JELLY ROLL BLUES Censored Songs and Hidden Histories

Before traditional American Black music was sanitized, condensed, and recorded for white listeners, it was as raunchy and X-rated as anything in today's gangsta rap, according to this lively history by a prolific music journalist. Elijah Wald's meticulous research is roughly organized around the early-twentieth-century barroom musician Jelly Roll Morton and is performed here with exceptional talent and verve by L.A. narrator Mela Lee. She's great fun to hear--full of expressive energy that resonates with the storyline but never distracts from the author's writing and keen sensibilities. Her appreciation of early Black music and its cultural context matches that of the author, whose writing is full of respect for those musicians and their roles in the history of American pop music. T.W. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: JULY 2024]