When did Jelly Roll Morton die?

Answer 1

Jelly Roll Morton (Ferdinand LaMothe 1885-1941) was a legendary Jazz pianist.

Jelly Roll Morton was the first great composer and piano player of Jazz. He was a talented arranger who wrote special scores that took advantage of the three-minute limitations of the 78 rpm records. But more than all these things, he was a real character whose spirit shines brightly through history, like his diamond studded smile. As a teenager Jelly Roll Morton worked in the whorehouses of Storyville as a piano player. From 1904 to 1917 Jelly Roll rambled around the South. He worked as a gambler, pool shark, pimp, vaudeville comedian and as a pianist. He was an important transitional figure between ragtime and jazz piano styles. He played on the West Coast from 1917 to 1922 and then moved to Chicago and where he hit his stride. Morton's 1923 and 1924 recordings of piano solos for the Gennett label were very popular and influential. He formed the band the Red Hot Peppers and made a series of classic records for Victor. The recordings he made in Chicago featured some of the best New Orleans sidemen like Kid Ory, Barney Bigard, Johnny Dodds, Johnny St. Cyr and Baby Dodds. Morton relocated to New York in 1928 and continued to record for Victor until 1930. His New York version of The Red Hot Peppers featured sidemen like Bubber Miley, Pops Foster and Zutty Singleton. Like so many of the Hot Jazz musicians, the Depression was hard on Jelly Roll. Hot Jazz was out of style. The public preferred the smoother sounds of the big bands. He fell upon hard times after 1930 and even lost the diamond he had in his front tooth, but ended up playing piano in a dive bar in Washington D.C. In 1938 Alan Lomax recorded him in for series of interviews about early Jazz for the Library of Congress, but it wasn't until a decade later that these interviews were released to the public. Jelly Roll died just before the Dixieland revival rescued so many of his peers from musical obscurity. He blamed his declining health on a voodoo spell.

Answer 2

At the age of fourteen, he began working as 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.

Answer 3

He was a great rag time pianist, composer, and bandleader. He also claimed to have outright invented Jazz Music in 1902, although this is obviously exaggerated, given the large numbers of jazz performers who began their careers in the early 20th Century.

Answer 4

Jelly roll - (1) simple sponge cake rolled up with jelly (jam) inside, called a Swiss roll in the UK; (2) male organ (for obvious reasons). JRM was not noted for being shy about his skills.

Answer 5

Jelly Roll Morton was born Ferdinand LaMothe on September 20, 1885 and died on July 10, 1941. Jelly Roll Morton would have been 55 years old at the time of his death.

Answer 6

Because he gave "birth" to Jazz which is still around today

Answer 7

1. His real name was Fernidad Joseph Mothe2. He was born October 20th 1890

3. He died July 10th 1941 at only 51 years old

Answer 8

Jelly Roll Morton died on July 10, 1941 at the age of 55.

Answer 9

Ragtime and jazz music.