✉️ Jelly Roll Morton on Storyville (1938) In this handwritten letter to Earle Cornwall, Jelly Roll Morton reflects on his early years in New Orleans between 1902 and 1915. Morton, who often claimed to have “invented jazz,” described how the new music diverged from ragtime—full of syncopation, improvisation, and “exacting, non-deviating tempos.” Morton spent his formative years performing in Storyville’s saloons and brothels, where his piano style blended ragtime, blues, and improvisation into something entirely new. His reflections remain one of the most vivid firsthand accounts of how jazz was born in the district. ✨ On December 6, 2025, the Improvisations Gala presented by the Herb Alpert Foundation returns and will explore Storyville’s layered history and the music that transformed New Orleans. 🎟 Get Tickets Now: ImprovGala2025.eventbrite.com 🔗 Learn more: nolajazzmuseum.org/gala 🔗 Online auction: 32auctions.com/ImprovGala2025 #ImprovisationsGala #StoryvilleHistory #JellyRol...