Track Listing

Disc 1:

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]

Disc 2:

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]

Disc 3:

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]

Disc 4:

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]

Disc 5:

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]

Disc 6:

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'Était 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]

Disc 7:

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 Café [Spoken]
8. At the Cadillac Café, Los Angeles [/Little Liza ...Spoken][Version]
9. Little Liza Jane [Continued]
10. In the Publishing Business/Tricks Ain't Walking No More [Spoken][Versio

Disc 8:

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,

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #86938 in Music
• Released on: 2006-08-22
• Number of discs: 8
• Formats: Box set, Enhanced, Explicit Lyrics

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.

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

Complete Recordings With Sound Restored Finally Available
A portion of these recordings was released on a 12 lp set many years ago. My dad had a copy of the set when I was in my teens. I determined that as a fan of early jazz, I should listen to the whole set. I decided to make myself listen to one side of one lp every day. The first day I sat down and went through 3 1/2 lps. There was something hypnotic and fascinating about listening to Jelly talk and play, even though the speed was way off and the sound quality not good. It was hard to stop listening. With these disks it will be harder.
These are not for everyone. Someone just wanting to sample Jelly's music should buy a Red Hot Peppers CD. Jelly's language, in places, is not fit for young children or the faint of heart, particularly in sessions in which he had consumed a fair amount of whisky while recording. But this is a historic set of recordings. It is a first hand account of a largely undocumented world that existed a century ago and still has a profound effect on present day jazz and popular music. The speed has been corrected and the sound is much improved over the old Circle and Riverside issues.
I think it was Danny Barker who pointed out that Jelly was the product of an era in which there weren't publicists, so he can be excused if he engages in self-promoting hyperbole. While not everything Jelly says is the gospel truth, others have pointed out that many of the things he described have been authenticated by totally independent sources. Jelly may not have been the inventor of jazz, as he claimed, but he is probably closer than any other person. He was a generation earlier than Louis and Bix, and is one of the few primary sources of jazz prehistory.
I think everyone seriously interested in early jazz should consider this set. It is a monumental historic document in the field of jazz. For the price of an evening at a good restaurant, you get eight CD's, a copy of the Lomax book, and a new booklet which I must confess I have not read yet since I only have had the set for a couple of days.
I did notice a couple of things that might be corrected if there is another edition. The tracks on the CDs are in the order as stated in the printed material, but if played on a computer, some of the track names are wrong. Also, on Disk 8, in addition to the material that is supposed to be there, there is a repeat of an earlier track in which Jelly talks about Tony Jackson. These are minor items and shouldn't put anyone off from buying the set.
Rounder is to be congratulated. 67 years after the recording of a historic and entertaining document, we finally get to hear the whole thing at the correct speed and with much better sound than the earlier excerpted versions.

Do not buy if you're only interested in the music!
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.

A TREASURE........period.
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.