Died On This Date (July 19, 2002) Alan Lomax / Music Historian
themusicsover Alan Lomax
January 31, 1915 – July 19, 2002
Alan Lomax was an ethnomusicologist who, like his sister, Bess Lomax, followed in the footsteps of his father, John A. Lomax by documenting folk music around the world in the form of field recordings. After he got out of college during the ’30s, the younger Lomax went to work archiving folk music at the Library of Congress. Around this time, he traveled through the southern states of America to record the local blues and folk musicians. While visiting a Louisiana prison, he discovered Lead Belly. Besides making field recordings, Lomax interviewed countless music pioneers. That list includes Muddy Waters, Jelly Roll Morton, and Woody Guthrie. He also penned numerous best selling folk music history book. During the ’50s, Lomax traveled Europe in search of its hidden folk music. In all, he is said to have recorded thousands of songs. Alan Lomax was 87 when he passed away on July 19, 2002.
What You Should Own
Jelly Roll Morton is considered Jazz’s first great composer and by at least himself, the inventor of jazz. Regardless, his contribution to the form cannot be denied. Starting out in New Orleans, reportedly playing the local bordellos as a teenager, Morton soon hit the road landing in Los Angeles, Chicago and finally New York where his reputation as a braggart kept him from landing the sidemen he wanted, adversely effecting his career. He did make some outstanding recordings though, but he never was able to get the acclaim he deserved until after his death, again, likely due to his reputation. Jelly Roll Morton died as a result of ongoing asthma troubles at just 50. His place in American music was finally recognized in the coming years when New Orleans jazz went through a revival.
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