Blue Blood Blues
LP RCA Black and White 741.087
Volume 8 in a Jelly Roll Morton series contains what we could name “extra material” with several at the time unissued takes. One of them is this one recorded in 1930, that is not a 12 bar blues but an 8 bar theme by Morton where, as usual, the musicians are quite free to do their own interpretation of Morton’s ideas.
Albert Nicholas has a wonderful clarinet sound here, Geechie Fields plays trombone, a man that is called Howard Hill contributes a guitar solo and Ward Pinkett is adding heat with his trumpet. Morton himself takes a piano solo of course and is embroidering much behind the others. Drummer Tommy Benford and Pete Briggs on tuba are also quite essential to this little masterpiece of chamber jazz.
There is a serenity resting over the whole performance, something that in my mind is typical of New Orleans and its jazz music.