Details

Subject(s)

• Morton, Jelly Roll 1890-1941 [Browse]
• Jazz musicians—United States—Biography [Browse]
• African American jazz musicians—Biography [Browse]

Related name

• Gaines, William [Browse]

Summary note

"Jelly's Blues vividly recounts the tumultuous life of Jelly Roll Morton (ca. 1885-1941), born Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe to a large extended family in New Orleans. A virtuoso pianist with a larger-than-life personality, he composed such influential early jazz pieces as "King Porter Stomp" and "New Orleans Blues." By the late 1930s, Jelly Roll Morton was nearly forgotten. Moreover, he was ridiculed by the popular press and robbed of due royalties by unscrupulous music publishers. His reputation at rock bottom, Jelly Roll Morton seemed destined to be remembered more as a flamboyant, diamond-toothed rounder than as the brilliant architect of that new American musical idiom: jazz." "In 1992, the death of a New Orleans memorabilia collector led to the unearthing of a startling archive. Here were unknown later compositions, as well as Morton's final correspondence. Howard Reich and William Gaines later augmented this trove by bringing to light the court, copyright, and Congressional records that detailed Morton's struggle to salvage his reputation, recover lost royalties, and protect the publishing rights of black musicians."--BOOK JACKET.

Notes

"Annotated discography": p. 267-270.

Bibliographic references

Includes bibliographical references (p. 251-262) and index.

ISBN

0306812096

OCLC

52279630

RCP

C - S

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