Jelly's Blues The Life, Music, and Redemption of Jelly Roll Morton [Paperback]

Jelly's Bluesrecounts the tumultuous life of Jelly Roll Morton (ca., 18851941). A virtuoso pianist with a larger-than-life personality, he composed such influential early jazz pieces as King Porter Stomp and New Orleans Blues. However, by the late 1930s, he was nearly forgotten. In 1992, the death of an eccentric memorabilia collector led to the unearthing of a startling archive, revealing Morton to be a much more complex and passionate man than many realized. An especially immediate and visceral look into the jazz worlds of New Orleans and Chicago,Jelly's Bluesis a definitive biography, a long overdue look at one of the twentieth century's most important composers.

Howard Reichis the veteran jazz critic of theChicago Tribuneand the winner of many awards. A longtime correspondent forDownbeatmagazine, he is also the author, with William Gaines, of the critically acclaimed biographyJelly's Blues: The Life, Music, and Redemption of Jelly Roll Morton. He lives in suburban Chicago.William Gainesretired from theChicago Tribunein 2001 and is a two-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize for investigative reporting. He lives in Munster, Indiana.