Jelly+Roll+Morton+by+Donte

Jelly Roll Morton by Donte Name at birth: Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe Piano player Jelly Roll Morton was a pioneer of modern American jazz. He grew up in New Orleans and began playing in saloons and brothels when he was still a boy. In later years he performed solo and with his band, the Red Hot Peppers, and he is particularly remembered for a series of recordings he made in Chicago for RCA Victor in the 1920s. Morton is often credited with mixing individual improvisation within rehearsed group arrangements, a format which became a staple of jazz. His best-known tunes included //Jelly Roll Blues//, //King Porter Stomp//, and //Black Bottom Stomp//. Morton was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1998 as an "early influence"... Various sources list Morton's birth name as La Mothe, Lematt or Lemott; some list his birth year as 1885... //Jelly's Last Jam//, a musical based on Morton's life, debuted on Broadway in 1991. (born Oct. 20, 1890, New Orleans, La., U.S. — died July 10, 1941, Los Angeles, Calif.) U.S. pianist and the first important composer in jazz. In his youth Morton was apparently active as a gambler, pool shark, and procurer. A pioneer ragtime piano player, he toured the country as a pianist from 1904, making his first recordings in Chicago in 1923 with his ensemble the Red Hot Peppers. An exponent of the New Orleans tradition, Morton achieved success integrating elements of ragtime with improvised and arranged ensemble passages, often on his own compositions such as "King Porter Stomp." By the early 1930s Morton's fame had been overshadowed by that of Louise Armstrong and other emerging innovators.He blamed his death on a voodoo spell.
 * **Born:** 20 October 1890
 * **Birthplace:** Gulfport, Louisiana
 * **Died:** 10 July 1941 (heart failure)
 * **Best Known As:** The composer of //Jelly Roll Blues//

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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS


 * 1) Q. When did Jelly Roll Morton's career hit its peak?

A. At the age of fourteen, he began workingas a piano player in a brothel (or as it was referred to then, a sporting house.) While working there, he was living with his religious church-going great-grandmother and had her convinced that he worked as a night watchman in a barrel factory.In that atmosphere he often sang smutty lyrics and it was at this time that he took the nickname //"Jelly Roll"// which at the time was black slang for the female genitalia.
 * 1) Jelly Roll Morton is particularly remembered for a series of recordings he made in Chicago with his band the Red Hot Peppers, and for RCA Victor in the 1920s.
 * 2) Q. How did Jelly Roll Morton get his nickname?
 * 1) Q. How did Jelly Roll Morton die?


 * 1) He died of a asthma affliction.


 * 1) Q. When did he die?


 * 1) ** Died: ** 10 July 1941


 * 1) Q. Was Jelly Roll Morton French?

A. He was born in Louisiana to a Creole family who probably had French antecedents. By: Donte Lee