Jelly Roll Morton Finger Breaker

[harleywhitesr]

He's a baaaad man!

[vampisemi]

i heard it from legend of 1900 great song

[SpeakerBoXxXonUTube]

his name isnt fred lol. its Ferd as in ferdinand.

[FBfan47721]

4 people clicked dislike and broke their Fingers.

[actinobacillius]

4 people broke their fingers..

[Defeshh]

woah! fucking sick!

[BassmanDannyFox]

100 years on and Morton still kicks ass :)

[crazytown106]

Well, shut yo mouth! Jelly Roll! Storyville...*Homer Simpson Duff drool sound* I'd be putting a Louis Armstrong 78 on my Victrola if the damn movers hadn't busted it. V is for VENDETTA! ~castusvitium

[MASHtsofficial]

Genius musician!

[peacesellsstevebuyin]

I'm a guitarist. I listen to rock, blues, jazz, classical, metal, punk, folk etc. But I have to say, if there are two genres that are BADASS to play, its metal and jazz.

[robchalfen]

composed @ 1911, recorded Dec. 1938 as "Finger Buster"

[Joezena12]

Ohhhhhh jazz music....I'm a teenager who listens to JUST dub step music n this stuff makes me feel fancy in a way....I don't know...it's different. I like all types of music but...yeah from dub step to piano jazz music ;)

[BongaFish]

@Joezena12 You should buy a monical and tophat and wear them while listening then.

THEN you'd surely feel fancy.

[rayomalone]

straight up baller

[muzikologistful]

thanks for posting this. wow, his playing is so fast in this recording. as someone remarked, this was indeed the "pop music" of the 1920s but it was so much better, more inventive and imaginative than contemporary pop music, which is just formulaic, musically impoverished, simplistic dumbed-down junk.

[KillaVinyl]

Four people accidentally clicked dislike..



[josiah566]

@KillaVinyl No. Art Tatum, Fats Waller, Willie "The Lion" Smith and James P. Johnson clicked dislike.

[minnesotafan117]

@josiah566

imbecile, all the names you mentioned are 5 times greater than jelly and are more than capable of playing this

[josiah566]

@minnesotafan117 They would have clicked dislike not because they can't play the song, but because they hate Morton in general.

[minnesotafan117]

@josiah566

y would they hate him?



[josiah566]

@minnesotafan117 They hate him because when Morton got to New York in the 30s, the four of them cut him but he wouldn't stop running his mouth, saying he was the best. Wouldn't you hate it if someone wouldn't shut up when it was obvious you were better than them?

[Santosificationable]

@josiah566 Didn't Willie and Morton duel each other and Morton "kept quiet"? I'm not sure if Fats, Johnson, or Tatum cut with him, though, but you saying that Morton "kept talking loud even though he lost" is quite doubtful. Jelly was possibly astounded by Willie's superior technique which finally shut his mouth.

The one who really cut A LOT of pianists was Art Tatum, who beat Fats, Johnson, and Willie. Maybe you got mistaken...

[josiah566]

@Santosificationable To be honest I've only heard vaguely that he had cutting contests with Tatum, Fats and Jimmy P. There is a definitive story on the internet, however, of Willie cutting Morton which shut him up. Perhaps I am mistaken, but if you have the story on hand, I'd like to hear/read it :D

[Santosificationable]

@josiah566 Possible. Jelly Roll Morton I think, won many cutting contests in New Orleans, but got evened out by the faster New York stride pianists. He probably went to these same clubs where the three hanged out, only to be shut up by a pianist of comparable technical proficiency (Willie Smith in this case).

They say he's really a bit of a braggart, and even "The Legend of 1900" showed this. If you haven't watched it, watch the "duel" scene.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@KillaVinyl Please don't make dislike jokes, I'd rather not have them on this comment section.

[KillaVinyl]

@Morahman7vnNo2 Get over it

[katsandroses]

very wow, indeed, but more of a thumb buster, lol !

[keozeo]

im so glad new age music lovers arent trolling this amazing talent. jelly roll morton is the only TRUE american G in a way. he was a pimp and piano player at a speak easy for god sakes.

[tahitiancookie]

oOOOoooOooh i remmeber this from legend of 1900 :)

[Jerimiah10]

Has there ever been anyone better? Ever?

[henryfire]

cool

[dirtshaman]

I'm glad Juggalos don't listen to quality music such as Jelly Roll Morton. I've been a fan of JRM since finding an old record and curious about this dude and his name. Pretty innovative tunes! Scott Joplin aint got nuthin on Jelly Roll Morton!

[octabat]

@dirtshaman hahaha what made you think of Juggalos when listening to this? it's hard enough to find ANYONE else that really likes it as much as i do at the moment.....damn it's good..........

[latinaconflava]

@dirtshaman Scott Joplin was great in his own right. You have to remeber JRM was an educated black man and had classical training. They are both great to me either ways!

[polymath7]

@dirtshaman What is a Juggalo? I've heard that word several times now. Please don't tell me it's someone who raps in clown makeup.

For the love of humanity, tell me there is not actually a word for this...

[t3hplatyz0rz]

@polymath7 It's even worse.

A fan of a band called insane clown posse, who are people who... you guessed it...

[polymath7]

@t3hplatyz0rz Second question:

Fuckin' magnets, how do they work?

[t3hplatyz0rz]

@polymath7 lolololol

[redlipstickmafia]

Get the series of interviews from the library of congress. You won't believe your ears, it pure magic, historically and musically.  I 'm a little biased as a new orleans piano player, but it's just that damn great.

[phonicphone]

i'm black and know that over 70% of blacks don't even appreciate genre created by their own people. i.e. jazz blues honky tonk or any kind of rock

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@phonicphone Oh you mean this "old grandpa music?" Yeah, white people have it now, not hat there's anything wrong with that. But there is something wrong with the level of music education and appreciation in this country.

Why should Pop be allowed to have a Monopoly anymore then it already does!?

[DrStrangefate]

@Morahman7vnNo2

I'm glad to say down here in the South in Houston, Texas

True music is very much alive in public education.

[Superphilipp]

@Morahman7vnNo2 Accusing pop of having a monopoly on music is like complaining about the darkness during nighttime.

This WAS pop music! In the 20s at least.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@Superphilipp Yeah, except this wasn't in your face all of the time. And bands actually had different sounds. There was variety, and not just the same few stars taking up most of the airwaves. This wasn't blasted 24/7 on the radio, this was played by the every once in a while after other music by other artists.

Darkness goes away after a while, not after a few years. And at least record producers took a chance with featuring different artists, and not just "giving them what they want."

[Superphilipp]

@Morahman7vnNo2 Have you turned on the radio recently? I was forced to recently, and I was really surprised.

In my opinion pop today is pretty diverse. There's rock, electro, hip hop, soul, singer-songwriter, ... Say that all of these suck (or are too streamlined, comercialised, ...) but I don't see how you can say that there is no variety.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@Superphilipp What Soul and Singer/Songwriter!?

I stopped listening to mainstream a few years ago. But it's still hard to avoid. And no that not verity, the 60s had real variety. Today's "Rock" and "Hip-hop" are a joke, a bad joke. And if I hear one more club/stereo-typical techno beat I'm going to get a gun and go on a killing spree (of DJs with ipod shuffles at least).

I shouldn't have to go Underground or Indie to listen to good music.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@Morahman7vnNo2 but I'm mainly a Jazz listener anyway, so I'm unsatisfied ether way.

[KrazyKartoonKid]

@phonicphone I'm black and I love this genre of music. I also play the piano in my school Jazz Band which mostly made of black and mixed race people.

[JazzmanJeff]

Really enjoyed this.-JazzmanJeff

[Dejavu2311]

Que belleza!

:D

[Santosificationable]

No. Rap requires skill; poetic skill, a good sense of rhythm, and an ear for it.

In short, you suck.

[smuffjules]

@Santosificationable sure...but not anywhere even close to as much skill and practice as this.

[Reddymk]

To comments above... Rap is not music. It's not played by artist on instruments. It requires no skill.

[91Kpk]

@Reddymk and also Retro Jenny, you just proved yourselves to be an idiot. Most rappers follow certain rhythm patterns; there are different rap types just as there are different musics, one of them being power rapping. I am no expert in rap, let alone music, and I still can tell you this much. Go study a little more about what it is that you are trying to diss, and make a valid point please. Though I agree with Smufflejules, I have never heard of free piano playing unlike free rapping.

[ExtinctionOfTheBrain]

4 people broke their fingers trying to play this :)

[MaloEdu]

In the pass many people hates jazz, now many people loves them.

It will be ironic if

now many people hates Rap and in the near future all human population will love Rap and perhaps lesser generation will love Jazz..

It takes awhile to get used to certain music genre. Some people took it fast like a night or a day. some takes decades to realize the beauty of certain music genre.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@MaloEdu Right now, Rap is mainstream; it was loved in the 1980s and 1990s. It's still loved, but these days some people don't like it because it has has become commercialized. Most of the new Rap is just not a authentic as the early Rap.

And as for Jazz, most people have forgotten about it.

[dangrbitch]

@Morahman7vnNo2 ppl r also startin 2 not like rap cuz it's just gotten so raw and nasty. It's gotten so far removed from what your average person can relate to. Gotten very hood

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@dangrbitch I think Chris Rock said it best:

"Rap's getting harder to defend."

But enough already, this is a Jazz video; and Early Jazz video.

I just wish you guys would save the rap comments for Rap videos.

[smuffjules]

@MaloEdu thing is, this takes an enormous amount of skill , practice and determination to get it right....Rap takes none of that....just an ego and phone calls and money to the right publicists.

[Toracube]

His Fingerbreaker's better than mine :(

[EMCEMITCH]

it was more like pre-boogie-woogie certainly not rag or stride---he was an original--probably not the inventor of jazz as hed like to claim---but certainly an early original---buddy bolden preceded him

[Kaaaspa]

Legend of 1900. :)

[batslinus]

Rag Time!

[TheFearlessFreep]

bet he'd think Dr Dre sucks donkey balls too.

[Mirdjan]

...e in culo anche il jazz XDDDD

[grafonolafavorite]

Just listen. 

[MultiKZB]

Terrific!! Now I wonder what he would have thought of James Booker...

[siffey]

How come "The Murder Ballad" recorded by Lomax isnt up on youtube. That in my opinion was Jelly at his best and a breakthrough for blues

[MsDanielian]

Please. tell me where can I get the sheet music I want it, but can't find, please help. send to my mail danielian@bk.ru

[WardKimballFan]

Go Mr. Jelly!

[scrapwire1]

The legend of 1900 was really good, I didn't realize it was really his music, till I heard this, wow he was good !

[DuskbatRabbit]

watch a movie called the Legend of 1900 to see some of this music

[classsclownnn]

kinda looks like pres. Obama!

[panosxat]

this is good!

[TheAudioLu]

yeeeeeeaaaaaaa

[TonyAgutter]

viene sempre un mal di pancia sentire parlare di morton.

chiacchierato da tutti, megalomane, bizzarro, con un diamante nei denti.

Ok!, . ma la sua bravura, credete a me è indiscutibile.!

[Marianaavalle]

I would like to see Jelly Roll Morton playing, not just a picture... Where can I find it?

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@Marianaavalle In a piano roll.

[MusikAndLuv]

@Marianaavalle He died in 1941. So you gotta figure it was the 20's and 30's when he was playing. Not to much film of anyone other than movie stars and politicians back then. They didn't film "Negroes" either. Sorry.

[busessuck1]

@MusikAndLuv atually there are a few archival pieces from then... mostly though it was field recordings of unknown musicians

even though jazz was the big thing happening no one bothered to trace it's roots and give much attention to the likes of Bunk Johnson and Morton (who's a creole)

[MusikAndLuv]

@busessuck1 What I said was meant to be toung-in-cheek and not an absolute. For example, my Grandmother used to remark about the old days "back in the 30's, nobody had any food" well of course people had food. Its an expression. My point was to emphasize the incredible injustices these musicians faced throughout the United States.

[ElusiveHermit]

@MusikAndLuv back in the 30's, there was no injustice.

[tombstonehand1]

@MusikAndLuv

What about Louis Armstrong? And Cab Calloway? I think your assumption that they didn't film negroes is a bit unfounded.

[11Kralle]

@Marianaavalle

In the past?

[Huckabeezer]

@Marianaavalle I've been researching Morton, and chasing down recordings, since the early 70s. To the best of my knowledge, he was never filmed actually playing.

[youngz1990]

This sounds like a difficult tune to play, speed and skill will be needed. FOCUS!

[jakeeemyman]

what i would give to have a top hat, cane, and him playing in a victorian house party.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@jakeeemyman All you need is a player piano playing on of his piano rolls, and you've got your wish.

[gullreefclub]

@jakeeemyman Victorian house is that you call it. where Jelly Roll played you know what sent his tempo or was it her tempo?

[matilda628]

I got interested in this genre of music when I saw The Legend Of 1900- God be praised!

[JvmTama09]

@matilda628 same here!

[mrjohnnynofear]

The 4 people who voted this down need to be shot immediately.

[lauraneville]

Scott Joplin ( from what I know) was much more conservative in his style and approach...Jelly Roll came along and push the style to a looser, faster "expansive" sound. And from there...no limits!!

Thanks for posting this great performance!!

[mivec25]

i see where the super mario bros composer got his inspiration for nintento game soundtracks

[trufiend138]

WAY ahead of his time....

[earjams1]

@trufiend138 Too bad for that one, though Jazz is kickass.

[TheUnbreakableOtaku]

One of my favourite pianists.

[quebecois22]

Wonderful!!

Anyone knows where i can find the music sheet for this...?

[dasmikey1964]

Incredible technique, wow!

[loco214555]

Magnífica Pieza,

Pero Por favor si alguien me Prodria Proporcionar la Partitura se Lo agradecería.

De ante mano Gracias.

[harpkeys]

Jelly Roll Rules! His piano playing sounded like a whole band. It wasn't "stride piano". He was hearing all the other instruments in his head- check out the left hand melodies and counterpoint.

[germusictv]

alguien tiene la partitura de esta cancion? que me la pase por favor

[Morahman7vnNo2]

Yo tengo la partitura, lo que es su correo electrónico?

[sevchyk]

@Morahman7vnNo2 Puede Vd enviarme la partitura tambien. Quero mucho aprenderla. Mi correo es sevchyk@ukr.net. Muchas gracias!

[HepCat215]

Jelly Roll was truly a master of jazz, in performance, arrangement and composition. He can play incredibly fast, as this video demonstrates, but even as his fastest, he still played with that "feel" that defines all his work. A lot of speedy pianists play fast just to play fast, but he was making music at the same time.

[0ooRiannAoo0]

everyone thinks hes blues, but hes not. he one of the greatest Rag Time Pianist's of that Era.

[DrJme]

Jeez guys show a little love for the man who INVENTED bacon. its a little known fact but Jelly actually was the first to take that part of a pig and make somthin of it.

[JRussoBuffaloNY]

Ferdinand Morton

[flowergio]

Doveva essere davvero un genio! Come gli è venuta in mente questa melodia? Non è certo facile (almeno secondo il mio giudizio) comporre qualcosa di così allegro e così brillante.......amazing

[whatsmylogin]

On improvisation: if you listen to different recordings of him playing a piece you will hear that he's improvising (e.g. in two takes of Wolverine Blues from the same day his playing is quite different). In Reich & Gaine's book 'Jelly's Blues' people are quoted as saying that he never played the same piece the same way twice (and this was said BEFORE the 20s). Morton wrote detailed scores for bandmembers, but he let them do what they wanted in the solos

[whatsmylogin]

Anyway, the stuff about the degree to which Morton improvised this is beside the point. I wouldn't stop liking Tatum's Tiger Rag if I heard that Tatum had worked out most or all of the details beforehand. And Tatum's status as a jazz player was beyond doubt.

[WkUpPeople]

Stride piano doesn't get much better than this. Jelly Roll was quite a virtuoso. Just incredible.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

Except this ain't Stride!

[theabstract666]

@Morahman7vnNo2

Well then, what is it? Ragtime? Joplin himself is said to have claimed that ragtime shouldn't be played fast.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@theabstract666 That is Classic Ragtime, this is what I personally like to call Ragtime & Blues. A.K.A. (early) Jazz. Or Dixieland or New Orleans Jazz.

[theabstract666]

@Morahman7vnNo2

Fair enough. It's a wonderful upload all the same!

[vindicari]

@Morahman7vnNo2 jeez I just love you back seat drivers.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

@vindicari I am the driver. And you're the one being taken for a ride; because this is my car, don't like my service? Go to another Jazz taxi!

[JRussoBuffaloNY]

you ppl know about the filthy version of whinin boy blues?

[Corrie121]

Great music from the Master.

Great post.

[Loveland80]

some people compare this to Slipknot's "Pulse of the Maggots" but I'm just not seeing it.

[Danman917]

lol

Not sure if serious

[pianomags]

@LoveLand80, omg HAARRR!

[Not2Be0utDone]

i love the legend of 1900

[ebronken]

This is JAZZ! The difference between this and ragtime is illustrated by how Morton plays it, in contrast to how pianists tend to play it today, making it more ragtime-like. The beat is heavily accentuated on all four beats of the bar, versus a lighter, alla breve feling in ragtime.

[oldwarcraftgamer]

well.. its almost jazz, i would not say it is totally jazz, one of the most important things in jazz is the impro ofc. and rags use to be 100% composed, morton was the first musician, who played those rags a lil more free, so he just did a lil improvisation, but normally rags are totally composed, for that reason it is not used to be called as part of jazz

[ebronken]

Well, that is a core issue in the jazz debate: does improvisation define jazz? For Morton, who claimed having invented jazz, and his contemporaries, it did not. Jazz was a style, improvisation an option within it, something clearly demonstrated by the strict arrangements in King Oliver's 1923 recordings. The question of whether unimprovised music can be called jazz, has surfaced again and again throughout the history of this music, in attacks against people like Duke Ellington and Stan Kenton.

[oldwarcraftgamer]

mhhh. true true..

so i read something about it: ragtime is simply white, classical music, "blackly" played. rag is european piano-music wiith the beat of african (= afroamerican) rhythm. maybe people say it is not jazz cuz harmonically rag seems way more like piano-music of the 19 th century ( chopin/ liszt etc.) than typical jazz- harmonies..well, i guess every1 has to define the ragtime for himself, actually it is not that important if it is jazz or not, the fact is i love it =)

[PoesSoul7]

Ahhahah, awesome!

[HiAnMi]

No, it's not a song(Reneeke9), just music... And this music is jazz !

Like a sentence of the great film : The legend of 1900 ("La légende du Pianiste sur l'Océan", en français car je suis français) : "Si tu ne sais pas ce que c'est, alors c'est du Jazz !!" (If you don't know what is it, so it's Jazz !!)

[Joniweinfurtner]

it's not jazz, it's ragtime!

[JRussoBuffaloNY]

wow you really generalize genre, wow how shallow

[tpbricknw]

Awsome!

[kagstyle]

he certainly knew how to play... there is magic about that unorthodox new orleans style...

[homedepot20car]

Single handily the best piano player ever playing the hardest early jazz tune

[Pianoninja924]

The Lion's Finger Buster is pretty good.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

The Finger Buster is of the Swing Era.

[Reneeke9]

no good song

[Morahman7vnNo2]

It's not a song.

[thundakat80]

idiot

[Huckabeezer]

Offering this nonsense to an audience of Morton enthusiasts. What could you have been thinking?  You need to take sixth grade over again.

[Morahman7vnNo2]

Okay guys, that's enough, your giving away credit where it isn't due.