Jelly Roll Morton

Biography

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.

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