Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton

Ferdinand Joseph LaMenthe was born on October 20, 1890 in New Orleans, Louisiana. At an early age, his father abandoned him, and only a few years later, his mother passed away. Consequently, his aunt, uncle, grandmother, and great-grandmother took turns taking care of him. Ferdinand was a Creole--a mix of African, French, and Spanish. He took on his step-father's (Ed Morton) last name so that he would not be called "Frenchy" by his peers. His nickname, "Jelly Roll" (which at that time held sexual connotations), was picked up later in his life when he had established a reputation of being a ladies' man. Ferdinand was raised as a Roman Catholic, but was later introduced to the voodoo tradition by his godmother. His ties with voodoo inevitably compelled him to make bizarre decisions later in his life.

Music had always been a part of Jelly Roll Morton. As a toddler, young Ferdinand would beat on pots and pans. He then learned the guitar and banjo. By the age of ten, Jelly Roll was starting to play his main instrument, the piano. At twelve years of age, he began to play in the brothels of Storyville. Jelly Roll spent his days going to the famous red-light district, playing everything from popular ragtime pieces to French quadrilles, and becoming acquainted with various madames and prostitutes. Once his grandmother found out about this lifestyle, she kicked him out of her house. As a result, Jelly Roll had to resort to additional activities to earn a decent living. He soon became an exceptional card hustler, pool shark, and comedian, in addition to being a pimp in his spare time. However, music was still his main line of business.

In 1904, Jelly Roll took his show on the road. He traveled to New York City, Memphis, St. Louis, Kansas City, and other various cities in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. He then spent five years playing in Los Angeles. During these musical ventures, a new style of music began to evolve from Jelly Roll's performances. His style of playing was predominantly characterized by African American elements such as ragtime, blues, field hollers, spirituals. Elements of Hispanic/Caribbean music and white popular music were also present in his style. Jelly Roll also began to work with other musicians in bands and small ensembles.

In 1922, Jelly Roll moved to Chicago--the new, thriving center of jazz. It is during this period in Chicago where Jelly Roll established himself as the first significant jazz composer. Unlike most jazz musicians of his time, Jelly Roll envisioned jazz from the compositional perspective and shunned the ubiquitous collective jam sessions that were prevalent during this period. His works proved that composition and well-rehearsed arrangements were indeed compatible with the spontaneous nature of jazz, and that such an emphasis could even enhance improvisation. Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus, and other jazz legends shared Jelly Roll's perception of jazz.

Jelly Roll had a new interest--documenting his music. Gennet Records and the Melrose Bothers Music Company collaborated together to introduce the Chicago jazz scene to a national audience. Melrose Brothers hired Jelly Roll to write piano pieces for them to sell at their music stores. Gennet Records and Jelly Roll produced the first substantial body of recorded piano solos available to the public. In addition to his various solo and ensemble recordings, Jelly Roll recorded three major collections of his work: the Gennet recordings, a body of ensemble selections on Victor Records with his Red Hot Peppers, and his final collection of solos produced by the Library of Congress and Alan Lomax, his biographer. The self-proclaimed inventor of jazz was now the first great composer of jazz ever to be recorded.

As well as being a brilliant piano soloist, Jelly Roll was an important bandleader. He developed ragtime and instrumental blues into a new ensemble style which embraced collective polyphony, solo improvisations, and ever-changing textures and timbres.

Having thrived in the '20s, Jelly Roll encountered hard times during the '30s. His style was deemed antiquated as jazz enthusiasts preferred the homophonically harmonized big band swing style. Compounded with an economic depression, the man who had a diamond set in his gold teeth was now financially unstable. He settled in Washington, D.C. after a brief stint in New York. Jelly Roll's playing gradually ceased as he focused his attention on managing his own jazz club. Unfortunately, his health began to deteriorate--Jelly Roll blamed a voodoo curse for his physical suffering. His inevitable poor health was a tragic end to such a wonderful career. Jelly Roll died on July 10, 1941 in Los Angeles.
http://library.thinkquest.org/18602/history/classic/fmorton/fmorton.html