Ferdinand Morton

Jelly Roll Morton was the first great jazz composer and pianist.
He was a talented arranger who wrote special scores that took advantage of the limitation of three minutes of the 78s.

Morton is widely recognized as a leading figure in early jazz, Morton claimed, in the hyperbole of self-promotion, have invented jazz outright in 1902.
Morton was the first serious jazz composer, naming, and popularizing the color "Spanish" exotic rhythms and Penning standards such as "Wolverine Blues," "Black Bottom Stomp" and "Blues for Buddy Bolden.

Morton's piano style has been formed from ragtime and early secondary school "a", which has also evolved separately in the New York School of stride piano. Morton plays, however, was also close to barrelhouse, boogie woogie that produced.

Morton has often played the melody of a song with his right thumb, while sounding harmony above these notes with other fingers of his right hand. This added a rustic or out-of-tune "sound (due to playing a diminished fifth above the melody). This can still be recognized as belonging to New Orleans.

You can read more about him here:
http://www.redhotjazz.com/Jellyroll.html

http://library.thinkquest.org/18602/hist ...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jelly_Roll_ ...