Passing for Cuban

Morton was making history, shattering the color barrier in recording for the first time, More than a decade before Benny Goodman received credit for doing so with Lionel Hampton and Teddy Wilson. Still, the idea of white musicians collaborating with a black man —even one as light-skinned as the Creole Morton—posed problems for all involved, particularly when it came to hotel accommodations in provincial Richmond. So Morton was asked to pass, the boys in the band saying he was Cuban.

Gaines, William, and Reich, Howard. Jelly's blues : the life, music, and redemption of Jelly Roll Morton. Cambridge, Hachette Books, 2003.