Category: Uncategorized

We’ve got two great tunes today, kicking off with Morton’s most famous piece “King Porter Stomp” which he wrote in hommage to another pianist, Porter King.  It became a swing era classic when it was adapted by Benny Goodman for a hit record with his big band.  The 3rd strain chord progression with its climactic […]

This week we have a tune bearing the name of Morton’s famous band the Red Hot Peppers.  This one was not actually from the first sessions under that name but a bit later on after his move to New York when the band was enlarged slightly and played in a bit more of a New […]

Today we tackle one of the most interesting pieces in Morton’s output, the enigmatic “GanJam”, probably his last composition.  Written between 1939-41, it was one of a number of big band pieces which Jelly wrote right at the end of his life as he was trying to revitalize his career by entering the world of […]

This week we have two songs about towns, starting with “My Home is in a Southern Town”, another great late Morton tune recorded during his final band sessions in 1940.  This is an unusual Morton tune as it’s one of the small number that’s in more of a popular song vein, and it has a […]

This week we kick it off with one of Morton’s iconic tunes, “Black Bottom Stomp.”  The original is among his very best band recordings from the classic 1926 Red Hot Peppers sides, and was quite a challenge to reduce to the duo format, but here’s our best effort!  It’s a multi strain tune with some […]

Today’s first selection in the Morton project is the immortal “Winin’ Boy Blues,” one of Morton’s most famous tunes.  It’s named after his youthful nickname “Windin’ Ball” which was evidently a reference to his prowess in bed…no comment!  Anyhow, it’s a great bluesy tune and has VERY dirty lyrics which we have not included.  It […]

We’re really making progress now on the Complete Morton Project – week 30 this week which means it’s our 60th tune!  Only 40 more to go…phew!  Anyway, this week we have a theme of “Joe” for no particular reason other than there are two tunes dedicated to various Joes.  Firstly is “Mister Joe,” which Morton […]

In week 23 of the Complete Morton Project we featured one of Jelly’s tunes dedicated to his off and on partner Anita Gonzalez, and for contrast this week here’s one he wrote for his wife Mabel, who he was married to during his New York years.  It’s a peppy tune with some nice sections, actually […]

WELL, it’s just about the halfway point here in the Complete Morton Project with my friend and collaborator David Horniblow and we have a special surprise this week for one of Jelly’s hilarious 1926 novelty tunes, “Hyena Stomp.”  We tried to play this one as a duet but couldn’t capture anything near the vibe of the […]

This week we have another bass sax + fast piano tune from the great Jelly Roll Morton, followed by a very slow minor blues for maximum contrast!  We’re starting with “The Naked Dance,” a tune Jelly came up with to demonstrate the type of thing he would play at the various high-class brothels in New […]