Birth Of The Hot - The Classic Chicago "Red Hot Peppers" Sessions 1926-27

What a great compilation from early New Orleans Jazz master Jelly Roll Morton. This is where you can hear the sound of a new concept rising. There is not a bad cut on this recording!

Morton was very influential as a composer and pianist, and was a great singer. He was irascible, cantankerous, and had trouble keeping a band together and dealing with the public. He was hard to get along with and it was hard for him to get along with himself! Unlike most musicians and composers of the day, Morton was determined to get paid his royalties and this alone helped to make him a pariah among the record companies, hard to get gigs or make recordings. Yet his efforts later helped to bring better conditions for composers and recording artists. On this CD, he managed to gather a very compatible group of New Orleans players. I love every cut and the re-mastered sound is far better than the older copy I have. If you like traditional jazz, if you want a window into jazz history, if you enjoy great playing, get this one! And then listen to Mr Jelly's stories, playing and singing on the Library of Congress recordings and read the recent biography of him. One of the all time greats, one of the all time characters.

Some of my favorite JRM tracks come alive with the fine transfers and remastering on this Bluebird CD. However, there are a few clicks and pops on some tracks which could have been removed, and some of the "swishing" sounds (probably due to record groove compression) are still plainly audible in places. These can be eliminated/reduced manually (with time and patience) using current sound restoration technology, and I've done this myself for the first CD track "Black Bottom Stomp" which can be heard as an MP3 file at [...] Hence, I rate the CD as 4 stars because of these slight problems. For those interested in Fats Waller in fine sound quality, please see my own CD at [...]

Morton did not give birth to "the hot." This great music was arranged, and I remember Omer Simeon saying how Jelly Roll reproved him for improvising. A decade earlier the Original Dixieland Jass [correct spelling] Band played and recorded its head arrangements, which are still hot Yes, the etymology of jazz is really jass, from French jaser, meaning everyone talks at once, in the polyphony and polyrhythmy of real jazz. there is a lot of bad history out there, like Morton claiming to have invented jazz and Tiger Rag. He was a great talent destroyed by cultural tides and personal shortcomings.

This is jazz like you rarely get to hear it. Dazzling performance by Jelly Roll & Co. Excellent item, great service. Kudos! A+

I thought the music would be a little like Benny Goodman. My mistake!

I knew that I would like this collection... I didn't know that I would love it. Jelly Roll must have been something to witness back in the day. He was a true original and his bands really cook on this collection. It is indeed "Hot" music.

Back in 1926 and 27, when these recordings were laid down, jazz was fresh and exciting, the exploration of a musical world of freedom. More than anything, I love the sound of musicians quite literally playing their way through this sort of journey.

Bought it on a whim when I was buying other (Bix Beiderdecke) cds. Not disappointed.

'Clean-ups' of acoustic recordings don't often come out as well as this - If you like JRM you'll be impressed by this. Track-by-track notes are all the nerdy (ie me) might reasonably hope for.

as advertised

It is fortunate that through CD's such as this, those of us who wish to understand, can access the beginnings. Bright, and adventurous. I forgive the recording quality for the privilege to experience the spontaneity, courage, experimentation, and genius, which inspired influenced all that was to follow.