George Winston: Dirty, Dirty, Dirty... George Plays Jelly Roll (2006)

Ken Dryden

Columnist since 2000

Ken has collected jazz for over three decades and been a jazz journalist since 1988.

Recent articles (222 total)

Published: April 1, 2006

George Winston: Dirty, Dirty, Dirty... George Plays Jelly Roll

Jazz critics have savaged George Winston's lightweight New Age solo piano recordings, especially the late Martin Williams, who once told a woman whom he just met, "Give me fifteen minutes and I'll teach you to play piano as well as George Winston... and I don't play piano... Likewise, Winston's recordings of Vince Guaraldi's beloved compositions for the Peanuts cartoon specials were hampered by his inability to do much more than vamp once he had played the theme to each song.

But in addition to teaching himself Hawaiian slack key guitar, Winston has been studying early jazz piano with Morton specialist Huck Twohig for several years and has played a few of Morton's songs for friends at private parties. This CD was recorded at such an affair, with Winston also assuming the swaggering attitude of Jelly Roll Morton, even if he isn't as accomplished a pianist, composer or singer as the New Orleans legend.

Winston even takes a swipe at Martin Williams in his vocal version of "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say, substituting the late critic's name in the first verse: "I thought I heard Martin Williams say / You're dirty and you sure can't play. His unexpurgated vocal version of "Make Me a Pallet on the Floor, full of obscenities, just like Jelly Roll's transcriptions for Alan Lomax, adds a funny twist at the end, as he jokingly thanks his host by quoting Jelly Roll's frequent interview comment (in the Library of Congress recordings) to Lomax, "This whiskey is tremendous!

Classic jazz it isn't, but you have to give credit to George Winston for trying to expand his rather limited musical horizons.

Track Listing: Black Bottom Stomp; King Porter Stomp; Kansas City Stomp; Shreveport Stomp; Billy Goat Stomp; Grandpa�s Spells; Dead Man Blues; Winin� Boy Blues; Milenberg Joys; I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say; Dirty, Dirty, Dirty; Make Me a Pallet on the Floor.

Personnel: George Winston: piano; Huck Twohig: jazz piano coach, liner notes; Edie Ott: producer.

Record Label: Stomp Out
Style: Dixieland/New Orleans/Swing