Thomas Morris • When A ‘Gator Hollers’

JAZZ CLASSIC OF THE MONTH

Thomas Morris was a casualty of the rapid evolution that jazz underwent during the 1920s. The cornetist fit very securely in the mainstream of jazz in 1923 but by 1927 his playing was considered primitive and hopelessly outdated. While he was in the backup band to Bessie Smith in the 1929 short film St. Louis Blues, his last recordings were in 1927 when he was just 29.

Fortunately Morris recorded prolifically during 1923-27 including leading a group ironically called The Past Jazz Masters in 1923. He also made records with Clarence Williams (sounding fine next to Sidney Bechet), Charlie Johnson, Fats Waller, and a variety of blues singers. The CD When A ‘Gator Hollers from the Frog label has all of the music (dating from 1926) from his last five sessions as a leader (when his group was billed as the Seven Hot Babies) plus a date backing singer Margaret Johnson and another one leading the New Orleans Blue Five. The 14 selections are augmented by 11 alternate takes including eight that were originally just test pressings. Among Morris’ sidemen are trombonists Geechie Fields, Charlie Irvis and Tricky Sam Nanton, tenor-saxophonist Happy Caldwell, and fellow cornetists Rex Stewart and Jabbo Smith. Hiring Stewart and particularly Smith might have been a mistake for Morris because, compared to those two young turks (particularly Jabbo), Morris sounded a bit old-fashioned.

Still, the music is mostly quite rewarding with the highlights including “Jackass Blues,” “Georgia Grind,” “The King Of The Zulus” and “The Mess.” His strong ensemble playing pushes the other musicians to play at their best, making this the definitive Thomas Morris CD.

Thomas Morris • When A ‘Gator Hollers’
Frog DGF 1

Scott Yanow

Since 1975 Scott Yanow has been a regular reviewer of albums in many jazz styles. He has written for many jazz and arts magazines, including JazzTimes, Jazziz, Down Beat, Cadence, CODA, and the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, and was the jazz editor for Record Review. He has written an in-depth biography on Dizzy Gillespie for AllMusic.com. He has authored 11 books on jazz, over 900 liner notes for CDs and over 20,000 reviews of jazz recordings. Yanow was a contributor to and co-editor of the third edition of the All Music Guide to Jazz. He continues to write for Downbeat, Jazziz, the Los Angeles Jazz Scene, the Jazz Rag, the New York City Jazz Record and other publications.