Victoria Daise
Jelly Roll Morton
“Dr. Jazz”
1926
Jelly Roll Morton, piano; Andrew Hilaire, drums; John Lindsay, bass; George Mitchell , cornet; Kid Ory, trombone; Johnny St. Cyr, banjo; Omer Simeon, clarinet
The history of jazz began in the city of New Orleans where many Jazz musicians made a name for themselves. One musician in particular was Jelly Roll Morton who was a major influence on the invention and continuing evolution of early jazz. This emerging new style of jazz was the first time where composers and musicians were starting to arrange music their own way. Each arrangement is indicative of how the composer interpreted the music. Each accompanying instrument has its own arrangement which becomes a collective improvisation when played together. Jelly Roll Morton was a composer, piano player, and band leader. Through each of these positions, he was able to understand the different aspects of jazz music. He had experience in arranging music and he also had the experience…show more content… These featured moments were called “stop-time breaks” and focused on a particular musician and instrument. Morton was exceptional at including these breaks at the perfect parts within a song and would keep the piece from slowing or becoming monotonous. These solos were also carefully placed in order to maintain the overall structure of the song and allow the song to continue flawlessly. When playing piano, he included notes that were bluesy and also reminiscent of ragtime. There was a style of piano which was called stride and included those elements and was a big part of jazz in Harlem. The style of stride piano included a left hand moving along the bass notes and a right hand that often played syncopated harmonies to complement the left hand. Although jazz originated in New Orleans and often performed in New York City, many performers traveled to Chicago to record and work with other