The Complete Library of Congress Recordings

The Complete Library of Congress Recordings
Box set by Jelly Roll Morton
Released	September 27, 2005
Recorded	May–December 1938
Genre	Jazz
Length	539:03
Label	Rounder Records
Producer	Jeffrey Greenberg and Anna Lomax Wood
Professional reviews
The reviews parameter has been deprecated. Please move reviews into the “Reception” section of the article. See Moving reviews into article space. Allmusic link

The Complete Library of Congress Recordings is a 2005 box set of recordings from jazz pioneer Jelly Roll Morton. The set spans 128 tracks over eight CDs. It won two Grammy Awards in 2006 – Best Historical Album and Best Album Notes.

The set is mainly made up of recordings made by noted musicologist and Morton biographer Alan Lomax, who conducted a series of interviews with Morton at the Library of Congress in 1938. The interviews consisted of Morton's stories about the early days of jazz, as well as a number of piano performances.

Track listing

Disc 1

1. "I'm Alabama Bound" – 4:03
2. "Time in Mobile" – 4:13
3. "King Porter Stomp" – 4:06
4. "The Story of 'King Porter Stomp'" – 3:53
5. "Jelly Roll's Background" – 4:22
6. "Music Lessons" – 4:05
7. "Miserere" – 4:05
8. "The Stomping Grounds" – 4:15
9. "The Style of Sammy Davis" – 4:17
10. "Tony Jackson Was the Favorite / Dope, Crown, and Opium" – 4:00
11. "Poor Alfred Wilson" – 4:02
12. "Honky Tonk Blues / In New Orleans, Anyone Could Carry a Gun" – 4:20
13. "New Orleans was a Free and Easy Place" – 4:06
14. "The Story of Aaron Harris" – 4:06

Disc 2

1. "The Story of Aaron Harris, continued / Aaron Harris Blues" – 4:05
2. "Aaron Harris, His Hoodoo Woman, and the Hat That Started a Riot" – 4:10
3. "The Story of the 1900 New Orleans Riot and the Song of Robert Charles" – 4:04
4. "The Story of the 1900 New Orleans Riot, continued" – 4:04
5. "Game Kid Blues" – 3:57
6. "New Orleans Funerals" – 4:17
7. "Funeral Marches" – 4:11
8. "Oh! Didn't He Ramble" – 4:07
9. "Tiger Rag, third, fourth, and fifth strains" – 4:02
10. "Tiger Rag / Panama" – 4:02
11. "The Right Tempo is the Accurate Tempo" – 4:39
12. "Jazz Discords and Story of the Kansas City Stomp" – 4:31
13. "Kansas City Stomp, continued" – 4:34
14. "Slow Swing and 'Sweet Jazz Music'" – 4:32
15. "Salty Dog / Bill Johnson, Jelly's Brother-in-Law" – 4:22
16. "Hesitation Blues" – 4:30

Disc 3

1. "My Gal Sal" – 3:51
2. "The St. Louis Scene" – 4:09
3. "Maple Leaf Rag, St. Louis style / Maple Leaf Rag, New Orleans style" – 4:19
4. "Jelly Roll Carves St. Louis" – 4:19
5. "Jelly Roll Carves St. Louis, continued" – 4:23
6. "New Orleans Blues" – 3:58
7. "Winin' Boy Blues" – 3:45
8. "Winin' Boy Blues, continued" – 4:24
9. "The Anamule Dance" – 3:46
10. "The Anamule Dance, continued" – 4:19
11. "The Great Buddy Bolden / Buddy Bilden's Blues" – 4:11
12. "The Great Buddy Bolden, continued" – 4:11
13. "Mr. Jelly Lord" – 4:09
14. "How Jelly Roll Got His Name" – 4:14
15. "Original Jelly Roll Blues" – 4:09
16. "Honky Tonk Blues" – 4:07

Disc 4

1. "Real Tough Boys" – 4:31
2. "Sporting Attire and Shooting the Agate" – 4:33
3. "Sweet Mamas and Sweet Papas" – 4:20
4. "See See Rider" – 4:24
5. "Parading with the Broadway Swells" – 4:22
6. "Fights and Weapons" – 4:27
7. "Luis Russell and New Orleans Riffs" – 4:25
8. "Jelly's Travels: From Yazoo to Clarksdale" – 4:14
9. "Jelly's Travels: From Clarksdale to Helena" – 4:34
10. "Jelly's Travels: From Helena to Memphis" – 4:23
11. "In Memphis: The Monarch Saloon and Benny Frenchy" – 4:24
12. "Benny Frenchy's Tune, continued" – 4:23
13. "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor" – 4:15
14. "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor, continued" – 4:14
15. "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor, part 3" – 4:14
16. "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor, concluded" – 4:35

Disc 5

1. "The Dirty Dozen" – 4:30
2. "The Murder Ballad, part 1" – 4:05
3. "The Murder Ballad, part 2" – 4:17
4. "The Murder Ballad, part 3" – 4:29
5. "The Murder Ballad, part 4" – 4:19
6. "The Murder Ballad, part 5" – 4:15
7. "The Murder Ballad, part 6" – 4:29
8. "The Murder Ballad, part 7" – 4:32
9. "Fickle Fay Creep" – 3:17
10. "Jungle Blues" – 3:43
11. "King Porter Stomp" – 2:55
12. "Sweet Peter" – 3:04
13. "Hyena Stomp" – 3:32
14. "Wolverine Blues, begun" – 3:45
15. "Wolverine Blues, concluded" – 4:04
16. "State And Madison" – 3:48
17. "The Pearls, begun" – 3:28
18. "The Pearls, concluded" – 3:35

Disc 6

1. "Bert Williams" – 3:41
2. "Freakish" – 3:59
3. "Pep" – 3:32
4. "The Georgia Skin Game" – 3:54
5. "The Georgia Skin Game, continued" – 3:03
6. "The Georgia Skin Game, conclusion" – 3:19
7. "Ungai Hai" – 4:09
8. "New Orleans Blues" – 4:07
9. "The Spanish Tinge" – 4:13
10. "Improving Spanish Tempos" – 4:06
11. "Creepy Feeling, concluded" – 4:28
12. "The Crave" – 4:37
13. "Mamanita" – 4:12
14. "C'était N'aut' Can-Can, Payez Donc" – 4:21
15. "Spanish Swat" – 4:21
16. "Ain't Misbehavin'" – 4:11
17. "I Hate a Man Like You / Rolling Stuff" – 4:11
18. "Michigan Water Blues" – 3:51

Disc 7

1. "Winin' Boy Blues" – 3:45
2. "Winin' Boy Blues, continued" – 4:24
3. "Boogie Woogie Blues" – 4:21
4. "Buddy Bertrand's Blues, continued / Mamie's Blues" – 4:25
5. "When the Hot Stuff Came In" – 8:40
6. "The First Hot Arrangements" – 9:00
7. "The Pensacola Kid and the Cadillac Café" – 7:57
8. "At the Cadillac Café, Los Angeles" – 9:54
9. "Little Liza Jane, continued / On the West Coast" – 9:45
10. "In the Publishing Business" – 8:50

Disc 8

1. "Original Jelly Roll Blues" – 1:51
2. "Jelly Roll's Early Playing Days in the District" – 1:22
3. "Hot Bands and Creole Tunes" – 4:29
4. "Eh, La Bas" – 2:02
5. "Old-Time Creole Musicians and the French Element" – 3:32
6. "Playing Hot with Buddy Bolden" – 3:17
7. "High Society" – 2:15
8. "Sporting Life Costumes" – 1:38
9. "Buddy Bolden: Man and Musician" – 2:23
10. "Creoles Playing with Negroes: Getting that Drive" – 4:28
11. "Jelly Roll's Compositions" – 3:22
12. "How Johnny St. Cyr Learned to Play Guitar" – 2:20
13. "Guitar Blues" – 2:17
14. "Bad Men and Pimps" – 3:38
15. "The Story of the Coon Blues" – 1:33
16. "Coon Blues" – 2:22
17. "Jazz is Just a Makeup: Buddy Bolden, Honky Tonks, Brass Band Funerals, and Parades" – 5:25
18. "Young Sidney Bechet: Jim Crow and the Dangers of the District" – 3:40
19. "The Main Idea in Jazz: "Just Watch Me" – Improvising and Reading Music" – 3:23
20. "Of All His Mother's Children He Loved Jelly the Best" – 6:17

Credits

• Jelly Roll Morton – piano, vocals, guitar, commentary
• Alan Lomax – interviewer
• Johnny St. Cyr – guitar, commentary
• Leonard Bechet – commentary
• Paul Dominguez, Jr. – guitar, commentary
• Albert Glenny – commentary
• Alphonse Picou – commentary
• John Szwed - album notes

External links

• Library of Congress release on Grammy awards