Jelly Roll Morton

Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton (October 20, 1890 / July 10, 1941) was an American virtuoso pianist, a bandleader, and a composer who 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".

New Orleans
He was (along with Tony Jackson) one of the best regarded pianists in the Storyville District early in the 20th century. Tony Jackson was the main influence on his music; according to Morton, Jackson was the only pianist better than him.

The Library of Congress interviews
In May, 1938, Alan Lomax began recording interviews with Morton for the Library of Congress. The sessions, originally intended as a short interview with musical examples for use by music researchers in the Library of Congress, soon expanded to record more than eight hours of Morton talking and playing piano, in addition to longer interviews which Lomax took notes on but did not record. Despite the low fidelity of these non-commercial recordings, their musical and historical importance attracted jazz fans, and portions have repeatedly been issued commercially. These interviews helped assure Morton's place in jazz history.

Legacy
Two Broadway shows have featured his music, Jelly Roll and Jelly's Last Jam. The first draws heavily on Morton's own words and stories from the Library of Congress interviews. The latter show has created considerable controversy with its very fictionalized and unsympathetic portrayal of Morton, and the creator has been sued by Morton's family.

source: Wikipedia
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