Black Bottom Stomp

Jelly Roll Morton

On September 15, 1926 Jelly Roll Morton recorded his first session for Victor in Chicago featuring his Red Hot Peppers. Morton had signed a 4-year contract with Victor that would produce a series of recordings belonging to some of his best known output and have since become an important part of the jazz legacy of the 1920s. The first session produced four sides, Morton had assembled a group of musicians who could play in the New Orleans style and called them the Red Hot Peppers.

l-r: Omer Simeon (cl); Andrew Hilaire (d); John Lindsay (sb);
Johnny St. Cyr (bj-g); Kid Ory (tb) and George Mitchell (c)
Jelly Roll Morton (p,ldr,arr)

The first title recorded was an original composition by Morton titled Black Bottom Stomp, personnel are Jelly Roll Morton (p,dir,arr), George Mitchell (c), Omer Simeon (cl), Kid Ory (tb), Johnny St. Cyr (bj-g), John Lindsay (sb) and Andrew Hilaire (d), and the recording was released on Victor, Vi 20221

Victor 20221-A - Black Bottom Stomp

The music has been uploaded at YouTube and is inserted below

Black Bottom Stomp composed by Morton in 1925 and originally entitled Queen Of Spades is a key example of the New Orleans jazz style and demonstrates Morton's genius as an arranger of classic jazz. An analysis of the tune is available here. 

Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers 1926

At the same session on September 15, 1926 was recorded Smoke House Blues, inserted below from YouTube

The last tune to end this famous session by Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers was The Chant, originally composed by Mel Stitzel and here arranged by Morton. The tune was recorded twice during the September 15, 1926 session, audio from YouTube is inserted below.

The recordings featuring Jelly Roll Morton and His Red Hot Peppers were among the first jazz records I collected more than 45 years ago. They still belong to the core of my jazz collection and I am thrilled every time I'm listening to these jazz classics. Thus, I could not resist pointing to the start of this famous series of recordings, made ninety years ago today.

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Jo

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