Jazz music became an important aspect of American culture in the early 20th century. The sizzling syncopation of ragtime and the smooth melodies of the blues seeped into mainstream American music through dance halls and saloons and later through dance halls. Instruments such as the piano, trumpet, trombone and clarinet became important and symbolized the "swing feel" of jazz due to their ability to syncopate and improvise with precision. With the help of the booming recording industry, musical geniuses were discovered, and their talent and contribution to the emergence of jazz spread throughout the country. Such musicians include the composer, arranger and pianist Jelly Roll Morton who greatly influenced the development of early jazz with his unique piano style, his "invention" of musical notation for jazz and his compositions which became the core of the repertoire jazz. Because the style was new and different and so successful in attracting large audiences, musicians around the world tried to imitate it. Furthermore, Morton's masterpieces were the first to demonstrate notation for complex jazz music and thus formed the basis for standard notation in jazz compositions today. Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, more commonly known as Jelly Roll Morton, was born to a Creole family in a poor neighborhood of New Orleans, Louisiana. Morton lived with different family members in different areas of New Orleans, exposing him to different musical worlds including European and classical music, dance music, and the blues (Gushee, 394). Morton tried playing several instruments including the guitar; however, dissatisfied with the lack of teacher training, he decided to teach himself to play instruments without formal training (Lomax, 8). ......middle of paper......is inspired by the musical style and influenced how big bands of later eras would approach jazz. The compositions provided information on how to accurately notate improvised jazz music on paper and thus laid the foundation for the next phase in the jazz timeline: the swing era. Although Jelly Roll Morton began his career without formal training, he has grown to become a lifetime influencer. His piano style, paper musical notations, and creative compositions thrived in the 1910s and 1920s and made their way into later eras as musicians used Morton's music as the basis for their own. Even after his death, Jelly Roll Morton remains a legendary figure. His works are meticulously preserved and displayed in the prestigious Smithsonian Museum, and universities around the world continue his legacy by teaching students about Jelly Roll Morton and his influential career.