Jelly Roll Morton

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also listed as Jelly Roll Morton and his Red Hot Peppers
Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers ~~~ Jelly-Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers
Jelly Roll Morton (Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe (some sources cite surname as Lemott or La Mothe, born September 20, 1885 (some sources say October 20, 1890), in Gulfport, LA (some sources say New Orleans, LA - died July 10, 1941, in Los Angeles) was an American virtuoso pianist, bandleader, and composer of songs including “Whining Boy Blues,” “King Porter Stomp,” “The Pearls” and “The Crave , ”Alabama Bound,” “Make Me a Pallet on Your Floor,” “My Gal Sal,” and various other rags, blues, stomps, marches and stride numbers.

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” was the first published jazz composition, in 1915. Morton is also notable for naming and popularizing the “Spanish tinge” (habanera rhythm and tresillo), and for penning such standards as “Wolverine Blues”, “Black Bottom Stomp”, and “I Thought I Heard Buddy Bolden Say”, the latter a tribute to New Orleans personalities from the turn of the 19th century to 20th century.
Reputed for his arrogance and self-promotion as often as 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.

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