Whether or not Jelly Roll Morton actually invented jazz, as he famously claimed, his remarkable journey from Storyville to the Library of Congress is worth reconsidering. Blends commentary, historic recordings, and interviews to reveal Morton’s genius, contradictions, and enduring role in shaping the sound and story of early jazz. Music: "Original Jelly Roll Blues" (1924), “King Porter Stomp” (1923), Alan Lomax interviews, Library of Congress (1938), “Black Bottom Stomp” (1926), “The Pearls” (1926), "Maple Leaf Rag" (1899), “Grandpa’s Spells" (1926), “Shreveport Stomp” (1929), “Freakish” (1929), "Mamie's Blues" (1900), “Doctor Jazz” (1926). Performers: Jelly Roll Morton, The Red Hot Peppers.

John Hammond was a visionary jazz producer and talent scout who discovered or championed Billie Holiday, Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Fletcher Henderson, and Lester Young. A tireless advocate for integration, he helped break racial barriers in jazz, produced historic recordings, and brought Black artists to wider audiences through concerts and radio.

Music: Count Basie: "One O'Clock Jump" (1937), Bessie Smith: "Downhearted Blues" (1923); Garland Wilson: "St. James Infirmary/ When Your Lover Has Gone" (1931); Billie Holiday: “Your Mother’s Son-in-Law” (1933); Billie Holiday: "What a Little Moonlight Can Do" (1935); Benny Goodman: "After You've Gone" (1935); From Spirituals to Swing, 1938.

Bassists: Pops Foster, Wellman Braud, Thelma Terry, Walter Page, June Rotenberg, Slam Stewart, Jimmy Blanton. Music: Mahogany Hall Stomp, Washington Wobble, Freeze and Melt, Starlight and Tulips, Pagin' The Devil, Blue Devil Blues, Hesitation Boogie, Play Fiddle, Play, Jack the Bear.

Bessie Smith (1894-1937), the Empress of the Blues. Featuring: Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out, St. Louis Blues, Beale Street Mama, Cake Walkin' Babies From Home, Backwater Blues, After You've Gone, Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl, Gimme a Pigfoot (and a Bottle of Beer).

Classical meets jazz. Featuring: John Kirby Sextet, George Gershwin, James P. Johnson, Duke Ellington, Carl Maria von Weber, Benny Goodman, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Art Tatum, Fats Waller. Music: Mr. Haydn Gets Hip, Beethoven Riffs On, Rhapsody in Blue, You've Got To Be Modernistic, excerpt from Black, Brown, and Beige, excerpt from Invitation to the Dance, Let's Dance, Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini (Var. 15), Honeysuckle Rose.

Early jazz drummers, pt. 2. Featuring: Buddy Gilmore, Chick Webb, Sonny Greer, George Wettling, Dave Tough, Gene Krupa, Papa Jo Jones.

Music: Castle House Rag, Vote for Mr. Rhythm, Liza (All The Clouds'll Roll Away), Jumpin' Pumpkins, Drummer's Delight, Three Little Words, Shine, Sing Sing Sing, Drum Boogie, Sent for You Yesterday (And Here You Come Today), Delta Serenade.

Featuring: Baby Dodds, Zutty Singleton, Sid Catlett, Viola Smith, Sidney Bechet, Louis Armstrong, James P. Johnson, Pee Wee Russell; Songs include: Spooky Drums, China Boy, Sugar Foot Strut, I Found a New Baby, Moppin' and Boppin', Rose Room, Mop Mop, Steak Face.

Benny Carter, alto sax, trumpet - Rambling in C (1937), Plain Dirt (1929), That's How I Feel Today (1929), Six or Seven Times (1929), Keep a Song in Your Soul (1930), Chinatown My Chinatown (1930), Keep a Song in Your Soul (1930), Symphony in Riffs (1933), Waltzing the Blues (1936), When Lights Are Low (1936), Cow Cow Boogie (1942). Featuring: McKinney's Cotton Pickers, The Little Chocolate Dandies, Fletcher Henderson Orchestra, Benny Carter and His Harlem Club Orchestra, Benny Carter and His Swing Quartet, Ella Mae Morse with Freddie Slack and His Orchestra.