Morton, Ferdinand

Morton, (Ferdinand Joseph) “Jelly Roll”

(1890–1941) jazz musician; born in New Orleans, La. A nomadic figure, legendary braggart, and self-proclaimed "creator of jazz in 1902," he was actually an important pianist and prolific composer who recorded many landmarks of small group classic jazz with his Red Hot Peppers in the 1920s. His colorful life story, related to Alan Lomax of the Library of Congress in 1939, was published as Mister Jelly Roll in 1950.