I have been robbed of three million dollars all told. Everyone today is playing my stuff and I don't even get credit. Kansas City style, Chicago style, New Orleans style hell, they're all Jelly Roll style.

However the scholar Katy Martin has argued that Morton's bragging was exaggerated by Alan Lomax in the book Mister Jelly Roll and this portrayal has influenced public opinion and scholarship on Morton since. Reputed for his arrogance and self-promotion as often as recognized in his day for his musical talents Morton claimed to have invented jazz outright in 1902 — much to the derision of later musicians and critics.