Person · Male

Jelly Roll Morton

From: New Orleans, United States
Active: 1885–1941
Releases: 140

jazz
ragtime
big band
blues
dixieland
piano blues

About

Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (né Lemott, later Morton; c. October 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American blues and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer of Louisiana Creole descent. 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." On the other hand, 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.”

From Jelly Roll Morton on Wikipedia, under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Member of

Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers now eponymous
Jelly Roll Morton and His Orchestra now piano
Jelly‐Roll Morton’s Stomp Kings now
Jelly‐Roll Morton’s Steamboat Four now
Jelly‐Roll Morton’s Jazz Band now
Jelly‐Roll Morton’s Kings of Jazz now
Jelly-Roll Morton Trio now eponymous
Jelly‐Roll Morton’s Incomparables now
Jelly Roll Morton’s New Orleans Jazzmen now eponymous
Levee Serenaders now piano

Discography

Albums 11

EPs 1

Treasures of North American Negro Music, Volume 4 1960

Singles 35

Compilations 90

Showing 60 of 90. See them all on MusicBrainz

Other 3

Conductor position

Jelly Roll Morton’s New Orleans Jazzmen now

Also known as

Ferd (Jelly Roll) Morton · Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton · Ferdinand Joseph LaMenthe · Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe · Ferdinand Joseph LaMotte · Ferdinand Joseph Lemott · Ferdinand Joseph Morton · Frank Morton · Jelly Roll Morton Trio · Jelly Rolly Morton Trio · Jellyroll Morton · Jelly‐Roll Morton · Jelly‐Roll Morton Trio · Morton · Morton, Jelly Roll

Identifiers

MusicBrainz: 3d094919-071f-4070-95dc-e1f350e4a5f3
ISNI: 0000000385651146
IPI: 00021585796

Data from MusicBrainz, saved 7 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.