Jelly-Roll Morton
| Jelly Roll Morton | |
|---|---|
Morton in 1918
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (possibly spelled Lemott, LaMotte or LaMenthe) |
| Also known as | Jelly Roll Morton |
| Born |
October 20, 1890 New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Died | July 10, 1941 (aged 50) Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres | Ragtime, jazz, jazz blues, Dixieland, swing |
| Occupation(s) | Vaudeville comedian, bandleader, composer, arranger |
| Instruments | Piano |
| Years active | ca. 1900–1941 |
| Associated acts | Red Hot Peppers, New Orleans Rhythm Kings |
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (October 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer who started his career in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Widely recognized as a pivotal figure in early jazz, Morton is perhaps most notable as jazz's first arranger, proving that a genre rooted in improvisation could retain its essential spirit and characteristics when notated. His composition "Jelly Roll Blues", published in 1915, was the first published jazz composition. Morton also wrote the standards "King Porter Stomp", "Wolverine Blues", "Black Bottom Stomp", and "I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say", the last a tribute to New Orleans musicians from the turn of the 20th century.
Notorious for his arrogance and self-promotion as much as he was recognized in his day for his musical talents, Morton claimed to have invented jazz outright in 1902—much to the derision of later musicians and critics. The jazz historian, musician, and composer 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". However, the scholar Katy Martin has argued that Morton's bragging was exaggerated by Alan Lomax in his book Mister Jelly Roll, and this portrayal has influenced public opinion and scholarship on Morton since.
Morton was born into a creole of color family in the Faubourg Marigny neighborhood of downtown New Orleans, Louisiana. Sources differ as to his birth date: a baptismal certificate issued in 1894 lists his date of birth as October 20, 1890; Morton and his half-sisters claimed he was born on September 20, 1885. His World War I draft registration card showed September 13, 1884, but his California death certificate listed his birth as September 20, 1889. He was born to F. P. Lamothe and Louise Monette (written as Lemott and Monett on his baptismal certificate). Eulaley Haco (Eulalie Hécaud) was his godmother. Hécaud helped choose his christening name, Ferdinand. His parents lived in a common-law marriage and were not legally married. No birth certificate has been found to date.
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