Miroslav Vitous
Czech bass guitarist, jazz musician and contrabassist
Jelly Roll Morton was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer who is considered jazz’s first arranger. He claimed to have invented the genre in 1902 and composed notable works like ‘Jelly Roll Blues’ and ‘King Porter Stomp’. Although his claims were criticized, his contributions to early jazz are widely recognized as significant.
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About the Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (ne Lemott, 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. Morton was jazz’s first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential characteristics when notated. His composition “Jelly Roll Blues”, published in 1915, was one of the first published jazz compositions. He also claimed to have invented the genre.
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. 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.” 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.”
Frequently Asked Questions
Jelly Roll Morton was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent, who is considered jazz’s first arranger.
Jelly Roll Morton’s professional name was Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, though he was born as Ferdinand Joseph Lemott and later changed his name to Morton.
Jelly Roll Morton was born around September 20, 1890.
Jelly Roll Morton composed notable works like ‘Jelly Roll Blues’, ‘King Porter Stomp’, ‘Wolverine Blues’, ‘Black Bottom Stomp’, and ‘I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say’.
Jelly Roll Morton claimed to have invented the jazz genre in 1902, but this claim was criticized by music critics, who acknowledged his significant contributions to early jazz without agreeing that he invented the entire genre.
Jelly Roll Morton proved that a genre rooted in improvisation like jazz could retain its essential characteristics when notated, making him a pioneer in jazz arrangement and composition.
Jelly Roll Morton died on July 10, 1941.
3 Quotes by Jelly Roll Morton
- 1.
Jazz music is to be played sweet, soft, plenty rhythm.
Jelly Roll MortonAmerican ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader and composer
- 2.
Get up from that piano. You hurtin’ its feelings.
Jelly Roll MortonAmerican ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader and composer
- 3.
I have been robbed of three million dollars all told. Everyone today is playing my stuff and I don’t even get credit. Kansas City style, Chicago style, New Orleans style hell, they’re all Jelly Roll style.
Jelly Roll MortonAmerican ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader and composer