Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton (September 20, 1885 or October 20, 1890-July 10, 1941) was an American virtuoso pianist, bandleader and composer who some call the first true composer of jazz music. Morton was a colorful character who liked to generate publicity for himself by bragging. His business card referred to him as the Originator of Jazz, and he was and is valued as a source of rare information about early jazz, despite his penchant for hyperbole. Wikipedia
NPR's Basic Jazz Record Library: Jelly Roll Morton NPR's Murray Horwitz and jazz critic and poet AB Spellman recommend An Introduction to Jelly Roll Morton His Best Recordings, 1926-1939 (Best of Jazz). www.pbs.org/jazz/biography/artist_id_morton_jelly_roll.htm
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Jelly Roll Morton. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_Roll_Morton
