How Jelly Roll Morton Invented Jazz by Jonah Winter
2015; Johns Hopkins University Press; Volume: 69; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1353/bcc.2015.0601
ISSN1558-6766
Autores Tópico(s)Music History and Culture
ResumoReviewed by: How Jelly Roll Morton Invented Jazz by Jonah Winter Elizabeth Bush Winter, Jonah How Jelly Roll Morton Invented Jazz; illus. by Keith Mallett. Porter/Roaring Brook, 2015 32p ISBN 978-1-59643-963-4 $17.99 R 6-9 yrs In this picture-book bio, Winter backtracks through the life of Ferdinand Joseph La Menthe, aka Jelly Roll, to speculate on how and why he elevated himself as inventor of jazz, a contentious claim, to say the least. His early years are recounted here in an enticing series of scenarios beginning “Let’s say …” that fairly beg to be read aloud: “Let’s say you had a godmother, and she put a spell on you because she was a voodoo queen”; “Let’s say [that godmother] got arrested and thrown in jail, and you got tossed in the can as well.” Listeners follow closely in the boy’s steps as he hangs with a rough set, teaches himself to play piano, makes good money in seedy clubs, and gets tossed out by his family. “And only one thing, just one thing in the world, could make the crying stop”—jazz. At this point, Winter takes a stylistic turn, quoting and expanding on lyrics from rival claimant Buddy Bolden’s “Buddy Bolden’s Blues” (a tamer version, here, than Bolden’s original “Funky Butt”), and launching an extended metaphor of jazz as a gumbo stew, before returning to Morton’s career. An informative endnote expands information, discusses Jelly Roll’s boastful ways in more detail, offers a few adult resources, and encourages kids to check out an historic recording with music historian Alan Lomax. The fluid lines, golden illumination, and atmospheric silhouettes of Mallett’s artwork provide an engaging visual accompaniment to Winter’s storytelling. Copyright © 2015 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois
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