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 101-125 of 178 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Victor | BS-030302 | 10-in. | 11/22/1938 | Jelly-roll blues | Bunny Berigan Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BS-030361 | 10-in. | 12/6/1938 | Milenberg joys | Don Redman Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BS-031805 | 10-in. | 1/19/1939 | Milenberg joys | Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BS-031806 | 10-in. | 1/19/1939 | Milenberg joys | Tommy Dorsey Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Victor | BS-041360 | 10-in. | 9/28/1939 | Climax rag | Jelly Roll Morton ; New Orleans Jazzmen | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-041361 | 10-in. | 9/28/1939 | Don't you leave me here | Jelly Roll Morton ; New Orleans Jazzmen | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer, vocalist, director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-041362 | 10-in. | 9/28/1939 | West End blues | Jelly Roll Morton ; New Orleans Jazzmen | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-041363 | 10-in. | 9/28/1939 | Ballin' the jack | Jelly Roll Morton ; New Orleans Jazzmen | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | vocalist, director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-041456 | 10-in. | 9/14/1939 | Oh, didn't he ramble | Jelly Roll Morton ; New Orleans Jazzmen | Jazz/dance band, with talk | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-041457 | 10-in. | 9/14/1939 | High society | Jelly Roll Morton ; New Orleans Jazzmen | Jazz/dance band | director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-041458 | 10-in. | 9/14/1939 | I thought I heard Buddy Bolden say | Jelly Roll Morton ; New Orleans Jazzmen | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | arranger, vocalist, director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-041459 | 10-in. | 9/14/1939 | Winin' boy blues | Jelly Roll Morton ; New Orleans Jazzmen | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | arranger, vocalist, director, instrumentalist, piano | |
Victor | BS-051224 | 10-in. | 6/4/1940 | Wild man blues | Sidney Bechet ; New Orleans Feetwarmers | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | 80920 | 10-in. | 3/30/1923 | Wolverine blues | Frank Westphal Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | 81302 | 10-in. | 10/15/1923 | London (Café) blues | King Oliver’s Jazz Band | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | 140398 | 10-in. | 2/26/1925 | King Porter stomp | Lanin's Red Heads | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | W140709 | 10-in. | 6/22/1925 | Milenberg joys | Ted Lewis and his Band | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | W141693 | 10-in. | 3/1/1926 | Jelly roll blues | Fowler's Washboard Wonders | Instrumental quartet | composer | |
Columbia | W142981 | 10-in. | 12/2/1926 | Sidewalk blues | Doc Cook ; Dreamland Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | 143181 | 10-in. | 12/13/1926 | Sidewalk blues | Ross Gorman ; Virginians | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | W145760 | 10-in. | 3/13/1928 | Ham and eggs | Johnny Dunn and his Band | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | W145761 | 10-in. | 3/13/1928 | Buffalo blues | Johnny Dunn and his Band | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | W145763 | 10-in. | 3/14/1928 | King Porter stomp | Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer | |
Columbia | W145954 | 10-in. | 4/3/1928 | Jungle blues | Ted Lewis and his Band | Jazz/dance band, with male vocal solo | composer | |
Columbia | W152325 | 10-in. | 12/9/1932 | New King Porter stomp | Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra | Jazz/dance band | composer |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Morton, Jelly Roll," accessed October 5, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/101896.
Morton, Jelly Roll. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 5, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/101896.
"Morton, Jelly Roll." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 5 October 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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