Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941) is regarded by many as the first important jazz composer. During his formative years, Morton incorporated into his music the elements of ragtime, blues, hymns, spirituals and popular songs. The melding of these idioms was to become known as "jazz." Morton's fusion of spontaneous improvised jazz and his rehearsed orchestral approach to ensemble jazz rank him with the likes of Duke Ellington, Thelonious Monk and Charles Mingus.

"Jelly Roll Blues" is the fruition of a concept originally proposed to renowned tenor saxophonist and arranger Jack Montrose more than forty years ago by Lester Koenig of Contemporary Records. The AJI Brass Ensemble (seven brass, piano, bass and drums) is extremely proud to premier the Montrose arrangements of these truly classic Morton compositions.