Whether or not Jelly Roll Morton actually invented jazz as he famously claimed, his remarkable journey from Storyville to the Library of Congress is worth reconsidering on its own merits. Commentary, historic recordings, and interviews to reveal Morton’s virtues and contradictions, and reevaluate his role in shaping the sound and story of early jazz. Music: "Original Jelly Roll Blues" (1924), “King Porter Stomp” (1923), Alan Lomax interviews, Library of Congress (1938), “Black Bottom Stomp” (1926), “The Pearls” (1926), "Maple Leaf Rag" (1899), “Grandpa’s Spells" (1926), “Shreveport Stomp” (1929), “Freakish” (1929), "Mamie's Blues" (1900), “Doctor Jazz” (1926). Performers: Jelly Roll Morton, The Red Hot Peppers.
