Evolution of New Orleans Piano

Exploring New Orleans Piano: The Influence of Jelly Roll Morton

So if you look at Jelly Roll Morton, who was one of the first musicians to really develop the New Orleans style of piano playing, we can hear these kind of anticipations of the bar happening all the time. This is definitely an influence of Afro-Hispanic music.

Anticipations in Jelly Roll Morton's Music

We get something like this, which he does at the end of "King Port Ostomp."

• In the left hand, he's really anticipating these beats:
  • Not necessarily just the bar line, but other beats too.

So, let's slow it down a bit. This kind of anticipation is very much a step on from the ragtime of Scott Joplin, who was definitely paving the way in this direction. Joplin was ragging those melodies by adding syncopations, something they were doing in New Orleans as well.

• Whereas Scott Joplin might do something like this (kind of straight), it feels like a left-right sequence:
  "left, right, left, right, um, cha umcha."

• Jelly Roll would do something different in the left hand. For example:
  "etc."

He's adding these anticipations which keep the music edgy and moving forward, which I find incredibly exciting.

Professor Longhair's Influence

We can see similar elements in the works of Professor Longhair. For example, in "Tipitina," he's really got this accented, pushing feel in the left hand:
1, 2, 3, 4.

• It has a strong sense of anticipation into the one, which is something that runs through much of the New Orleans musical output.

A lot of Professor Longhair's stuff is based on the rumba rhythm:
1, 2 (which has that very strong 2 and T).

You might get something like this, which is very strongly rooted in that kind of Caribbean spirit.

Similarities with Cuban Music

There are many things you can do with this rhythm that Professor Longhair uses.

• Looking at New Orleans piano, we identify all these similarities with Cuban music:
  • Rhythmically
  • Voicings

There's a common usage of voicings based on octaves and fifths in both musical traditions.

Dr. John's Gumbo

Another example of similarities between Cuban music and New Orleans piano can be found in Dr. John's Gumbo album.

• Listen to his version of "Junko Partner."
• There's a little break, a sax break after the first few verses, and behind it, Dr. John is playing these octave patterns that would sound perfectly at home on a Cuban record:
  • These kinds of sounds and rhythms.

Conclusion

So, we see these similarities popping up all over the world of New Orleans piano.

Having briefly looked at this melting pot of New Orleans, particularly the marriage of African, European, and Hispanic culture, I think we can move on and look at some tunes to get you playing New Orleans piano!