Jelly Roll Morton: Doctor Jazz

Morton sometimes worked as an entertainer during his nomadic years, and fancied himself a great comic. But the sketch openings on a few of his records reveal that Mortons sense of humor was devoid of subtlety for anything but a tent show audience. Mortons inability to outgrow the conventions of early twentieth-century vaudeville account in part for the lack of common ground between Morton and the new generation of swing musicians in New York during the 1930s. However, as a singer and raconteur, Morton was nonpareil, as he is on Dr. Jazz. Jellys elongated Well at the start of his vocal (more like Wal-l-l-l-llll) sounds like a cicada with strep and draws us right to the side of ole Dr. Jazz.