Jelly

On their first album devoted to a single jazz composer, the Dirty Dozen Brass Band has made an inspired choice in their hometown New Orleans hero, Jelly Roll Morton. You might think a brass band might choose a horn player like Louis Armstrong or Sidney Bechet instead, for Morton was a pianist, and the Dozen don't carry keyboards or any other chording instrument. Armstrong and Bechet made their mark as soloists, however, while Morton is best remembered as a composer and band arranger, and the Dirty Dozen are not a soloist's vehicle; they represent the welcome revival of tight band arrangements and ensemble improvisation. --Geoffrey Himes