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JELLY
ROLL MORTON
pianist, band leader
LIFELINE
1890-1941
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THE
MAN
Jelly Roll Morton
is one of the most colourful of characters in jazz, a musical Gatsby-like
figure. The aroma of the underworld that went with him, the bold bragging
and bluster, his flamboyant, sartorial style and the diamond embedded
in his front tooth, have too often drawn attention away from his achievements,
both as an important and original early jazz
stylist, and, through his interviews with Alan Lomax late
in his life, as an articulate mouthpiece
for the formative years of early jazz.
THE STYLE AND THE MUSIC
Jelly Roll's musical roots were classic midwestern
ragtime and blues, as performed in the honky tonks and
sporting houses of New Orleans. He
was the consummate craftsman of this piano style, and although
the strictures and forms of ragtime remained with Morton throughout
his career, he was able to transcend its limitations. To
judge from his accomplished first recordings, his
style must have developed well before he arrived in Chicago in 1923;
and, although his claims to have invented jazz were ridiculous, he
could claim justifiably to have been an important early evangelist
of its seed. His compositions, as polished
as their performance, stand head and shoulders above those of his
contemporary rivals, and their attention to detail - dynamics,
instrumental effects and combinations, use of texture and timbre,
the balance of solo and ensemble work, even their symphonic aspirations
- mark out Morton as being the first important
jazz composer, and a true precursor of Ellington,
Mingus and Gil
Evans. |
1890
Jelly Roll Morton (Ferdinand Joseph Lemothe) is born in New
Orleans; his family is proudly Creole. Not a great deal is
known of Jelly Roll's childhood years or his formal musical education
and his own recollections are occasionally suspect, although the
New Orleans pianist Tony Jackson is of great influence. His family
virtually disown him when he partakes in New Orleans night life.
1917-22
Settling in Los Angeles, Morton's style is met with considerable
success.
1923-27
These are Jelly Roll's golden years,
time spent in Chicago and extensive touring. He achieves acclaim
through publishing and a series of piano solos, such as King
Porter Stomp and The Pearls, recorded for the Gennett
studios. At the request of Frank Melrose, his publisher, the
Red Hot Peppers - usually a 7- or 8-piece band - are
formed and first record in 1926. The band (its members are usually
of Creole birth and at first include Kid
Ory on trombone and George Mitchell on cornet) is well rehearsed,
accomplished and he employs only reliable and talented musicians:
"You did what Jelly Roll wanted you to do, no more no less," said
Baby Dodds. Some of the immortal classics of the early jazz years
are recorded, Dead Man Blues and Black Bottom Stomp.
1938-40
Alan Lomax, curator of
the Library of Congress folklore archives, and a later biographer
of Jelly Roll, records Morton's memories, and these taped interviews
prompt renewed interest. Morton orchestrates publicity by firing
off letters to various journals, including Down Beat, in
response to a radio programme that suggests that W.C. Handy is
the originator of jazz and blues. At last Morton records again
in 1939 and 1940.
1940-41
Morton is suffering from asthma and a cardiac condition, and he
leaves New York for the warm weather, health and success (he hopes)
of California. His health slides and he dies in 1941.
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1902
According to Jelly Roll, he is playing in the Storyville gaming
houses of New Orleans, although
this could be a little later. Music becomes his "first line of business,"
although he lends his hand to hustling and pool, gambling, pimping,
music publishing, retailing, and, with his wife Anita, running a
club. From about 1904 (or a little later) he embarks on a career
as travelling pianist, in vaudeville and minstrel shows and small
bands, going as far as New York and Los Angeles. During
this time his style develops, and his travels and success no doubt
helped promulgate the nascent jazz idiom.
1928-30
A move to New York coincides with the beginnings of Morton's
decline in popularity: (reluctant) efforts to run a big
band fail, his preference for small New
Orleans ensemble-style bands is falling out of favour and he is
not able to take on board the new orchestral sounds of
Fletcher Henderson and Duke
Ellington.
1930-38
By 1930 work is hard to come by and his contract with Victor Records
is not renewed - though Morton attributes this to conspiracy theories
and voodoo (!), and by 1932 Morton is playing in theatre pits and
running (with little success) a faltering night club in Washington.
"I
myself happened to be the creator of jazz in the year of 1902."
Morton's
outrageous claim in a letter to Down Beat magazine
in 1938, which he signs as
"Jelly Roll Morton, Originator of Jazz and Stomps, Victor
Artist, World's Greatest Hot Tune Writer."
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