“Then we had Spanish people there. I heard a lot of Spanish tunes… Now in one of my earliest tunes, "New Orleans Blues", you can notice the Spanish tinge. In fact, if you can't manage to put tinges of Spanish in your tunes, you will never be able to get the right seasoning, I call it, for jazz.
– “Jelly Roll” Morton, Library of Congress sessions, 1938
The colorful pianist, bandleader and composer Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (who was professionally known as Jelly Roll Morton) always claimed he invented jazz in 1902 out of the various musical influences he experienced coming of age in New Orleans. Whatever one’s thoughts on this claim (like the ODJB, Morton was inclined to self-promotion!), his identification of a “Spanish tinge” in the rich ethno-cultural mix that was jazz as he understood it, is compelling and very evident in the history of 20th century popular music. Jesse Cloninger and the Emerald City Jazz Kings close their season with an exploration of the “Latin tinge”, with an intriguing collection of tunes hailing from both sides of the border, from the likes of Jelly Roll Morton, Duke Ellington (“Caravan”, “Perdido”), The Andrew Sisters (“Rum an Coca Cola”, “Tico Tico”), Desi Arnaz (“Cuban Pete, “In Santiago, Chile”), Carmen Miranda, and more!
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Idit Shner, reeds
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Shirley Andress, vocalsMichael Stone, vocalsSiri Vik, vocalsVicki Brabham, pianoMark Forrest, guitarMerlin Showalter, drumsNathan Waddell, bassSean Flannery, reedsJoe Manis, reedsGlenn Bonney, tromboneGlenn Griffith, tromboneDave Bender, trumpetDoug Doerfert, trumpetCody Simmons, trumpet |