Jelly Roll Morton and the gritty origins of jazz

At some point in 1938, while employed by the Library of Congress Archive of American Folk Song to record and preserve regional American music being put at risk by popular music like jazz, music archivist Alan Lomax found himself at a Washington, DC club by the name of the Jungle Inn, one of the few venues in the area at time that welcomed both black and white patrons. Legendary jazz pianist, composer and band leader Jelly Roll Morton was on stage. He was, by all accounts, on the down side of his career, which had begun in New Orleans some 23 years earlier, when his song Jelly Roll Blues became the world’s first published jazz composition. (By the late ’30s, traditional jazz was moving out of favor, as audiences were gravitating toward swing.)

So there Lomax was, the man charged with protecting and preserving American folk music against the rising tide of jazz, listening to the hard-drinking Morton play the piano and spin yarns about the Storyville brothels of New Orleans where the genre was born at the turn of the century. Thankfully, Lomax knew good oral history when he heard it, and, instead of turning away in disgust, like one might expect a folk purist to do, he approached Morton, asking the self-proclaimed “inventor of jazz” and accomplished raconteur if he’d sit down for an interview.

By the time the two men were done talking, nine hours had elapsed, and much whiskey had been consumed. And the results were amazing… Among other things, Lomax captured a 30-minute version of The Murder Ballad, an epic jazz tale of sex and murder in New Orleans at the turn of the century… Here it is in its entirety:

I wouldn’t say it’s one of my favorite Jelly Roll Morton songs, as I tend to prefer material that doesn’t include lyrics like, “I’ll cut your fucking throat and drink your blood like wine.” But I appreciate it for what it is… an accurate representation of the kind of early jazz story telling that was, for obvious reasons, never committed to vinyl.

If you’re interested, you can find all of the lyrics on the site of Louis Maistros. Here, though, is a sample.

…She said, I’m coming out, I’d like to see someone stop me
She said, I’m coming out, I’d like to see a bitch like you stop me
This ain’t no slavery time and I’m sure that I’m free

Yes, come on, bitch, your day has come
Yes, come on, bitch, your day has come
You fucked my man but you will never fuck another one

She pulled out a pistol and shot her right in her eyes
She pulled out a pistol and shot her right in her eyes
She said, open your legs, you dirty bitch, I’m gonna shoot you between your thighs…

[I'm going to keep this bookmarked so that I can refer to it the next time I feel an itch to launch into a tirade about how gangster rap is ruining America.]

If you’d like to hear more, the entire Alan Lomax session with Morton was released a few years ago on a seven CD box set titled Jelly Roll Morton: Complete Library of Congress Recordings, which I hear is incredible.