none can refute the story of his most popular and enduring composition,. "King
Porter .... Melrose's dual publication of the work as a piano solo and as a dance-.
JEFFREY M A G E E
"King Porter Stomp" and the Jazz Tradition* By Jeffrey Magee
F l e t c h e r w o n q u i t e a few battles o f m u s i c w i t h " K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p . " A n d J e l l y R o l l M o r t o n k n e w this, a n d h e u s e d to g o a n d say "I m a d e F l e t c h e r H e n d e r s o n . " A n d F l e t c h e r u s e d to l a u g h . . . a n d say " Y o u d i d , " y o u k n o w . H e w o u l d n ' t argue. ( H e n d e r s o n 1975, 1:69) T o w a r d the e n d o f his life i n M a y 1938, F e r d i n a n d "Jelly R o l l " M o r t o n (1890-1941) walked into the Library o f Congress's C o o l i d g e A u d i t o r i u m s p o r t i n g a n e x p e n s i v e suit, a g o l d w a t c h f o b a n d r i n g s , a n d a d i a m o n d s t u d d e d i n c i s o r ( L o m a x 1993:xvii). H e sat d o w n at t h e p i a n o a n d , w i t h the assistance o f f o l k l o r i s t A l a n L o m a x , c o n v e y e d h i s m u s i c a n d life story i n t o what L o m a x c a l l e d a "one-lung portable Presto recorder" (ibid.:287). S p e a k i n g i n a m e a s u r e d , o r o t u n d b a r i t o n e , M o r t o n e x p l o r e d h i s past at a leisurely, d i g n i f i e d pace, b u t h e was eager to set the r e c o r d straight o n o n e p a r t i c u l a r subject: that h e h a d "personally o r i g i n a t e d j a z z i n N e w O r l e a n s i n 1902" ( i b i d . : 8 4 ) . H i s t o r i a n s have since s h o w n the o r i g i n s o f j a z z to be m o r e c o m p l i c a t e d t h a n M o r t o n a l l o w e d ( G u s h e e 1994; Panetta 2 0 0 0 ) , b u t n o n e c a n refute t h e story o f his m o s t p o p u l a r a n d e n d u r i n g c o m p o s i t i o n , " K i n g Porter Stomp": [ T ] h i s t u n e b e c o m e to be t h e o u t s t a n d i n g favorite o f every great h o t b a n d t h r o u g h o u t the w o r l d that h a d the a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s a n d q u a l i fications o f p l a y i n g it. A n d u n t i l today this t u n e has b e e n the cause o f m a n y great b a n d s to c o m e to fame. It has c a u s e d the o u t s t a n d i n g tunes today to use the b a c k g r o u n d s that b e l o n g to " K i n g P o r t e r " i n o r d e r to m a k e great tunes o f themselves. ( M o r t o n 1 9 3 8 ) 1
" K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p " d i d i n d e e d b e c o m e a s t a n d a r d d u r i n g the S w i n g E r a , w i d e l y p e r f o r m e d by b i g b a n d s t h r o u g h o u t t h e 1930s a n d b e y o n d . M o r e o v e r , as M o r t o n s a i d , m a n y m u s i c i a n s u s e d t h e c h o r d s , t h e "backg r o u n d s , " o f " K i n g P o r t e r " ' s T r i o a n d S t o m p s e c t i o n s as t h e basis f o r n e w tunes. A d d i n g luster to " K i n g Porter"'s agency i n j a z z history, B e n n y G o o d m a n gave the p i e c e a key r o l e i n a n a c c o u n t o f his b a n d ' s l e g e n d a r y p e r f o r m a n c e at t h e P a l o m a r B a l l r o o m i n L o s A n g e l e s o n t h e n i g h t o f A u g u s t 2 1 , 1935. A s G o o d m a n r e c a l l e d , w h e n t h e b a n d started p l a y i n g Fletcher Henderson's arrangements o f "Sometimes I ' m H a p p y " a n d " K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p , " the "place e x p l o d e d " ( G o o d e 1986). Current Musicology. nos. 71-73 (Spring 2001-Spring 2002) © 2002 by the Trustees o f C o l u m b i a University i n the City o f New York
23
J a z z h i s t o r i a n s have r e i n f o r c e d a n d e x p a n d e d M o r t o n ' s c l a i m a n d G o o d m a n ' s t e s t i m o n y . T h e P a l o m a r e x p l o s i o n a n d its aftershocks have l e d some historians to cite i t as the b i r t h o f the S w i n g E r a , m o s t n o t a b l y M a r s h a l l W . Stearns, w h o , after t r a c i n g j a z z ' s d e v e l o p m e n t i n 1 9 3 0 - 3 4 , c o u l d s i m p l y assert, " T h e S w i n g E r a was b o r n o n t h e n i g h t o f 21 A u g u s t 1 9 3 5 " ( S t e a r n s 1 9 5 6 : 2 1 1 ; see e c h o e s o f this s t a t e m e n t i n E r e n b e r g 1 9 9 8 : 3 - 4 , a n d G i d d i n s 1 9 9 8 : 1 5 6 ) . G u n t h e r S c h u l l e r has c a l l e d " K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p " o n e o f the " d o z e n o r so m a j o r stations i n the d e v e l o p m e n t o f j a z z i n the twenty years b e t w e e n 1926 a n d 1946" ( S c h u l l e r 1989:840). A n d G o o d m a n ' s r e c o r d i n g , h e w r o t e elsewhere, "was largely r e s p o n s i b l e for u s h e r i n g i n t h e S w i n g E r a " ( S c h u l l e r 1985). O n e o f M o r t o n ' s m a n y recordings o f " K i n g Porter S t o m p " appeared o n the canon-shaping Smithsonian Collection of Classic Jazz ( n o w o u t o f p r i n t ) , a n d H e n d e r s o n ' s a n d G o o d m a n ' s versions m a y b e f o u n d o n the S m i t h s o n i a n ' s Big-Band Jazz a n t h o l o g y . O t h e r reissues o f G o o d m a n ' s a n d H e n d e r s o n ' s r e c o r d i n g s r e m a i n easily accessible. M o r e recently, K e n B u r n s ' s television d o c u m e n tary Jazz h i g h l i g h t e d t h e p i e c e as p a r a d i g m a t i c . I n the l i n e r notes f o r the p r o g r a m ' s spin-off c o m p a c t disc a n t h o l o g y , L o r e n S c h o e n b e r g has w r i t t e n t h a t the " p e d i g r e e o f ' K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p ' traces t h e e v o l u t i o n o f j a z z composition" (Burns 2000:10). 2
3
A piece i n s p i r i n g s u c h vast c l a i m s deserves to have its story t o l d , espec i a l l y as s c h o l a r s q u e s t i o n t h e v a l u e o f c a n o n f o r m a t i o n i n j a z z studies a n d even the "seductive m e n a c e " o f records that constitute the c a n o n ( G a b b a r d 1995:1-28; R a s u l a 1995:134). F o r as the j a z z c a n o n — o r m o r e p r o p e r l y , j a z z c a n o n s — c o n t i n u e s to serve u s e f u l p e d a g o g i c a l , h i s t o r i o g r a p h i c a l , a n d p e r f o r m a t i v e purposes, the works that c o m p r i s e i t s h o u l d n o t be i g n o r e d so m u c h as they s h o u l d be investigated m o r e t h o r o u g h l y . If, as R o b e r t W a l s e r has a r g u e d , "the p r i c e o f classicism is always loss o f specificity" (Walser 1995:169), t h e n we m i g h t b a l a n c e classicism w i t h more specificity i n o r d e r to forestall t h e h o m o g e n i z a t i o n o f t h e j a z z c a n o n that W a l s e r a n d others wish to a v o i d . " K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p " presents a n i n t r i g u i n g case i n j a z z history before b e b o p , because e x p l o r i n g its t r a n s f o r m a t i o n f r o m m u l t i s t r a i n p i a n o p i e c e to b i g - b a n d s t a n d a r d reveals t h e p i e c e ' s c a n o n i c a l status to be less i n e v i t a b l e t h a n a n o m a l o u s a n d r a t h e r u n l i k e l y . 4
5
"Private Material" (ca. 1907-1923) " K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p " h a d e x i s t e d f o r n e a r l y t h r e e decades before maki n g a n a t i o n a l i m p a c t i n 1935. M o r t o n h i m s e l f c l a i m e d to have c o n c e i v e d it i n 1905 ( L o m a x 1993:146). F o l l o w i n g R o y C a r e w , w h o assisted M o r t o n late i n his life, J a m e s D a p o g n y suggests a date o f 1906 ( D a p o g n y 1982:25, 4 9 6 ) . L a w r e n c e G u s h e e — w h o d i s c o v e r e d that M o r t o n was b o r n i n 1890, n o t i n 1885, as h e h i m s e l f c l a i m e d — d a t e s M o r t o n ' s first c o m p o s i t i o n s
24
C U R R E N T MUSICOI.OGY
slightly later, d u r i n g a n i t i n e r a n t p e r i o d i n 1907-11. " K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p " h a d p r o b a b l y b e e n c o m p o s e d ( i f n o t w r i t t e n d o w n a n d titled) by 1910, w h e n M o r t o n m e t the m a n f o r w h o m h e n a m e d t h e p i e c e ( G u s h e e 1 9 8 5 : 3 9 6 - 9 7 ) . W h a t e v e r the case, the p i e c e stands as o n e o f M o r t o n ' s earliest c o m p o s i t i o n s , c o n c e i v e d by a y o u n g p i a n i s t i n the peak d e c a d e o f ragtime. T h e title, l i k e the c o m p o s e r , c o n j u r e s b o t h a r i s t o c r a t i c gravitas a n d h o n k y - t o n k grit. I n M o r t o n ' s a c c o u n t , h e n a m e d the p i e c e after P o r t e r K i n g , "a very d e a r f r i e n d o f m i n e a n d a m a r v e l o u s pianist" f r o m F l o r i d a . K i n g , a c c o r d i n g to M o r t o n , was a n e d u c a t e d g e n t l e m a n w i t h a w o n d e r f u l m u s i c a l e d u c a t i o n , far m u c h better t h a n m i n e . . . h e s e e m e d to have a k i n d o f a y e n for m y style o f p l a y i n g . A n d o f course h e p a r t i c u l a r l y l i k e [sic] this type o f n u m b e r that I was p l a y i n g , a n d that was the reason that I n a m e d it after h i m , b u t n o t " P o r t e r K i n g " ; I c h a n g e d the n a m e b a c k w a r d s a n d c a l l e d it " K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p . " ( M o r t o n 1938)
A s for the " s t o m p " part o f the title, M o r t o n staked a n o t h e r m a j o r c l a i m , c o n s i d e r i n g the t e r m ' s w i d e s p r e a d use i n the 1920s a n d b e y o n d . ' " K i n g P o r t e r ' was the first t u n e w i t h the n a m e ' s t o m p ' w r o t e i n t h e U n i t e d States," he said, c o n f e s s i n g , "I d o n ' t k n o w what the t e r m ' s t o m p ' m e a n m y s e l f [sic]. T h e r e w a s n ' t r e a l l y any m e a n i n g o n l y t h a t p e o p l e w o u l d stamp t h e i r feet a n d I d e c i d e d that the n a m e ' s t o m p ' w o u l d be fitted for it" ( M o r t o n 1938). S c h u l l e r defines "stomp" as " s y n o n y m o u s w i t h blues" a n d i n d i c a t i n g a p i e c e w i t h a "heavy o r s t r o n g l y m a r k e d beat" ( S c h u l l e r 1968:382). B y the 1920s s t o m p s c o m p r i s e d a l o o s e l y d e f i n e d m a r k e t i n g category f o r fast, h a r d - d r i v i n g j a z z - o r i e n t e d m u s i c , s o m e h o w d i s t i n g u i s h e d f r o m blues, as i n the "blues a n d stomps" series o f M o r t o n ' s c o m p o s i t i o n s p u b l i s h e d by the C h i c a g o - b a s e d M e l r o s e B r o t h e r s M u s i c C o . ( D a p o g n y 1982: p l a t e b e t w e e n 3 6 - 3 7 ) . O n the c o p y r i g h t r e g i s t r a t i o n c a r d at the L i b r a r y o f C o n g r e s s , the M e l r o s e B r o t h e r s a i m to have it b o t h ways: there, the p i e c e bears the subtitle " D i x i e l a n d s t o m p , blues master p i e c e [sic]." I f M o r t o n w r o t e a n y t h i n g d o w n w h e n h e c o m p o s e d the p i e c e , n o sources have c o m e to l i g h t . T h e earliest v e r s i o n is M o r t o n ' s s o l o p i a n o r e c o r d i n g o f 1923, a n d his p u b l i s h e r d i d n o t c l a i m its c o p y r i g h t o r p u b l i s h it u n t i l late i n the f o l l o w i n g year. S u c h facts suggest that M o r t o n h a d a casual o r naive attitude a b o u t p u b l i c a t i o n . C e r t a i n l y , he s t o o d outside the o r b i t o f aggressive T i n P a n A l l e y s o n g p l u g g i n g a n d the s m a l l e r i n d u s t r y o f m i d w e s t e r n r a g t i m e , w h o s e l e a d i n g c o m p o s e r s r e g u l a r l y saw t h e i r works p u b l i s h e d s o o n after c o m p o s i n g t h e m . B u t M o r t o n was a n y t h i n g b u t casual o r naive a b o u t the m a r k e t v a l u e o f his w o r k s . A s a n i t i n e r a n t pianist,
JEFFREY M A G E E
25
h e saw m u c h m o r e benefit i n w i t h h o l d i n g t h e m f r o m p u b l i c a t i o n , as he e x p l a i n e d to L o m a x : Y o u may w o n d e r why I d i d n ' t c o p y r i g h t m y tunes i n the o l d days . . . T h e fact is that the p u b l i s h e r s t h o u g h t they c o u l d b u y a n y t h i n g they w a n t e d f o r fifteen o r twenty d o l l a r s . N o w i f y o u was a g o o d p i a n o player, y o u h a d ten j o b s w a i t i n g for y o u as s o o n as y o u h i t any t o w n a n d so fifteen o r twenty d o l l a r s o r a h u n d r e d d o l l a r s d i d z i ' t m e a n very m u c h to us. . . . So we k e p t o u r m e l o d i e s f o r o u r private m a t e r i a l to use to battle e a c h o t h e r i n battles o f m u s i c . ( L o m a x 1 9 9 3 : 1 4 6 - 4 7 ) Publication and Early Piano Recordings (1923-26) M o r t o n n e v e r s h e d his distrust o f p u b l i s h e r s (Stewart 1 9 9 1 : 1 6 8 - 6 9 ) , b u t by 1923 h e h a d m o r e i n c e n t i v e to p r o t e c t a n d p r o m o t e his m u s i c . T h a t year h e m o v e d to C h i c a g o a n d b e g a n a n association w i t h the M e l r o s e B r o t h e r s , w h o p u b l i s h e d M o r t o n ' s w o r k s after h e h a d r e c o r d e d t h e m ( D a p o g n y 1982:20). A t this p o i n t , the M e l r o s e B r o t h e r s M u s i c C o . was a f l e d g l i n g , "small-time" o p e r a t i o n w i t h a "modest store," as R i c k K e n n e d y has n o t e d , b u t i t " s t o o d at the f o r e f r o n t o f the n e w j a z z m o v e m e n t " ( K e n n e d y 1 9 9 4 : 7 2 - 7 3 ) . A l t h o u g h M o r t o n h a d seen his first p u b l i c a t i o n i n 1915 ("The O r i g i n a l J e l l y R o l l B l u e s " [ W i l l Rossiter, C h i c a g o ] ) , the j a z z v o g u e that h a d b e g u n i n 1917 a n d crested i n 1 9 2 3 - 2 4 n o w c o a x e d m o r e o f M o r t o n ' s m u s i c i n t o the p u b l i c arena, w h e r e o t h e r m u s i c i a n s c o u l d play it i n t h e i r o w n way. M o r t o n q u i c k l y a c h i e v e d success w i t h " W o l v e r i n e Blues," the first o f his pieces that M e l r o s e issued ( D a p o g n y 1982:20, 6 3 - 6 4 ) . " K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p , " however, d i d n o t s h o w p r o m i s e o f b e c o m i n g a hit, m u c h less a s t a n d a r d , i n j a z z o r any o t h e r repertory. M o r t o n p l a y e d the p i e c e i n h i s first s o l o r e c o r d i n g session ( J u l y 17, 1923, R i c h m o n d , I n d i a n a , G e n n e t t 5 2 8 9 ) , suggesting the w o r k ' s p r i d e o f place i n his repertory. ( H e u l t i m a t e l y m a d e m o r e r e c o r d i n g s o f " K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p " t h a n o f any o f h i s o t h e r pieces [ D a p o g n y 1982:495].) T h e n e x t year the p i e c e was f u r t h e r d i s s e m i n a t e d t h r o u g h a c o u p l e o f p r e - p u b l i c a t i o n "plugs" a n d M e l r o s e ' s d u a l p u b l i c a t i o n o f the w o r k as a p i a n o s o l o a n d as a d a n c e b a n d a r r a n g e m e n t . J u d g i n g f r o m the d o c u m e n t e d r e c o r d i n g legacy f r o m 1923 t h r o u g h 1927 (see table 1 ) , h o w e v e r , the p i e c e f a i l e d to attract a b r o a d or sustained following a m o n g other musicians—even though Variety, i n late 1924, h a d o b s e r v e d a " r e c o r d i n g v o g u e " f o r " o n l y ' h o t ' tunes" {Variety, N o v e m b e r 12, 1924). C e r t a i n l y , the p i e c e c a m e n o w h e r e n e a r m a t c h i n g the interest raised by a n o t h e r "hot" M e l r o s e p u b l i c a t i o n , C h a r l i e Davis's " C o p e n h a g e n , " w h i c h spread rapidly a m o n g bands i n C h i c a g o a n d N e w Y o r k after its p u b l i c a t i o n i n O c t o b e r 1924 ( M a g e e 1995:51, 5 5 ) .
26
CURRENT MUSICOLOGY
JEFFREY M A G E E Table 1
"King Porter Stomp": A discography, 1923-1942* Date 1923 1924
1925
1926 1928 1932
July 17 ca. October November 3 ca. December ca. February 3 February 20 February 26 March A p r i l 20 M a r c h 14 December 9 late 1932
1933 1934 1935
August 18 September 14 A p r i l 29 June 6 Julyl November 6
1936 1937
February January 10
May 17
1938
July 13 December 16 May-July
1939
August September 12 September 27 April 6
1940
1942
December 14 February 7 M a r c h 28 May 28 July 14 July 27 January 27
Artist/Group
Matrix N o .
Jelly R o l l M o r t o n
Gennett 5289 Olympic 1463 rejected Autograph 617 Pathe Actuelle 036211 rejected
A l Turk's Princess Orchestra Benson Orchestra of Chicago K i n g Oliver and Jelly R o l l M o r t o n J o h n n y Sylvester and His Orchestra Fletcher Henderson and H i s Orchestra Lanin's R e d Heads Charles Creath's Jazz-O-Maniacs Jelly R o l l M o r t o n Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra Fletcher Henderson and His Orchestra Cab Calloway and His Orchestra
C o l u m b i a 327-D O k e h 41565 Vocalion 1020 C o l u m b i a 1543-D O k e h 41565 Stash ST124
[taped broadcast from Cotton Club, New York] Fletcher Henderson and H i s Orchestra Brunswick A-9771 Claude Hopkins and His Orchestra Decca 184 Isham Jones and His Orchestra Rumbleseat Records RS 103 Rhythm Makers Orchestra N B C Thesaurus 127 [Benny G o o d m a n Orchestra] Benny G o o d m a n and His Orchestra Victor 25090 Blanche Calloway and H e r Orchestra Vocalion 3112 [as "I Gotta Swing"] C h i c k Webb and His Orchestra Polydor 423248 C o u n t Basie and His Orchestra Jazz Archives JA-16 [taped broadcast from "Chatterbox," W i l l i a m Penn H o t e l , Pittsburgh] Teddy H i l l and His N B C Orchestra Bluebird B-6988 Benny G o o d m a n and His Orchestra C o l u m b i a ML4591 Harry Roy and H i s Orchestra Parlophone 1158 Jelly R o l l M o r t o n (2) Circle 23-24 Jelly R o l l M o r t o n Erskine Hawkins and His Orchestra G l e n n M i l l e r and His Orchestra Harry James and His Orchestra Jelly R o l l M o r t o n Metronome Ail-Star Band Teddy B u n n Zutty Singleton and H i s Orchestra Jelly R o l l M o r t o n Cab Calloway and His Orchestra Bob Crosby and His Orchestra
Circle 73-69 rejected Bluebird B-7839
? Brunswick 8366 General 4005 C o l u m b i a 36389 Blue Note 503 Decca 18093 Pirate MPC-502 Jazz Panorama 16 Decca 4390
*Adapted and expanded from Richard Crawford and Jeffrey Magee (1992), which was compiled from Brian Rust (1982).
27
A n o b v i o u s e x p l a n a t i o n f o r the p i e c e ' s i n i t i a l failure to c a t c h o n m i g h t s e e m to be that by 1924 " K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p " was d e c i d e d l y o l d - f a s h i o n e d , a s t r a i n - f o r m p i e c e f r o m the r a g t i m e era. B u t M e l r o s e h a d n o reason to t h i n k that w o u l d h i n d e r its chances i n the m a r k e t p l a c e . D a n c e b a n d s o f the e r a o c c a s i o n a l l y p l a y e d o l d e r m a t e r i a l , i n c l u d i n g " M a p l e L e a f R a g " (1899), " H i g h Society" (1901), " P a n a m a " (1911), a n d " E c c e n t r i c " (1912), as w e l l as m o r e r e c e n t l y p u b l i s h e d strain-form pieces s u c h as " T i g e r R a g " (1917), " C l a r i n e t M a r m a l a d e " (1918), a n d " C o p e n h a g e n " ( C r a w f o r d a n d Magee 1992:xii-xiii, a n d passim u n d e r song titles). 6
A c l o s e r l o o k at " K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p " as i t a p p e a r e d i n the M e l r o s e sheet m u s i c p u b l i c a t i o n a n d M o r t o n ' s early r e c o r d i n g s reveals the q u a l i ties that m a d e the p i e c e b o t h o l d - s o u n d i n g a n d u n i q u e i n the early 1920s (ex. 1). A n o b s e r v a t i o n by D a p o g n y c a n serve as a s t a r t i n g p o i n t : " [ M o r t o n ' s ] d e p a r t u r e f r o m r a g t i m e style is m o r e r a d i c a l t h a n the surface o f his p l a y i n g m i g h t suggest" ( D a p o g n y 1982:11). A n d as D a p o g n y puts it, the piece's f i n a l strain is "one o f M o r t o n ' s m o s t f o r w a r d - l o o k i n g creations" ( D a p o g n y 1982:496). Y e t the f o r w a r d - l o o k i n g elements rise i n r e l i e f o n l y after ragtime roots are r e c o g n i z e d . First, the o v e r a l l f o r m a n d key s c h e m e o f the p i e c e , as M o r t o n r e c o r d e d a n d p u b l i s h e d i t i n 1924, r e s e m b l e s c o n v e n t i o n a l n o n - d a c a p o m a r c h a n d d a n c e f o r m s , a n d p i a n o r a g t i m e as s t a n d a r d i z e d i n the w o r k o f J o p l i n a n d others. (It lacks o n e f o r m a l q u a l i t y r e g u l a r l y seen i n J o p l i n ' s rags, however: the first strain's r e t u r n after the s e c o n d strain.)
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T h e roles o f the h a n d s show b o t h M o r t o n ' s i n d e b t e d n e s s to a n d depart u r e f r o m r a g t i m e c o n v e n t i o n s . A s i n r a g t i m e , the left h a n d serves t h e d u a l p u r p o s e o f m a r k i n g the beat a n d s u p p l y i n g the h a r m o n i c f o u n d a t i o n , w h i l e the r i g h t h a n d features a variety o f s y n c o p a t e d patterns that play against the pulse. T h e s e c o n d strain is the m o s t c o n v e n t i o n a l l y ragl i k e , w i t h a n a l t e r n a t i o n o f octaves a n d c h o r d s i n the left h a n d , a n d a r i g h t - h a n d p a t t e r n b a s e d o n the " M a p l e L e a f R a g " m o t i f . M e a n w h i l e , M o r t o n also steers away f r o m r a g t i m e ' s r e g u l a r i t y a n d r e p e t i t i o n . A t the o p e n i n g o f the first strain, f o r e x a m p l e , M o r t o n p l a y e d a n d p u b l i s h e d para l l e l fifths, l e n d i n g force a n d w e i g h t to the o p e n i n g i d e a . I n the s e c o n d strain, the left h a n d plays N e w O r l e a n s - s t y l e "tailgate" t r o m b o n e breaks. M o r t o n ' s early r e c o r d i n g s o f the t u n e reveal left-hand patterns even m o r e active a n d v a r i e d t h a n the sheet m u s i c shows: " t r o m b o n e " figures, syncop a t i o n , a n d f o r c e f u l accents j o l t the texture, especially i n the o p e n i n g o f M o r t o n ' s 1926 r e c o r d i n g .
28
JEFFREY M A G E E
CURRENT MUSICOLOGY
Example 1: " K i n g Porter Stomp." By Ferd "Jelly Roll" M o r t o n . © 1924 (Renewed) E D W I N H . M O R R I S & C O M P A N Y , A Division of M P L Communications, Inc. This arrangement © 2002 E D W I N H . M O R R I S & C O M P A N Y , A Division of M P L Communications, Inc. A l l Rights Reserved 8™ |fl
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JEFFREY M A G E E
CURRENT MUSICOLOGY
U s e o f riffs reveals a n o t h e r way i n w h i c h M o r t o n reaches b e y o n d ragt i m e . I n the T r i o a n d S t o m p strains, M o r t o n b u i l d s eight-bar phrases f r o m r e p e a t e d one- a n d two-bar riffs. C o n v e n t i o n a l l y c o n s i d e r e d a p h e n o m e n o n a p p e a r i n g i n b a n d a r r a n g e m e n t s o f the 1930s a n d 1940s, riffs d i s t i n g u i s h M o r t o n ' s style n o t o n l y i n " K i n g P o r t e r S t o m p , " b u t also i n o t h e r pieces s u c h as " B i g F o o t H a m , " " G r a n d p a ' s S p e l l s , " a n d " W o l v e r i n e B l u e s " ( D a p o g n y 1 9 8 2 : 4 9 6 a n d p a s s i m ) . M o r t o n ' s " K i n g P o r t e r " riffs, i n D a p o g n y ' s w o r d s , " p o i n t e d the way f o r a r r a n g e r s a n d c o m p o s e r s for years to c o m e " ( D a p o g n y 1982:496).
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