Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (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. 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". |
Birth and Death Data: Born October 20, 1890 (Gulfport), Died July 10, 1941 (Los Angeles)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1921 - 1940
Roles Represented in DAHR: piano, composer, leader, director, vocalist, speaker, lyricist, songwriter, arranger
Notes: Some disc labels credit as Ferd. Morton.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 178 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | B-28459 | 10-in. | 9/10/1923 | Wolverine blues | Benson Orchestra of Chicago ; Don Bestor | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | B-31143 | 10-in. | 11/4/1924 | King Porter stomp | Benson Orchestra of Chicago ; Don Bestor | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BVE-33379 | 10-in. | 9/14/1925 | Milenberg joys | Busse's Buzzards | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BVE-36239 | 10-in. | 9/15/1926 | Black bottom stomp | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | composer, instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-36240 | 10-in. | 9/15/1926 | Smoke-house blues | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-36241 | 10-in. | 9/15/1926 | The chant | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-36283 | 10-in. | 9/21/1926 | Sidewalk blues | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band, with talk | composer, speaker, instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-36284 | 10-in. | 9/21/1926 | Dead man blues | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band, with talk | composer, speaker, instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-36285 | 10-in. | 9/21/1926 | Steamboat stomp | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band, with talk | composer, speaker, instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-37238 | 10-in. | 12/14/1926 | Midnight mama | Kansas City Orchestra ; Bennie Moten | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BVE-37254 | 10-in. | 12/16/1926 | Someday sweetheart | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-37255 | 10-in. | 12/16/1926 | Grandpa's spells | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | composer, instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-37256 | 10-in. | 12/16/1926 | Original Jelly-Roll | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, piano, composer, leader | |
Victor | BVE-37257 | 10-in. | 12/16/1926 | Doctor Jazz stomp | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-37258 | 10-in. | 12/16/1926 | Cannon ball | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | composer, instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-38627 | 10-in. | 6/4/1927 | Hyena stomp | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band, with laughing | composer, instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-38628 | 10-in. | 6/4/1927 | Billy goat stomp | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band, with goat imitations | composer, instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-38629 | 10-in. | 6/4/1927 | Wild man blues | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | composer, speaker, instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-38630 | 10-in. | 6/4/1927 | Jungle blues | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | composer, instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-38661 | 10-in. | 6/10/1927 | Beale Street blues | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, piano, leader | |
Victor | BVE-38662 | 10-in. | 6/10/1927 | The pearls | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | instrumentalist, piano, composer, leader | |
Victor | BVE-38663 | 10-in. | 6/10/1927 | Wolverine blues | Jelly Roll Morton | Jazz/dance ensemble | composer, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-38664 | 10-in. | 6/10/1927 | Mr. Jelly Lord | Jelly Roll Morton | Jazz/dance ensemble | composer, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BVE-43655 | 10-in. | 4/19/1928 | Sweetheart o' mine | Johnny Marvin | Male vocal solo, with orchestra | composer | |
Victor | BVE-45619 | 10-in. | 6/11/1928 | Georgia swing | Jelly Roll Morton ; Red Hot Peppers | Jazz/dance band | composer, instrumentalist, piano, leader |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Morton, Jelly Roll," accessed November 22, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101896.
Morton, Jelly Roll. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 22, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/101896.
"Morton, Jelly Roll." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 22 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Jelly Roll Morton
Discogs: Jelly Roll Morton
Allmusic: Jelly Roll Morton
Grove: Jelly Roll Morton
IMSLP: Jelly Roll Morton
IMDb: Jelly Roll Morton
Britannica: Jelly Roll Morton
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Morton, Jelly Roll, 1890-1941 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n50007929
Wikidata: Jelly Roll Morton - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q317128
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/245354940
MusicBrainz: Jelly Roll Morton - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/3d094919-071f-4070-95dc-e1f350e4a5f3
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