"Grandpa's Spells" - Ferdinand Morton

[bloke]

This tune has NEVER been called up in ANY jazz band with which I've been involved...
...and I would REALLY like to play it.
It's one of those tunes that goes though my head when mowing, repairing instruments, etc...

[Uncle Markie]

Agreed - there's catchy little earworms in all of Morton's tunes.

Few pick up Dixieland bands will attempt any of Jelly Roll Morton's tunes with the exception of Dr. Jazz. The tunes from the 1927 Red Hot Peppers sessions were the result of Morton rehearsing his band - a lot - and then going into the studio. Morton's stuff is about the most "orchestral" music of that era - his piano playing especially. I've noticed Tuba Skinny - which seems to have a pretty steady personnel - is taking on the Morton repertoire, and pretty successfully too. Many of the 1927 Peppers tunes were transcribed by Mel Stitzel (NORK pianist) and published by Walter Melrose. Try Yestertunes.com for those. They were originally "head" arrangements where Morton dictated the parts to the band without much of a written chart.

Mark Heter

[bloke]

The bass lines - in this rag - resemble trombone tailgate lines, so I imagine it’s pretty difficult to avoid the temptation to double at the octave.

You made a very good point; the only fairly sophisticated one (that I can recall, right now) that I have performed regularly (Just tightening up our arrangement over time, as we never wrote down anything on paper) has been “Black Bottom Stomp”. I guess tuba would’ve been a better choice, but I always chose to play it on bass.



EDIT:
I just looked through a list of his stuff to refresh my memory, and – skipping over the simple 32 bar songs of his (and only focusing on the ones with multiple strains) - I guess I have to take that back:
In the past, I have regularly played “The Pearls”, “Wolverine Blues”, and “Frog-I-More Rag”.
Some of my very very favorite THIRD strain cord changes (looking past the song’s signature chromatically-ascending augmented chords in the first strain) are found in “Frog-I-More”.

"THIRD STRAIN OF FROG-I-MORE RAG":
PIANO - https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo
LOUIS ARMSTRONG BAND - https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... e=emb_logo

[edfirth]

Ferdinand Joseph Lamenth 1885 1941 started out in Storyville playing in the sporting houses. The bands I worked with played alot of his tunes and Steve Pistorious, a marvelous stride piano player, and I used to play Grandpa's Spells together with me playing the breaks as a novelty. We did it on A PBS show as a trio with Bill Hawkins(drums) and another PBS show called Bands of New Orleans which featured the Dukes, Connie Jonse's Crescent City Jazz Band, and Banu Gibson's New Orleans Hot Jazz Orchestra. The unoin had recently raised scale so the club owners let the bands in town cut a player of their choice. Connie's tuba player, Phil Darois, left to play with Murphy Campo or Tommy Yetta, I can't remember which and I had been covering spot jobs for them, and Phil was busy with his new job, so I played on Connie's and Banu's bands. I've only heard four cuts from the show. After You've Gone, Radio, and I like New Orleans( written by Danny Rubio of the Dukes) with Banu and Mandy make up your mind with Connie's band.Terrific players and a wonderful experience. The tunes are on youtube if anyone is curious. I don't know how to post but if you type the band and the tune they come up. Best, Ed

[bloke]

I think it’s a shame that the composers of this repertoire are mostly ignored.
Morton’s name is known, but – as time goes on – it is known less and less. Other composers’ names are not known at all.

[edfirth]

I went to you tube to find these tunes(the ones I have got forwarded to me) and typed in the bandleader...and the tune. This session is on the ones that says the title of the tune, live, and the picture is the bottom of a drum with Dixieland Jazz from New Orleans written on it.It is my understanding that this company owns the whole session of the three bands. That's it. Ed

[the elephant]

There is an excellent Canadian Brass arrangement of this. While not "authentic" (whatever that means) it is a lot of fun to perform.

[bloke]

Thanks @the elephant Wade, and I’m glad to see that you’re posting again.
I enjoyed that, and it sounds “authentic” enough to me…predictably “white”, which is just fine (or maybe, no longer…??)

I chuckled when I heard that bass line doubled by the tuba and trombone in the first strain…
…I guess there aren’t too many options, but I bet I could think of something else for the trombone to do, otherwise. That having been said, stride piano technique defines an octave bass anyway (and it seems to work for Tchaikovsky), so…

[Yorkboy]

In one of the bands I used to play in (once a week gig over several years) we had a piano player who specialized in Jelly Roll tunes……I’d play that tune at least two times a month.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Greene_(musician)

https://mypianolessons.co.uk/2013/11/bo ... ies-at-91/

[bloke]

I know there are a bunch of Texans here...
BOY !!! Is Allan Vaché skinny !!!
John Sheridan died two days ago.


Here's a piano roll "recording" of Morton himself playing "The Pearls"...

[Yorkboy]

The guy on trombone is Randy Reinhart- I used to work with him frequently “back in the day” (he is also a fine cornetist, which is his primary instrument).

[bloke]

' aware, but thanks for filling in the spectators !

The guy on trombone is Randy Reinhart- I used to work with him frequently “back in the day” (he is also a fine cornetist, which is his primary instrument).

[the elephant]

Having grown up in SA I can say I saw this band at least fifty times live. I have a bunch of their CDs. My favorite is their Christmas album "Hot Jazz for a Cool Yule"…

[Doc]

I know there are a bunch of Texans here...
BOY !!! Is Allan Vaché skinny !!!
John Sheridan died two days ago.


Here's a piano roll "recording" of Morton himself playing "The Pearls"...

I saw them countless times over the years at The Landing, and back when Allan was, indeed, at fighting weight. John Sheridan was a delight. Truly an all-star group. The tables looked like 78 records (hits and labels from the legends), the waitresses were tall, slender, and in black silky dresses, they served spicy peanuts and $3 beer (quite high, but worth it). Finding an experience like that now is almost unheard of. What a treasure. I always left in amazement. As many times as I heard them play, I wish I had seen them much more - even if you think you know what you have, you don't always fully realize the value and impact until it's gone.

[Doc]

Having grown up in SA I can say I saw this band at least fifty times live. I have a bunch of their CDs. My favorite is their Christmas album "Hot Jazz for a Cool Yule"…

[bloke]

re: Bill's comments

Goodbye, goodbye!
There was so much to love, I could not love it all;
I could not love it enough.

[Doc]

@bloke
Sidenote:
I was fortunate to work with Jim's band, albeit briefly. They played on the first two cuts of the Tribute to Tommy Duncan Vol. 1 album we did when I was working with Billy Mata and The Texas Tradition. That album won the Academy of Western Arts Western Swing Album of the Year, and it helped catapult us to a new level, resulting in us being inducted into the Western Swing Hall of Fame the next year. Thanks, Jim!

If you ever listen to "I Found a Dream," I played the correct bass notes on the key change, but they were changed by the producer (and sounded like $#!+). Plus all the compression he put on the bass. Talk about being pissed when the album came out. Vol. 2 was much better, but I digress...

[ParLawGod]

Nice tune!

I did a Dixieland gig last year and played a tune I had never encountered before (maybe I SHOULD know it and it's just not common in my neck of the woods). Midnight in Moscow.

[bloke]

"Midnight in Moscow" was popular c. 60 - 65 years ago, Jeremiah.
It was actually written by a Russian in the 1950's, and became part of the 1950's "dixieland revival" repertoire.
It sort of faded out of favor, after that era.

[Doc]

"Midnight in Moscow" was popular c. 60 - 65 years ago, Jeremiah.
It was actually written by a Russian in the 1950's, and became part of the 1950's "dixieland revival" repertoire.
It sort of faded out of favor, after that era.

One of the Oktoberfest bands I play with does it. Serious and Russian at the beginning (not as serious as the Red Army Chorus or Van Cliburn), then a key change and dixieland the last time through. A fun tune that should fall back into favor. It reminds me of the Dukes playing I Will Wait For You (another underplayed tune).