Jelly Roll Morton - Pretty Lil-1929

Jelly Roll Morton composed Pretty Lil and Jelly Roll and his orchestra recorded the music at the Trinity Baptist Church studios of Victor Talking Machine Company in Camden, New Jersey July 9,1929. Jelly Roll Morton had started his Red Hot Peppers band from Lil Hardin Armstrong's disbanded Dixieland Syncopaters in 1926. Lil Hardin was Louis Armstrong's second wife - they were married from 1926-1938. Lil and Louis had met about 1921 while both played in King Olivers Creole Jazz Band in Chicago. Jelly Roll Morton and Louis Armstrong had collaborated on Wildman Blues in 1926 and Morton recorded the song on the Bluebird label in Chicago in 1927 while Louis Armstrong and His Hot 7 recorded the music in May 1927 for Okeh in Chicago. The pianist for that Hot 7 session was Lil Hardin.
Lil was the most famous woman of early jazz who got her start at age 17 playing in the men's world of tough and seedy clubs in Chicago. Lil had met Jelly Roll as a teen while she was working at a Chicago music store where she demonstrated sheet music. Morton frequented the store and played his style for her which she came to adopt and for a while was known as the female Jelly Roll Morton. Lil and Morton remained friends while both worked in Chicago. She was hired as a jazz pianist for her first gig at age 17 and she not only held her own but had 8 different orchestras of her own from 1925-1950 and remained active as a jazz musician until her death in 1971. Lil appeared on Broadway in Hot Chocolates, cut 26 records as a vocalist, was a fashion designer in the 1940s, then returned to music where she had 4 successful years of engagements in Europe in the 1950s and held a post graduate degree in music fromNY College of Music

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Lil
• Hardin
• Armstrong
• Jelly
• Roll
• Morton
• Louis
• Pretty
• 78RPM
• 78s
• 1920s
• 1930s
• Memphis
• Blues
• Jazz

[Tallsmilingtree]

Jazz lovers: check out the still picture at about 1:44. What is Louis playing? It looks like a short trombone type of horn. It's not a trumpet, I think. Any ideas?

[preservationhall01]

@Tallsmilingtree For a while, Satchmo played an instrument called a buggle but I have no idea if the instrument pictured is one of those. He also used a plunger mute while in King Oliver's band, which was nothing more than a rubber toilet plunger without the wooden handle. Pictures of Armstrong taken during the later 1920s showed him playing cornet and trumpet with several strange looking mutes as well as playing a sax.

[fillra]

Very fine music, preservationhall01, and a delightful tribute from you in words and photos about lovely Lil.

[preservationhall01]

And thanks to Jelly Roll for his musical tribute to Lil.

[Corrie121]

Music to elevate the disheartened. This is jazz at it's best.

Thank you for sharing this treasure.

[preservationhall01]

Thanks for your comment. Always glad to share great jazz when I can find it.

[kirahhusko]

23 skadoo!

[Squarerig]

Tallsmilingtree.Could it be what is called,I believe,a "natural trumpet"?It certainly is not a trombone,neither is it a cornet-that is lying on the deck in front of LA.I am no musician,merely a JAZZ lover.The natural trumpet was the forerunner of the cornet,trumpet etc.No valves or whatever-I think.

[Hibbs4Prez]

@FutureSkycar You know what, moron, back in those same good ol' days of the 1920 scumbags like yourself didn't think even those black people had talent and treated them even worse. Same thing in the 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70, etc , and all of those other "glorious" eras. You champion those folks now, but back then people like yourself didn't care for their music and cared for them even less. Wheher it was 50 years ago or now those "black people" were/are more talented than you'll ever be.

[ChrisAlbertson]

I'm afraid Morton did not have Lil Hardin in mind when he named this tune, but it is a nice one and your tribute to my sorely missed friend is a nice one. I did one of my own, using Eastown Boogie, which is somewhere on YouTube.

Keep up the good work.

Chris [Albertson]

[FutureSkycar]

This is back when the majority of black people had talent.

Now it's all ignorite nigger shit like.. I shot my mutha fuckin brother, poped da cap in his azz for dam drugs dawg. it's all money, bitches n hoes, etc etc.

I wish times we're like the 1920's. I hate to see the 2020's.. @_@

[pianiplunker]

This recording and "burning the ice burg" are my favorite of the latter RedHot Pepper recordings. I'm absolutely convinced the title of this composition has nothing to do with Lil Armstrong but still I'm very glad this is on youtube. The real historical significance of this recording session is that these are some the only recordings of George Baquet. Unfortunately his very archaic creole style does not fit with the other much younger musicians.

[TheDavid2222]

I LOVE old jazz from the 20's and before, and I'm really a classical music guy.

[OneDayInMyGarden]

This is the most experimental and swing 20s jazz i've come across till now on youtube, anyone knows something else?