Mister Jelly Roll
Must be the New Orleans trip fever, because I’m finally writing up a great book that I found at a used book store ages ago.
The book is called Mister Jelly Roll, and it’s about the famed early boogie woogie pianist Jelly Roll Morton. Morton played all over the United States in the first forty years of the 19002, but was born and raised in New Orleans.
Mister Jelly Roll cover
Alan Lomax, the author of the book, might be familiar to you for his ethnomusicology work and folklore efforts. Mister Jelly Roll is one of the many oral histories Lomax collected from famed musicians of the early 20th century.
Being an oral history, it’s all you can do to take Morton as his word. He’s a larger than life character, with a pretty strong self-pronounced claim for being the “father of jazz.”
He certainly did originate early arrangements of jazz music, and helped to popularize them all over the U.S. through a grueling tour schedule. Whether or not he is the “father of jazz,” Morton’s life story takes you through marriages, success, failure, small clubs, big band halls, racism, and impressive musical creativity.
The book is illustrated by David Stone Martin, whose strong graphic lines can be found on many jazz album covers of the day. The drawings, as well as the musical notes included in the appendix, make the book a fully engaging historical document. Recommended for music history buffs.
Want more?
Check out the original Time Magazine review of the book here (1950)
Jelly Roll videos: Hesitation Blues, Crazy Chords, and the Steamboat Stomp.
More illustration by David Stone Martin:
Mister Jelly Roll, Guide to New Orleans around 1900
Mister Jelly Roll, illustrations by David Stone Martin