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instead to his European ancestry (“ All my folks came directly from the shores of France,” he told Lomax 17 ) and upper-class Creole background, and putting faith in his relatively light complexion and his mastery of white diction and mannerisms. Even by the standards of black Creole society of the turn of the century—many of whose members shared his anxieties about assimilation into black culture— Morton’s protestations were extreme. Despite his insatiable ego, Morton would have been nonplussed to see himself lauded by posterity as a major African American musician.
    Yet in his actions, if not his words, Morton strived to relinquish all the highbrow trappings of his Creole youth. More than any other major New Orleans jazz artist, Morton’s apprenticeship in the music business took place largely in the bordellos of Storyville (although Morton worked mainly in the white bordellos where few other jazz players could follow). Rather than regretting the lowlife associations of the District, Morton luxuriated in the company of pimps, prostitutes, murderers, gamblers, pool sharks, and dealers and hustlers of various sorts, and at times could rely on a few of these trades himself. At some point in the early 1900s—Morton claimed 1902, although this seems too early, given his birthdate—he began working as a musician in Storyville. His great-grandmother expelled him from home when she learned of his activities in the District, and before long Morton started on the peripatetic freelancing that would occupy most of his life. His early travels brought him to Memphis, New York, Chicago, St. Louis, Detroit, Tulsa, Houston, and other locales. By 1917, Morton had traveled farther west, visiting California, Canada, Alaska, and Mexico.
    Wherever Morton journeyed, he was noticed. How could it have been otherwise? He was a big spender, wore a diamond in his tooth and more on his garters, was known to boast that he kept a trunk full of money back in his hotel room (only the top tray carried the cash, but visitors catching a glimpse walked away believers), and showed off an extensive and expensive wardrobe, often by changing outfits several times a day. His skills as a pianist and composer were no doubt refined during these years, but Morton’s income at this time almost certainly relied more on his activities as a procurer and pool shark. However, when he returned to Chicago around 1923, Morton was well prepared to draw on his considerable talents for self-promotion in building a musical career. Certainly the time was ripe. The Jazz Age had begun in earnest, and Morton looked to capitalize on the public’s insatiable demand for this new style of music.
    Morton’s Chicago years, which lasted until 1926, constitute the most prolific musical period of his career. He made over one hundred recordings or piano rolls of his compositions, published a steady stream of pieces, and formed his most famous ensemble, the Red Hot Peppers. This band, which recorded in both Chicago and New York during the remaining years of the decade, achieved a level of collective artistry that few New Orleans groups ever matched, and none surpassed. Nor would Morton’s preeminence as a jazz composer—“the world’s greatest hot tune writer” was how his business card modestly described it—be seriously challenged until Duke Ellington pushed the limits of creativity even further in the following decade. But, above all, in its mastery of ensemble interaction—so essential to the New Orleans aesthetic—this band remains the paragon to this day.
    Morton (again like Ellington) was able to get the most out of his musicians, so much so that his groups could rise above the limitations of individual players. Here Morton’s high opinion of his own talents was clearly a decisive factor: by sheer force of will, he prodded his sidemen into sharing his exalted vision of New Orleans jazz. Sometimes Morton used even more dramatic means to keep his musicians on track. A