Jelly Roll Morton: Steamboat Stomp

Morton succeeded with his early Victor recordings in having his compositions played with his original conception by an ensemble. He found the perfect musicians for the job; players schooled enough to balance the reading of his orchestrations with looseness and improvisation. The opening comic hokum, charmingly accompanied by St. Cyrs banjo, gives way to an arresting ensemble, unfolding into this multi-themed Morton original. Mitchell and Simeon are virtuosic while the more rudimentary Ory, solidly and in tune, shores up the sonoritys lower end. Perhaps it sounded a bit old-fashioned to 1926 ears, attuned to the latest dance hits, but today (sans comedy) it seems bright and ageless.