Jelly Roll Morton Biography - A Very Quick Guide

American pianist, composer and bandleader Jelly Roll Morton was born Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe in 1890 in New Orleans, a city whose musical culture shaped his early life. He worked in the city’s brothels and dance halls from a young age, playing a mixture of ragtime, blues and early jazz. By the 1910s he was travelling widely across the United States, developing a polished piano style and composing pieces that blended written structure with improvisation.

Morton was one of the first musicians to notate and publish jazz compositions, including King Porter Stomp, Jelly Roll Blues, and Wolverine Blues. His recordings with the Red Hot Peppers in the mid-1920s are regarded as landmarks of early jazz ensemble writing. Although his career declined during the Depression, later recognition re-established him as a key figure in the development of jazz. He died in 1941, but his music remains central to the early jazz repertoire.