Red Hot Peppers was a recording jazz band led by Jelly Roll Morton

Jelly Roll Morton

Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe , known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer....

 from 1926-1930. It was a seven- or eight-piece band formed in Chicago that recorded for Victor

RCA Records

RCA Records is one of the flagship labels of Sony Music Entertainment. The RCA initials stand for Radio Corporation of America , which was the parent corporation from 1929 to 1985 and a partner from 1985 to 1986.RCA's Canadian unit is Sony's oldest label...

 and featured the best New Orleans-style freelance musicians available, including cornetist George Mitchell

George Mitchell (jazz musician)

George Mitchell was a cornet player active in the 1920s.In 1926 he recorded with the New Orleans Wanderers and New Orleans Bootblacks , taking the place of the unavailable Louis Armstrong, and shortly afterwards recorded with Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers...

, trombonist Kid Ory

Kid Ory

Edward "Kid" Ory was a jazz trombonist and bandleader. He was born in Woodland Plantation near LaPlace, Louisiana.-Biography:...

, clarinetists Omer Simeon

Omer Simeon

Omer Victor Simeon was an American jazz clarinetist. He also played soprano, alto, and baritone saxophone and bass clarinet....

 and Johnny Dodds

Johnny Dodds

Johnny Dodds was an American New Orleans based jazz clarinetist and alto saxophonist, best known for his recordings under his own name and with bands such as those of Joe "King" Oliver, Jelly Roll Morton, Lovie Austin and Louis Armstrong. Dodds was also the older brother of drummer Warren "Baby"...

, banjoists Johnny St. Cyr

Johnny St. Cyr

Johnny St. Cyr was an American jazz banjoist and guitarist.St. Cyr was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is most commonly remembered as a member of Louis Armstrong's Hot Five and Hot Seven bands....

 and Bud Scott

Bud Scott

Bud Scott was an American jazz banjoist. He was one of the earliest musicians associated with the New Orleans jazz scene....

, double bass player John Lindsay, and drummers Andrew Hilaire and Baby Dodds

Baby Dodds

Warren "Baby" Dodds was a jazz drummer born in New Orleans, Louisiana."Baby" Dodds was the younger brother of clarinetist Johnny Dodds. He is regarded as one of the very best jazz drummers of the pre-big band era, and one of the most important early jazz drummers...

.

A number of Morton's best piano solos can also be heard on these recordings.

In 1928, Morton moved to New York, where he continued to make recordings under the name Red Hot Peppers, but collaborated with musicians from his regular band or from other orchestras. By 1930, the name Red Hot Peppers was no longer used.

Recordings made by the Red Hot Peppers constituted a significant contribution to the race records industry, at its height in the 1920s and 1930s. The masterful blend of composition and improvisation demonstrated by Morton and his colleagues set a precedent for early jazz.

Recording History

• "Deadman Blues" (Jelly Roll Morton) 9-21-1926 Chicago, Illinois Victor
• "Black Bottom Stomp" (Jelly Roll Morton) 9-15-1926 Chicago, Illinois Victor
• "Original Jelly-Roll Blues
  Jelly Roll Blues
  "Original Jelly Roll Blues," usually shortened to and known as "Jelly Roll Blues," is an early jazz fox-trot composed by Jelly Roll Morton. He recorded it first as a piano solo in Richmond, Indiana, in 1924, and then with his Red Hot Peppers in Chicago two years later, titled as it was originally...
  
  " (Jelly Roll Morton) 12-16-1926 Chicago, Illinois Bluebird
• "Doctor Jazz" (King Oliver / Walter Melrose) 12-16-1926 Chicago, Illinois Victor