Jelly's Blues: The Life, Music, And Redemption Of Jelly Roll Morton

319 Pages·2003·2.434 MB·English

by  Howard Reich, William M. Gaines, William Gaines

“A standout achievement . . . redeems a
misunderstood life . . . an invaluable
record of Morton's brilliant rise
and bitter fall.” —Boston Globe
The Life, Music, and Redemption of Jelly Roll Morton
JELLY’S BLUES
Howard Reich & William Gaines
Praise for JELLY’S BLUES
“[Reich and Gaines] have rescued the real man from the dustbin of
history.”
—San Francisco Chronicle
“Remarkable ... the first to offer a truly fresh, clear-eyed view of
the musician’s career.”
—Houston Chronicle
“A biography-with-attitude.”
—Baltimore Sun
“It is satisfying to at last have Morton’s whole life documented in a
single comprehensive volume.”
—New York Sun
“The authors argue persuasively that Morton does deserve credit
for, in effect, inventing jazz.”
—San Jose Mercury News
“Combines a jazz lover’s feel for Morton’s music with a detective’s
keen eye for biographical detail ... an engaging portrait.”
—San Francisco Bay Guardian
“Offer[s] much insight into [a] complex subject—in many respects
the father of written jazz—which is missing from earlier Morton
biographies.”
—Library Journal, starred review
“An important, vindicatory contribution to music history, restoring
Morton to the high station he deserves in American jazz.”
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review
“Evoking the soulfulness of Jelly Roll Morton and his hometown
of New Orleans, Reich and Gaines offer a comprehensive and
engaging biography of one of the twentieth century’s most inspired
and dedicated composers. With the help of previously unavailable
archival materials, we learn of the many tragedies and ultimate
triumphs of Morton.”
—Wynton Marsalis
“At last! Here is a book that reveals the real Jelly Roll. The
brilliance, the human frailty, courage in the face of adversity while
developing the survival skills necessary to negotiate both the
positive and negative conditions of his environment. Kudos to Reich
and Gaines for their dedication and foresight in bringing this truly
American story to the public.”
—Ellis L. Marsalis, Jr.
“This wonderful biography of a jazz original is the definitive one.
Not since Alan Lomax’s conversations with Jelly Roll Morton years
ago have I been so moved. Howard Reich and William Gaines have
given jazz aficionados a real gift.”
—Studs Terkel
“Jelly’s Blueshas documented the life and contributions of Jelly
Roll Morton better than all the collected information I have read
about him. I am grateful to the authors for this revelation. This
book will surely redeem Jelly Roll’s deserved place in the annals of
American music.”
—Dave Brubeck
“At last, we have a book that celebrates Morton’s life, his struggles,
and his contributions to art, a book that relies on historical facts
rather than the overblown myths that have served to degrade his
place in American music history.”
—Marcus Roberts
“Here is a truly vibrant and fascinating story of the brilliant
musician and composer Jelly Roll Morton. Howard Reich and
William Gaines shine the spotlight on this amazing man in a new
way. They have brought Jelly to his rightful place in musical history,
with their searching, detailed analysis of his compositions, and they
bring his luminous playing to life.”
—Marian McPartland
JELLY’S BLUES
The Life, Music, and
Redemption of
JELLY ROLL MORTON
Howard Reich and
William Gaines
DA CAPO PRESS
A Member of the
Perseus Books Group
Copyright © 2003 by Howard Reich and William Gaines
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic,
mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior writ-
ten permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America.
Designed by Trish Wilkinson
Set in 10.5-point Sabon by the Perseus Books Group
Cataloging-in-Publication data for this book is available from the Library of
Congress.
First Da Capo Press edition 2003
First Da Capo Press paperback edition 2004
ISBN 0–306–81350–5
Published by Da Capo Press
A Member of the Perseus Books Group
http://www.dacapopress.com
Da Capo Press books are available at special discounts for bulk purchases in
the U.S. by corporations, institutions, and other organizations. For more in-
formation, please contact the Special Markets Department at the Perseus
Books Group, 11 Cambridge Center, Cambridge, MA 02142, or call (800)
255–1514 or (617) 252–5298, or email [email protected].
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9—08 07 06 05 04
The authors dedicate Jelly’s Blues to the pre-eminent
New Orleans jazz historian and collector
William Russell, who rescued from sure destruction
thousands of pages of documents on the
life, times, and music of Jelly Roll Morton.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The authors thank everyone who helped inspire and create this book, es-
pecially Ann Marie Lipinski, Jack Fuller, Jack Davis, Gerould Kern, Geof-
frey Brown, Robert Blau, George Papajohn, and Jennifer Fletcher, of the
Tribune company; York Eads Nicholson; M. T. Caen, literary agent; John
Radziewicz and Ben Schafer, of Da Capo Press; Don and Millie Vappie, of
New Orleans; Alfred Lemmon, Mark Cave, and Nancy Ruck, of the His-
toric New Orleans Collection; Jon Kukla, formerly of the Historic New
Orleans Collection; researcher Michael Montgomery; and Professors
James Dapogny and Lawrence Gushee.
vii

CONTENTS
Preface xi
ONE | The District 1
TWO | Inventing Jelly Roll 27
THREE | The Proselytizer 51
FOUR | Chicago Hustle 73
FIVE | Thirty-fifth and Calumet 99
SIX | Free Fall 131
SEVEN | Laughingstock 165
EIGHT | A Battle Royal 193
NINE | Flee As a Bird to the Mountain 219
TEN | The Afterglow 233
ix