Jelly Roll Morton on Luis Russell (Library of Congress Recordings, 1938)

TRANSCRIPTION FOLLOWING THESE REMARKS.....
I am posting this because I want to know if anyone can identify the clacking percussion instrument in this recording. I also found it pretty interesting and entertaining. Morton's opinions are his own and I offer my apologies to Luis Russell's followers (including his daughter, singer Catherine Russell.) Trust me, Luis Russell COULD play jazz. Now for the transcription...

A. Lomax: ….Play it like you played it.

JRM: All right....(unintelligible)....it goes like this.....
This is one of the tunes...

(listening to the sound of the clacking percussion instrument) That sounds like a drum... (laughs)

Uh, this is one of the tunes that … Luis Russell played...
Luis Russel was a Panamanian. He got his learning....in New Orleans.

AL: When?

JRM: Uh, he came to New Orleans...I'm not quite sure, but....I would say....around 1916.
'Course these are all New Orleans riffs....
(speaking of the riffs he is playing) ...making 'em there....that's the way we used to make 'em there....

AL: (Unintelligible, but serving to prompt JRM to state the title to the song.)

JRM: Uh, the name of this number is “Call of the Freaks.”

Luis Russell came to New York some years ago after playing with King Oliver's band from the Plantation....in Chicago....(clearing throat) Ahem!......That whiskey is lovely!.....
They invaded New York with a terrible band in spite of the fact that they had some..some of the very best musicians in the world....in the Jazz music.
Luis Russell is not considered a jazz piano player because he cannot play jazz.....
I'm playing this in the typical jazz tempo.....
But he's a very good musician...and he can 'knock the bird's eyes down!'....

He invaded New York with this thing and happened to get a job after King Oliver...
had failed with these great musicians....and had to leave town.....(he even stole a few men of mine when he left for Chicago.)
(Continuing to speak about Oliver...) He didn't know that it was better to have some..some fellows that could play together than to have a bunch of 'stars' that couldn't. So he failed and his trip to New York at the Savoy Ballroom----

Luis Stayed. Finally got a job at a place in New York called 'The Nest'....run by...Johnny Carey.
He wrote this number as a kind of theme and named it.....

AL: (unintelligible, but digging for gossip about Russell's sexual orientation...)

JRM: No. No, Luis Russell is not a sissy....
He wrote this number and called it 'Call of the Freaks' accounting there were so many freaks in the city of New York who were so bold, they would do anything for a dollar-and-a-half. (Laughter)
When he start to playin' this thing....why, they would start walkin'.....they all becomes in order, too.... and throw their hands way up high in the air and keep astride of the music.....and walkin'...

Тэги:

#Jelly_Roll_Morton_(Musical_Artist) #The_Complete_Library_Of_Congress_Recordings #Alan_Lomax_(Musical_Artist) #Luis_Russell_(Musical_Artist) #King_Oliver_(Musical_Artist) #Call_of_the_Freaks #Percussion_(Musical_Instrument) #Piano_(Musical_Instrument) #Jazz_(Musical_Genre) #Jazz_History

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