Help with New Orleans piano
October 27, 2013 1:41 PM   Subscribe

I have become obsessed with New Orleans piano. What CDs are the best place to start for the following: Jelly Roll Morton Professor Longhair Dr. John. Plus, any names I should add to the list? Thanks.
posted by captainscared to Media & Arts (9 answers total) 9 users marked this as a favorite
 
James Booker, is, for my money, the best of the lot. He's undergoing a bit of a resurgence right now, thanks to a documentary and some re-released material. Here's an NPR show about him.
posted by LucretiusJones at 2:06 PM on October 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Jools Holland (post-Squeeze)?
posted by JoeZydeco at 2:59 PM on October 27, 2013


For Jelly Roll Morton, you want unadorned piano, if you can find it, which is hard, as there are a lot of bandleader tunes out there. The Complete Library of Congress Recordings are my favorites, though he's old and undoubtedly much off his game. Lots of interesting anecdotes in about early Jazz and New Orleans.
posted by LucretiusJones at 4:26 PM on October 27, 2013 [1 favorite]


Ellis! Ellis Marsalis!
posted by brina at 4:48 PM on October 27, 2013


Not a CD, but worth viewing: a brief clip from the Scott Joplin movie. Dick Hyman on piano.
posted by ovvl at 5:14 PM on October 27, 2013


There are a zillion (good) Dr. John albums out there, but if you want to hear the Night Tripper on solo piano at his very best, check out Dr. John Plays Mac Rebennack (vol. 1 linked, out of a 2 volume set). It's probably the recording that set me off down the New Orleans piano path in earnest a half decade back or so.

Also, it's not a CD, but there are a bunch of clips kicking around the internet of Dr. John's instructional piano video that make for fun viewing: see, e.g., Iko Iko.
posted by theoddball at 10:56 PM on October 27, 2013 [2 favorites]


"... Plus, any names I should add to the list? ..."

Earl "Fatha" Hines
Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-69)
posted by paulsc at 11:22 PM on October 27, 2013


It's unequivocal: the Dr. John record of choice is Gris-Gris.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 1:06 AM on October 28, 2013 [1 favorite]


Oh. You'll want this clip, so you can ID as you play along: John Cleary laying out the styles.
posted by LucretiusJones at 6:54 PM on November 9, 2013


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