orig. Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe
born Oct. 20, 1890, New Orleans, La., U.S.
died July 10, 1941, Los Angeles, Calif.
U.S. pianist and the first important composer in jazz.
In his youth Morton was apparently active as a gambler, pool shark, and procurer. A pioneer ragtime piano player, he toured the country as a pianist from 1904, making his first recordings in Chicago in 1923 with his ensemble the Red Hot Peppers. An exponent of the New Orleans tradition, Morton achieved success integrating elements of ragtime with improvised and arranged ensemble passages, often on his own compositions such as "King Porter Stomp." By the early 1930s Morton's fame had been overshadowed by that of Louis Armstrong and other emerging innovators.