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MMD > Archives > November 2011 > 2011.11.28 > 03Prev  Next


Piano Roll Performances of "Finger Buster"
By John Taber

Hello MMD, Last night I posted two early John Farrell rolls on
YouTube that I got from him in the late 1970's.  On one of his labels
it says "(The Fingerbuster, Willie "The Lion" Smith)".  On the other
is "(The Fingerbreaker, Jelly Roll Morton)".  There seems to be
confusion, even on YouTube, as to who composed what.

John Taber
East Hartford, Connecticut

 [ Hear the John Farrell rolls at http://www.youtube.com/user/pianmn199 
 [
 [ The two (different) compositions were first published as audio
 [ recordings.  Jelly Roll Morton recorded "Finger Buster" in December,
 [ 1938 [ref. 1].  Historian James Dapogny, who transcribed Morton's
 [ piano solos to manuscript [ref. 3], remarks that Morton's piece is
 [ also known as "Fingerbreaker" but no further information is provided
 [ about the alternate title.
 [
 [ Willie "The Lion" Smith recorded _his_ "Finger Buster" in January,
 [ 1939, and again in December, 1950 [ref. 2].
 [
 [ References:
 [ 1. http://www.redhotjazz.com/jellyroll.html 
 [ 2. http://www.redhotjazz.com/thelion.html 
 [ 3. James Dapogny: Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton - The Collected
 [    Piano Music; (C) 1982 Smithsonian Institution Press
 [
 [ -- Robbie


(Message sent Mon 28 Nov 2011, 01:15:52 GMT, from time zone GMT-0800.)

Key Words in Subject:  Buster, Finger, Performances, Piano, Roll

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