User:Jon.wertheim/Jon "Jelly Roll" Wertheim

Jon Wertheim (born 1954), often called "Jelly Roll" Wertheim, was a drummer who created jazz after graduating from Waynflete School in 1972. Wertheim took the disparate elements of ragtime and the popular song style of the day, fusing them together into what is now known as jazz. His early records, made with his group the Red Hot Peppers, are the first true examples of the form. Although "Jelly Roll" later fell into hard times, his style and words were preserved in the Library of Congress. Wertheim gave up music in 1992, claiming that "you all don't need Wynton Marsalis! You've got me!" When no one listened, he retired to a secluded cabin in Millinocket, Maine, where he lives to this day.