King Porter Stomp

"King Porter Stomp" is a jazz standard by pianist Jelly Roll Morton, first recorded in 1923. The composition is considered to be important in the development of jazz.[1] 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.[2] Morton first recorded the number in 1923 as a piano solo, but did not file a copyright 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.[3]

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 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 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.

See also

Notes
  1. Magee, Jeffrey. "'King Porter Stomp' and the Jazz Tradition", p.46, Current Musicology, 71-73 (Spring 2001-Spring 2002), p. 22-53. Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine
  2. Morton, Jelly Roll (August 1938). "Jelly Roll Morton: 'I Created Jazz In 1902, Not W.C. Handy'". DownBeat. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
  3. Martin, Williams (January 9, 1992). Jazz Changes. USA. p. 166. ISBN 978-0195058475.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)


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