[Dixielandjazz] Alan Lomax

[briantowers]

By recording Jelly Roll Morton for the Library of Congress,  Alan Lomax will
always be famous as an important contributor to the story of jazz in those
early days, before the first jazz recordings in 1917.   Of Course, Jelly
Roll was only one of his projects but he was surely the most significant
one.

He had the great knack of opening up his subject and he really got Jelly
Roll talking about those early jazz days around the turn of the century.  It
is captured beautifully in Lomax's book  "Mister Jelly Roll" as well as on
those  famous LOC recordings.  Jelly Roll's dialogue (the man was a poet!)
brings those towering characters to life: Buddy Bolden; Keppard, Tony
Jackson, Perez, Robichaux; Buddy Petit etc.

We owe Lomax a great deal.



Brian Towers,
Hot Five Jazzmakers, Toronto, Canada
Band web site:            http://hotfivejazz.tripod.com