JELLY
ROLL!
"Jelly Roll! The Music
And The Man" was developed by its multi-talented star Vernel
Bagneris and his musical director Morten Gunnar Larsen, one of the
top ragtime and Jelly Roll Morton pianists in the world. Drawing
on Jelly Roll's long series of interviews for the Library of Congress
in 1938 the show uses Morton's actual words combined with a painstakingly
accurate musical score all transcribed from the actual recordings.
The editing is cleverly handled to to fit many hours worth of interview
material into a one-act 80 minute show tracing Morton's life and
career. Much of the music is left intact and unedited with Larsen
either playing solo piano or accompanying Vernel's vocals or his
wonderfully personal "eccentric" dance style.
I was lucky enough to sub
for Morten Larsen for a month during the show's long off-Broadway
New York run and to be featured in five different regional theater
productions across the country starting in 1995. I also played for
a portion of the 1997 U.S. road tour. In addition to Vernel Bagneris
I worked with many other fine "Jelly Rolls" including
Marion Caffey, Obba Babatunde, Kevin Ramsey and Ronn K. Smith.
"Jelly Roll! The Music And The Man" was developed by its multi-talented star Vernel Bagneris and his musical director Morten Gunnar Larsen, one of the top ragtime and Jelly Roll Morton pianists in the world. Drawing on Jelly Roll's long series of interviews for the Library of Congress in 1938 the show uses Morton's actual words combined with a painstakingly accurate musical score all transcribed from the actual recordings. The editing is cleverly handled to to fit many hours worth of interview material into a one-act 80 minute show tracing Morton's life and career. Much of the music is left intact and unedited with Larsen either playing solo piano or accompanying Vernel's vocals or his wonderfully personal "eccentric" dance style.
I was lucky enough to sub
for Morten Larsen for a month during the show's long off-Broadway
New York run and to be featured in five different regional theater
productions across the country starting in 1995. I also played for
a portion of the 1997 U.S. road tour. In addition to Vernel Bagneris
I worked with many other fine "Jelly Rolls" including
Marion Caffey, Obba Babatunde, Kevin Ramsey and Ronn K. Smith.
Kaufman Theater, 42nd St., NYC.
Performing with
"Jelly Roll" creator and star, Vernel Bagneris- a last
minute addition to the poster...
Performing with Obba Babatunde as Jelly Roll in
Philadelphia, 1996
Obba Babatunde as Jelly Roll, Philadelphia, 1996
with Ronn K. Smith as Jelly Roll, Arkansas
Repertory Theater, Little Rock, 1998
Arkansas Repertory Theater, Little Rock, 1998
Set for "Jelly Roll!",
Little Rock, 1998
Backstage at the Crossroads Theater
with Vernel Bagneris & crew
New Brunswick, NJ,
1996
Jelly Roll Morton gravesite,
Los Angeles, CA, 2002
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