early jazz, combining the syncopations of ragtime with jazz improvisations as early as 1910.

Listeners often did not know if the music they were hearing was worked out in advance or spontaneous because the solo passages were a logical extension of the ensembles and vice versa.

He was also an important bandleader who inspired several of his sidemen (such as cornetist George Mitchell and trombonist Geechie Fields) to do their finest work for him.

While someone like Willie The Lion Smith could get away with bragging and be considered lovable, Mortons resulted in him having many detractors who greatly downplayed his talents, including some of his fellow musicians (such as Duke Ellington ) and writer Leonard Feather.

Morton made some outlandish claims about his accomplishments that resulted in some of his contemporaries completely writing him off as if he were a fraud.

The following year when she married William Mouton, young Ferdinand took his stepfathers last name.

At 14, he began working as a pianist at a brothel in Storyville, renaming himself Jelly Roll Morton to avoid being discovered.

However the deception was unsuccessful and, after his grandmother found out where he was spending his nights, he was disowned by his family.

He made early appearances that helped to introduce blues and jazz to Chicago in 1910, New York City in 1911, and San Francisco in 1915.

During that period, he also worked at a variety of other jobs including as a pool hustler, boxing promoter, tailor, gambling house manager, hotel manager, pimp, comedian in traveling vaudeville shows, and (whenever possible) pianist.

Jelly Roll Morton Interviews Series Of Brilliant

While the 32 year olds very first recordings were a couple of primitively recorded band sides, he made his mark that year with a series of brilliant piano solos, among the most significant in jazz up to that point.

Also in 1923, Morton recorded four numbers with the New Orleans Rhythm Kings including his Milenburg Joys and Mr.

Jelly Lord on two sessions that are among the earliest integrated jazz dates.

The latter found a reluctant Simeon on bass clarinet while backed by two violins, one of the very first jazz with strings recordings.

In addition, Morton performed trio versions of Wolverine Blues and Mr.

Jelly Lord with clarinetist Johnny Dodds and drummer Baby Dodds.

Morton followed much of the jazz world by moving to New York in February 1928.

He recorded a fine date as a sideman to cornetist Johnny Dunn and his first New York session as a leader had him utilizing Mitchell, Simeon and Geechie Fields on a memorable set of his songs including Georgia Swing, Kansas City Stomps, and Mournful Serenade.

His hard-swinging yet complex number Shreveport Stomps made for a memorable trio showcase for Simeon and drummer Tommy Benford.

Some of the local musicians did not want to play with him due to his bragging and, while he used some top-notch soloists, most notably clarinetist Albert Nicholas, and trumpeters Bubber Miley, Ward Pinkett, and Henry Red Allen, some of his other sidemen were not worthy of him.

On Burnin The Iceberg, the 11-piece orchestra almost gets completely out of control.

Still, Morton did introduce such numbers as Red Hot Pepper Stomp, Tank Town Bump, Fussy Mabel, and Strokin Away.

His personality resulted in him burning bridges that he would soon need.

Other than a guest spot on two songs for a Wingy Manone date in 1934 (which gave him his only opportunity to record with Manone, Artie Shaw, and Bud Freeman ), the pianist would be off records altogether until 1938.

In 1935 he moved to Washington D.C.

Music Box, later renamed the Blue Moon Inn and the Jungle Inn.