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Ferd 'Jelly Roll' Morton - 1923-1924 - Retrieval
The bridge between ragtime, barrelhouse blues, New Orleans jazz and Harlem stride piano, Morton sounds unlike any other pianist. This CD reissue has Morton's first 24 piano solos, remastered with care by early jazz expert/sound archivist John R.T. Davies. It's the single best place to hear him at the keyboard in his prime playing his own classics such as "Grandpa's Spells", "The Pearls" and "King Porter Stomp".
 Jelly Roll Morton: 1926-1930 - JSP
At the core of this 5 cd set (an astonishing value at twenty bucks and change, and another carefully crafted Davies restoration) are Morton's Red Hot Peppers records. Featuring a constellation of superb musicians including Kid Ory, Omer Simeon, Barney Bigard and Johnny and Baby Dodds, this is the very bedrock of arranged ensemble New Orleans jazz and a cornerstone of his recorded legacy.
Complete Library of Congress Recordings - Rounder
In 1938, after he had vanished from prominence, folklorist Alan Lomax recorded Morton in Washington D.C. These recordings capture Morton's playing and singing in peak form. Better yet, Lomax draws the pianist into talking at length about his life. The bedeviled genius delivers a vivid glimpse of New Orleans in the early 1900s, the musicians (many never recorded) that influenced his style and where he fits into the history of jazz.
Note: These recordings had been reissued repeatedly before Rounder's latest effort. It was James Dapogny who finally corrected the speed to match Morton's voice and music as it actually sounded. Much of the the music is dispensed into four individual CDs, Kansas City Stomp, Anamule Dance, Pearls, Winin' Boy Blues. The entire contents are now available in MP3 form at Amazon and I-Tunes.
 Last Sessions - Complete General Recordings - 1939-1940 - Commodore
Although in ill health near the end of his life, Morton appears sturdy and in complete command on these sides, particularly the 13 solo performances which begin the disc. At this point Morton sounds like a man who has seen it all and tracks such as "Michigan Water Blues" and "Mamie's Blues" sound as powerful and profound as the blues can get.
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