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Jelly Roll Morton

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Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton (October 20, 1890 / July 10, 1941) was an American virtuoso pianist, a bandleader, and a composer who some call the first true composer of jazz music. Morton was a colorful character who liked to generate publicity for himself by bragging. His business card referred to him as the “Originator of Jazz”.

New Orleans
He was (along with Tony Jackson) one of the best regarded pianists in the Storyville District early in the 20th century. Tony Jackson was the main influence on his music; according to Morton, Jackson was the only pianist better than him.

The Library of Congress interviews
In May, 1938, Alan Lomax began recording interviews with Morton for the Library of Congress. The sessions, originally intended as a short interview with musical examples for use by music researchers in the Library of Congress, soon expanded to record more than eight hours of Morton talking and playing piano, in addition to longer interviews which Lomax took notes on but did not record. Despite the low fidelity of these non-commercial recordings, their musical and historical importance attracted jazz fans, and portions have repeatedly been issued commercially. These interviews helped assure Morton’s place in jazz history.

Legacy
Two Broadway shows have featured his music, Jelly Roll and Jelly’s Last Jam. The first draws heavily on Morton’s own words and stories from the Library of Congress interviews. The latter show has created considerable controversy with its very fictionalized and unsympathetic portrayal of Morton, and the creator has been sued by Morton’s family.

Tagged as:

jazz, new orleans, blues, ragtime, piano
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neilbombd wrote:
November 2008

I named my cat Jelly after him.

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LillydelaMojito wrote:
November 2008

His character appears in a movie "The legend of 1900" - in brilliant duel of two pianists

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asmoron wrote:
October 2008

i still can't wrap my head around the fact murder ballad was recorded in 1938

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drkl0pek wrote:
September 2008

Great stuff!

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SYL2Oh wrote:
July 2008

Doctor Jazz ! ! !

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icebluej11 wrote:
May 2008

this guys a monster... i cant stop tapping my feet

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SYL2Oh wrote:
April 2008

Original Orchestral Jazz,Stomp & Swing Creator ! World's greatest hot tune writer . . .

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blusardine wrote:
March 2008

sends me.

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boruc1991 wrote:
February 2008

great man !

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hk94 wrote:
October 2007

He was a character.

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tbwngbkeith wrote:
August 2007

pretty cool stuff

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neilbombd wrote:
April 2007

I fucking love Jelly Roll Morton.

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kastchei wrote:
April 2007

Hah, there should be a warning for explicit lyrics on the 'Library Of Congress' recordings!

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neilbombd wrote:
April 2007

Man, take that goat outta here.

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IanAction wrote:
March 2007

Breaks. Good Clean Breaks.

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Keliiiiiii wrote:
March 2007

I'm sorry boss, I got sidewalk blues!

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neilbombd wrote:
December 2006

Working through the Library Of Congress interviews at the moment, absolutely tremendous stuff, recommended.

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drowsybaker wrote:
November 2006

Oh, since you asked so nicely...

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shoyland wrote:
November 2006

Please... with sugar on top.

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shoyland wrote:
September 2006

Vote on his pics.

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