[Dixielandjazz] New Jelly Roll Morton book

[Butch Thompson]

Somebody recently pointed out this review of Jelly's Blues, a new book by
Howard Reich based on his  series for the Chicago Tribune a while back.   If
you want to read it, here is the  URL again:

> http://www.sfbg.com/lit/may03/jazzed.html

I sent a response to the editor.  I'm not sure if it got through, but here's
what I wrote:  

To the editor

In the opening paragraph of his review of Jelly's Blues by Howard Reich
(5/28), Lee Hildebrand refers to Jelly Roll Morton in 1940 as "the
65-year-old musician."  In 1940, Morton was not 65; he was either 55, if we
accept the birth date proposed in this book, or 50, according to recent
scholarship by Lawrence Gushee and others.

Hildebrand also calls this new book  "the first thoroughly researched
biography of this major American  musician."   Without a doubt, Reich and
his co-author William  Gaines have thrown new light on certain aspects of
Morton's history, especially his mistreatment at the hands of the
entertainment  industry -- publishers, agents, and  even  ASCAP.  To say
that the authors are the first to do serious research, however, is to ignore
quite a lot of previous work, some of which is certainly part of the basis
of Reich's book.   William Russell's "Oh! Mr. Jelly!" and Phil Pastras'
"Dead Man Blues" are two recent examples.

Hildebrand refers to Leonard Feather's anti-Morton vendetta, a longstanding
campaign that seemed to be personal.  For whatever  reason, Feather
deliberately stacked the deck  against Morton  in  those interviews with
Ellington, Willie the  Lion Smith, and others.  An equal  number of
prominent musicians could have been found to contradict Feather's negative
assessment -- James P. Johnson, for example, and Rex Stewart, and Charles
Mingus . . . 

As Hildebrand  says, much of  the  book is  based on previously unpublished
materials from the collectiion of the jazz historian William Russell.  The
implication is that  Reich and Gaines had  special  access.  This  is not
the case; before his  death in 1992,  Russell sold everything  to the
Historic New Orleans Collection, where  it has  been catalogued  and is open
to all researchers.

Reich's high opinion  of  Morton's last big band scores is based largely on
one piece,  "Gan-Jam."  This is certainly an unconventional  piece of
writing for Morton, but as  Hildebrand says, it will take some time to
verify  Reich's high  claims.  Meanwhile, although I believe  Morton really
was  the kind of  revolutionary artist  that Reich wants  him  to be, I feel
that Morton's earlier achievements  as a composer are  sufficient
credentials -- such pieces as "The Crave,"   "The Pearls," and "King Porter
Stomp" really should be enough.

Butch Thompson