Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941)

[Jelly Roll Morton -- third from left -- at 28 (1918)]

Jelly Roll Morton (1890-1941)



[Jelly Roll Morton at 30 (1920)]

Black Bottom Stomp (1926)



[Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Chili Peppers]



[Jelly Roll Morton at 36 (1926)]

Dead Man Blues (1926)



Grandpa's Spells (1926)

Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton (October 20, 1890 - July 10, 1941) was an American jazz pianist, bandleader and composer whom 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, and during his life he was regarded as a source of rare historical information, despite his penchant for hyperbole.





[A very beefy Jelly Roll Morton in The Legend of 1900]

[8891 Prokofiev / 8890 Morton / 8888 Steiner]