Jelly Roll Morton | |
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![]() Morton c. 1927 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe |
Born | c. [1] New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. | September 20, 1890
Died | July 10, 1941 Los Angeles, California, U.S. | (aged 50)
Genres | Jazz, ragtime |
Occupation(s) | Musician, composer, arranger |
Instrument | Piano |
Years active | 1904–1941 |
Labels | Victor, Gennett |
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (né Lemott,[2] later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent.[3] Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential characteristics when notated.[4] His composition "Jelly Roll Blues", published in 1915, was one of the first published jazz compositions. He also claimed to have invented the genre.[5]
Morton also wrote "King Porter Stomp", "Wolverine Blues", "Black Bottom Stomp", and "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say", the last being a tribute to New Orleans musicians from the turn of the 20th century.
Morton's claim to have invented jazz in 1902 was criticized.[3] Music critic Scott Yanow wrote, "Jelly Roll Morton did himself a lot of harm posthumously by exaggerating his worth ... Morton's accomplishments as an early innovator are so vast that he did not really need to stretch the truth."[3] Gunther Schuller says of Morton's "hyperbolic assertions" that there is "no proof to the contrary" and that Morton's "considerable accomplishments in themselves provide reasonable substantiation.”[6]
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