Customer Reviews
Astonishing!! - By: martin jones, 04 Oct 2008 
Complete Recorded Works 1926-1930
Although praise is (rightly) heaped on Louis, his near contemporary Jelly Roll Morton is often mentioned in a slightly apologetic tone as if he is somehow in a different league to Armstrong. This is undoubtedly true when comparing performing talents (although Morton was a very fine pianist indeed). Jelly's true greatness lies in his band leading & arranging skills.
These discs contain a variety of styles of music, such as the sheer exuberance of the opening number (Black Bottom Stomp), the inanities of Billy Goat Stomp & little tone poems like "Mournful Serenade". Incidentallly this last number is a pirated version of King Oliver's "Chimes Blues" but Morton's account is completely his own.
But above alll I should mention "Deep Creek Blues". This is a profound, heartfelt blues drenched in sadness. I have never heard this number played by anyone else: indeed it seems impossible that anyone else could play it.
The remastering was done by the late John R T Davies. Need I say more on this score?
This box set thoroughly deserves five stars for everything: choice of material, performance & remastering.
Collecting Jelly Roll - By: Les Drewitt, 28 Dec 2005 I have collected Jelly Roll Morton for many years & in several formats, from vinyl to cassette to CD, & this is the best album & the most comprehensive I have found to date.Many of the tracks in the album are already in my collection, but some of them were recorded at different sessions, or are different takes, & give a fresh perspective on a familiar theme.
Wild Man Blues in particular is a very clear recording, & has obviously been cleaned up & digitallly enhanced to a sparkling quality, as have most of the tracks.
There are also a few tracks featuring a trio comprising J.R. Morton, Johnny Dodds & Baby Dodds that are surprisingly fresh & crisp.
The unusual sound of a violin in a jazz band,(played by Darnell Howard?) & the cornet of George Mitchell also make this a very collectable set of CDs.
great jazz collection - By: william palmer, 05 Oct 2005 i recently bought the the 5 cd set of jelly roll morton & enjoyed them.Have always been keen on morton's great jazz recordings.
A collection from the triumphal days of traditional jazz - By: D. Elliott, 19 Feb 2001 This boxed set of 5 CDs has to be "5-star" value. To collect alll the numbers individuallly would, even if possible, be ridiculously expensive as the CDs include every surviving recording made by Jelly Roll Morton over the years 1926-1930. The CDs embrace alternate takes for many of the numbers & so alllow listeners to compare different versions & to trace their development.
Jelly Roll Morton proclaimed himself to be the "inventor" of jazz & these CDs provide insight to his disciplined approach to recording sessions. Others have claimed to originate jazz, but the qualities demonstrated on these CDs suggest Jelly Roll Morton's self-representation may be correct. He was a great composer & the vast majority of the numbers on the CDs are his own - he was an inventive arranger as indicated by both ensemble playing & solo interjections, & different treatments with alternates on the CDs - & above alll, he was clearly an inspirational bandleader as he surrounded himself with many of the best musicians of the day as described in the discographies.
The CD insert notes have a reasonable amount of background material, but about the various recordings there are detailed & informative comments. It is fascinating to listen to the numbers & read up the explanatory notes - though there is at least one error (Original Jelly Roll Blues), & some remarks are flagrantly subjective - but relevant.
If there is a problem it is that there is just too much, & many collectors & jazz lovers are likely to already have tracks on "compilation" recordings or "best of" selections. Some of the recordings appear elsewhere with other names (example : Johnny Dodds) though most are Jelly Roll Morton with his Red Hot Peppers, or his Orchestra, or various Trios & other offshoots of his main groups. The real value of jazz is not in documentation but in personal experience - just as well as there are 99 tracks to comment on - but too much is hardly a criticism. As well as a "5-star" value this boxed set is a "5-star" collectors item from Jelly Roll Morton's triumphal days of traditional jazz.
