Jelly's Blues: The Life, Music, and Redemption of Jelly Roll Morton

Jelly's Blues recounts the tumultuous life of Jelly Roll Morton (ca. 1885–1941), a virtuoso pianist known for his larger-than-life personality. He composed influential early jazz pieces including "King Porter Stomp" and "New Orleans Blues." By the late 1930s, however, Morton had largely faded from public memory. In 1992, the death of an eccentric memorabilia collector led to the discovery of a significant archive that revealed Morton to be a far more complex and passionate figure than previously understood. Howard Reich's biography offers an immediate and visceral examination of the jazz worlds of New Orleans and Chicago, presenting a definitive account of one of the twentieth century's most important composers.