"King Porter Stomp" is a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...

by pianist

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe ( Lemott, later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. Morton was jazz ...

, first recorded in 1923. The composition is considered to be important in the development of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

.Magee, Jeffrey. "'King Porter Stomp' and the Jazz Tradition", p.46, ''Current Musicology'', 71-73 (Spring 2001-Spring 2002), p. 22-53

It became a hit during the swing era, when it was recorded by Benny Goodman.

History

According to Jelly Roll Morton, the tune was composed in 1906 and was the first " stomp" in the history of jazz. Morton first recorded the number in 1923 as a piano solo, but did not file a

copyright A copyright is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the exclusive legal right to copy, distribute, adapt, display, and perform a creative work, usually for a limited time. The creative work may be in a literary, artistic, ...

on the tune until 1924. That year, Morton recorded a duet version with Joe "King" Oliver on cornet. Morton said that he had actually written the tune almost 20 years earlier, and that it was named after his friend and fellow pianist Porter King. According to S. Brun Campbell, Morton was having difficulty finishing the piece and sent it to Scott Joplin who was living in St. Louis for help. On July 1, 1935, Benny Goodman and his orchestra recorded Fletcher Henderson's arrangement of the number, backed with " Sometimes I'm Happy". It was released July 31 as Victor 25090, and became a sizeable hit and a standard of the

big band A big band or jazz orchestra is a type of musical ensemble of jazz music that usually consists of ten or more musicians with four sections: saxophones, trumpets, trombones, and a rhythm section. Big bands originated during the early 1910s and ...

era. Goodman's recording featured the well known trumpeter of the day Bunny Berigan. Fletcher Henderson had recorded his own arrangement several times with his own band during the 1920s and early 1930s.

Harry James Harry Haag James (March 15, 1916 – July 5, 1983) was an American musician who is best known as a trumpet-playing band leader who led a big band to great commercial success from 1939 to 1946. He broke up his band for a short period in 1947, but ...

recorded a version in 1939 on Brunswick 8366. Other big bands also recorded the tune, as did more traditional jazz groups. Late 1960s "space-age" bandleader Pat Williams recorded the song on his 1968 Verve LP ''Shades of Today''. In 1975, Gil Evans and his orchestra arranged a new cover in '' There Comes a Time'' album, with Tony Williams, David Sanborn and George Adams among others. The American jazz trio Air recorded the tune for their 1979 album '' Air Lore''.

Notes

External links

Morton and Porter King

King Porter Stomp on NPR 100
1923 compositions 1923 singles Jazz compositions Songs written by Jelly Roll Morton 1920s jazz standards Benny Goodman songs {{1920s-jazz-composition-stub

History

See also

Notes

External links