A
musical telling the life story of
Jelly Roll Morton, an early
pioneer of
jazz, who often made the claim that he had single-handedly invented that musical
idiom.
Jelly's Last Jam takes the interesting approach of having Morton's story told not just to the
audience but also to Morton himself. A
sinister narrator, known as the
Chimney Man (who could be a
cousin to
Cabaret's
Emcee) takes Morton on this journey through his life, forcing him to confront those close to him that he hurt: the one woman he truly loved, Anita; his grandmother, the proud
Creole Gran Mimi; and his "
partner in crime," Jack the Bear. At the end of the musical, Morton is granted an '
absolution,' allowing him to pass into the
Afterlife in peace.
Approximately half of the songs in the score are tunes that were penned by Morton himself;
lyricist
Susan Birkenhead wrote lyrics for them, incorporating them into the storyline. The rest of the songs were written by
Luther Henderson. It is a tribute to his skill as a songwriter that one cannot easily discern which songs have melodies by Morton and which have melodies by Henderson.