By Allen Huotari and Glenn Astarita

“I want to show that my music is about my life…I don’t want to write incidental music to my life story.” - Joe Morris (to Jon Garelick, Boston Phoenix, March 4-11, 1999)

Welcome to the second and concluding installment in the All About Jazz profile of composer/improviser/guitarist Joe Morris.

To recap, the first portion appears in the July 1999 edition of AAJ (refer to “Relaying Inspiration Through Imagination”) and consists of a brief biography, in-depth interview, and comprehensive discography.

With this portion, the Joe Morris profile is completed as AAJ spotlights six different recordings led by Mr. Morris, including his latest, MANY RINGS (Knitting Factory Works).

Special thanks to Steven Joerg of AUM Fidelity for enthusiasm and encouragement.

More information on Joe Morris can be found at: http://www.joe-morris.com/

Authors’ note: The following reviews are intended to function as a “Joe Morris primer” and therefore assume the reader is largely unacquainted with the music of Joe Morris. To that end, the authors selected these recordings for two primary reasons: 1) each is relatively easy to obtain from multiple sources (either mail order or your friendly neighborhood jazz record shop) and 2) more importantly, they represent a diverse assemblage of project types (solo, trio, quartet) and collaborators.

NO VERTIGO (Leo, 1995)
ELSEWHERE (Homestead, 1996)
ANTENNAE (AUM Fidelity, 1997)
A CLOUD OF BLACK BIRDS (AUM Fidelity, 1998)
LIKE RAYS (Knitting Factory Works, 1998)
MANY RINGS (Knitting Factory Works, 1999)

Inwards…New Haven born guitarist Joe Morris is rapidly (and we mean RAPIDLY) becoming one of the major stylists within free-jazz and the avant-garde. With an impressive discography spanning several labels, Morris’ inventive and uncommon approach to both jazz and the electric guitar are distinctly unique but quite accessible even to the untrained ear.

Joe Morris expresses that there are four regions to investigate which further the evolution of improvisatory music and technique. These are, in his terms, “Post-Hendrix”, “New Jazz”, “Solo Acoustic”, and “Extended Techniques”. Although all of the recordings featured in this article touch on these areas in one way or another, all of them seem to be featured in his 1995 solo work, NO VERTIGO.

This recording is divided into five sections, each of which concentrates on a single musical instrument and technique. These are: acoustic guitar, mandolin, electric guitar, banjouke (a ukelele with a banjo head), and again the electric guitar (which is approached differently than in the previous citing. More on this later). Although much critical acclaim is made of Mr. Morris formidable skill on the guitar, it is essential to point out that NO VERTIGO is definitely not a self-indulgent display of technical virtuosity or gimmicky “stunts”. First and foremost, Mr. Morris’ devotion to melody, rhythm, and structure is plainly evident, musicality is never compromised for texture or effect.

The first of the five sections of NO VERTIGO is a group of six tracks for acoustic guitar under the collective title of “No Vertigo”. These tracks are simply an aural treat. Not only is the recording immaculate, but the music itself is highly accessible. Although complex and riddled with ideas, the tunes are challenging, but never intimidating. The listener isn’t left gasping except perhaps in awe of its diverse beauty. This disc could easily be recommended on the strength of these tracks alone. Without implying overt musical similarity, it is suggested that fans of Ralph Towner, John Fahey, or Ry Cooder would find much to enjoy here.

The second section is three tracks for mandolin bearing the heading of “The Edges”. Mr. Morris tunes the mandolin in fifths with the result that it sounds very much like a violin played pizzicato (well, if a violin had frets). The melodic lines here are high and clear, notes don’t seem as much to pop into space as to pierce it.

The third section is a lengthy track for electric guitar entitled “For Aldolphus Mica”. Fans of improvised solo electric guitar (Fred Frith, Henry Kaiser, Hans Reichel, etc.) need to hear this track. As repeatedly made note of, Mr. Morris painstakingly avoids extraneous effects boxes and unconventional techniques in his guitar playing. Ergo, the unearthly sounds coaxed out of the guitar on this track with nothing more than a serrated pick are essentially a twelve minute clinic in making music (not merely sounds) via extended technique. This isn’t to imply that the peers mentioned above are incapable of making music, rather that this is simply a worthy addition to the collection for connoisseurs of improvised guitar. One can only wistfully imagine the aural havoc that would be wrought if Mr. Morris were interested in effects...

The fourth section is a single track for banjouke entitled “Long Carry”. The liner notes mention that this instrument is the closest Mr. Morris and get to a halam (a type of African lute). The music here is very percussive in nature and strongly recalls that the roots of American blues guitar lie in the African instruments such as the kora (a type of harp) and one or two string fiddles (the reader is reminded that Mr. Morris label/publishing, Riti, is named after one of these single string instruments).

NO VERTIGO concludes with a trio of electric guitar tracks grouped under the title “Monologue”. Essentially, these are solo examples of Mr. Morris style in collaborative setting and as such, are entirely representative of the clear, resonant style that has established his reputation. In brief: simple, concise, pure, concentrated, essence of Morris.

In summary, NO VERTIGO is a recording that transcends genre and should appeal to anyone who enjoys great guitar playing in any musical context. An extremely satisfying recording but one which begs the question: what might a collaboration between Joe Morris and Derek Bailey sound like?

On the 1998 release LIKE RAYS, Joe Morris’ kaleidoscopic, multiform approach to the guitar finds him implementing chop chords to enhance rhythmic development or performing lightning fast piano-like single note runs. Either way you look at it, Morris is a team player as his primary thrust is to engage the big picture. Hence, articulate and meaningful ensemble work, which places emphasis on the group or team approach, prevails.

On this outing Morris, the young and red hot multi-reedman Ken Vandermark, and the equally adept pianist Hans Poppel coalesce and perform an endearing if not adventurous series of improvisations. The trio engage in dialogue and conversation of the highest order as in the piece titled “New Fire”. Here, Morris and Poppel benefit from entering similar sonic territories as Morris’ mid tone guitar shares sonorous tonalities with Poppel’s acoustic piano. The added treat here is Vandermark’s expressive lyricism effectively employed via his clever and seemingly voluminous music lexicon. The contrasting mix of tonal ranges, dialogue and interplay makes for a strong union of like minds. For “Within Reach”, Morris and Vandermark alternate and converge as in “call and response” while Poppel’s quick witted ruminations and solid rhythmic inclinations bring to mind keyboard giants such as Cecil Taylor, Fred Van Hove, and Marilyn Crispell. Morris’ punctual chord voicings and uncanny sense of development often serves as the middle ground or perhaps the glue that bonds the individual soloists onto equal footing. On “So As To Touch”, Morris extracts unusual sounds from his guitar as if he were performing on some obscure Third World stringed instrument. Here, Vandermark and Poppel add appropriate doses of color and nuance through subtle or temperate phrasing. The overall vibe on this piece may be that of a rambunctious child who possesses an unending quest for knowledge and exploration.

LIKE RAYS is starkly expressive and performed with guiltless enthusiasm and determination. Although projects of this ilk sometimes fall into dangerous territory, with the performers sometimes veering off in separate directions, thankfully, these gents were on the same plane for this recording. The combined synergy, technical virtuosity, methodology, and totality of this project speak loud and clear.

A far more conventional trio (guitar/bass/drums), and possibly the most traditional recording reviewed here, is to be found on ANTENNAE . But this is not to imply that the music itself is conventional or traditional. Although firmly grounded in the jazz/blues idiom, this recording is frequently surprising if not consistently unpredictable.

Accompanied by the wonderfully creative Nate McBride on bass and the irrepressibly imaginative Jerome Deupree on drums, Mr. Morris stakes out a territory that indirectly echoes Jimi Hendrix/Band of Gypsys (not so much a musical parallel but rather an extraordinarily powerful groove).

Originally titled “The Green Book” after an enigmatic collection of graphic aids assembled by pianist Lowell Davidson which were intended to foster creative inspiration (see interview with Joe Morris in July 1999 AAJ for more information), the music of ANTENNAE is deliberately intended to convey emotions and energy to the listener. Although Mr. Morris mentions in the liner notes that the title is derived from the concept of being a “receptor”, it should be pointed out that antennae are also mandatory in the broadcast or transmission of information.

Although many will consider the above to be an outwardly strange premise, ANTENNAE may actually be the best place for a Morris "newbie" to begin. Probably the most “bluesy” of the discs reviewed here, the uncanny mixture of discipline and dynamic makes for a phenomenally rewarding listening experience. An unnerving tension and borderline manic urgency is developed in the track “Stare Into A Lightbulb For Three Years” (sorry, you’ll have to buy the disc and read the liners if you’re curious about the title) despite it’s musical straightforwardness. Similarly deceptive are the title track and “Synapse”. If your neurons aren’t a-twinkling and a-shimmering after giving this disc a spin, you might want to check yourself for a pulse. Simply put, there’s a lot more going on here than the trio format should allow for.

In conclusion, ANTENNAE can be enjoyed on multiple levels. Although it’s a wonderful launching point for anyone struggling to understand the often abstract balance between composition and improvisation it is also a rewarding listen to the “experienced, hardcore” jazz fan. In either case, it could simply be enjoyed as a great example of a band whose members truly communicate with one another...yes, ANTENNAE gives the term “power trio” an entirely new dimension and interpretation.

The Joe Morris Quartet take us into the stratosphere with A CLOUD OF BLACK BIRDS, which offers yet another glimpse of Morris’ flexibility and near matchless musical qualities.

Unlike many creative souls who may find themselves residing within the confines of a formulaic comfort zone, Morris’ extensive musical vocabulary enables him to take risks in the pursuit of undiscovered turf. Mind-boggling technique aside, Morris frequently aligns himself with peers who share similar visions or aspirations. These notions are vividly portrayed on A CLOUD OF BLACK BIRDS as Morris joins forces with the equally adept violinist Mat Maneri, bassist Chris Lightcap, and drummer Jerome Deupree.

The opener, “Threshold” is at times linear yet constructed around a delicately inferred melody line, as Morris is blazingly quick, stating complex themes above a bustling, restless pulse. Mat Maneri’s thick sounding and expansive violin performances compliment Morris’ fleet-fingered attack on many of these conversational yet structured compositions. “Mesmeric” is well...mesmerizing due to furious polyrhythmic execution by Deupree and Lightcap as if this composition were about – mind games – featuring intensely heated dialogue among the soloist’s. The mood is frantic as in a New York City rush hour! The title track, “A Cloud Of Black Birds” seems to bespeak Morris’ blues roots as the typical 4 bar blues gets beefed up via a burgeoning swing motif. Here, Maneri’s scathing violin work atop of Morris’ straight fours, appetizing chord progressions, and sinewy phraseology makes for a momentous burner. The blues gives way to free improv and serious dialogue...a refreshing perspective for the blues perhaps? “Renascent” features Morris and Maneri performing a duet while “Emblem” is a thematically rich tone poem over shifting meter. “Radiant Flux” is a tour-de-force! Jerome Deupree’s opening drum solo complete with rimshots, effective utilization of tiny cymbals while engaging complex rhythms, may suggest that the floodgates are about to open. And indeed they do as the darting yet ferocious rhythms give way to Morris’ quick witted improvisations and Maneri’s deep, yet dexterous violin articulations. This band is teeming with abstract ideas, which at times seem vividly real or lifelike, through intuitive conversation and ferocity. With “Radiant Flux”, this reviewer imagined a bunch of explorers trying to find an opening through a dark passageway all the while, seeing a faint white light growing larger and brighter as a sense of urgency prevails...perhaps and Morris and co. are explorers? The pattern here as on many of Morris’ recordings is that of finding new ways of approaching life and its companion expe

Although recorded earlier than the preceding disc, ELSEWHERE also finds Joe Morris accompanied by three musicians equal to and sympathetic with his aesthetic, namely Matthew Shipp (piano), William Parker (bass), and Whit Dickey (drums). Although ELSEWHERE could have disintegrated into “Joe Morris vs. the David S. Ware rhythm section” (Shipp/Parker/Dickey were with saxophonist Ware at the time of this recording), the potential fury that could have been unleashed is instead redirected towards less aggressive but no less ambitious aims.

ELSEWHERE is perhaps the most difficult…no, the most overwhelming recording in this lot. The group dynamic is never less than dramatic even in its quietest moments. Accordingly, the intense emotions unleashed here could be overpowering for some listeners.

The group interplay throughout ELSEWHERE is nothing less than fascinating. Messrs. Morris and Shipp are helically bound to one another, wrapping and coiling around each other’s ideas, continually probing and interrogating. In the meantime, Messrs. Parker and Dickey alternately provide an inexorable force of attraction for the individual quartet members. Although a single voice may twist away, spiraling above and around the others, inevitably it is drawn back in towards the rhythmic nucleus.

These striking aspects of ELSEWHERE are revealed immediately with the opening track “Plexus”. On the surface, this track could easily be mistaken for musical calamity, a chaotic and cataclysmic aural free for all. But careful examination reveals order and structure, albeit a somewhat frenzied order and structure, lying just beneath the surface. The sense is as of someone impossibly struggling to confine or perhaps striving to create a storm. Whatever metaphor best applies, it’s undeniable that these guys move some serious air and it’s a wonder that one doesn’t feel a gale force wind blowing out from behind the speaker grille.

The title track, despite it’s obvious tumult, seems to document an intense discussion as opposed to argument...perhaps a quest for truth in lieu of being "right". Each musician alternately emerges from the fray, makes a statement, and withdraws into the group dynamic.

“Violet” is the most tranquil piece on the disc but is no less profoundly affecting. One is left with a deep sense of sadness, as of mourning a loved one lost, but with a residual sense of defiance or persistence, if not courage. The spectres of Ayler, Dolphy, and Coltrane hover approvingly over this track.

How best to encapsulate ELSEWHERE ? Clearly the quartet is not so much fighting each other as challenging and driving each other...spurring not sparring...daring each other to go to the edge of the cliff, lean over, and look into the void. Whether the listener is a willing or unwilling to accept the challenge, participation is compulsory.

Drawing further upon the “discussion” analogy, listening to MANY RINGS is similar to eavesdropping among an assemblage of philosophers sharing thoughts or viewpoints. Morris along with bassoonist Karen Borca, saxophonist Rob Brown and accordionist/sampler expert Andrea Parkins join forces to create mosaics of sound via perpetual motion and circular movement. The contrasting yet complimentary voices of each instrumentalist along with hefty doses of dialogue are outwardly evident as in the title track. Throughout, everyone has something significantly important to say!

A veteran of the New York avant-garde scene, saxophonist Rob Brown adds flavor and excitement through keen multi-tone phrasing and captivating lyricism. Here, the phraseology, disparate tonalities of the ensemble work and skillful improvisation is an evolutionary process of sorts. Andrea Parkins’ thoughtful utilization of her sampler provides subtle backwashes, which frequently inject an aura of surprise or a modulating ebb and flow. The 14 minute title track is utterly sophisticated yet maintains a sense of purpose and compositional form. Joe Morris’ at times angular phrasing and lightning quick single note runs serve as a perfect foil for Ms Borca’s impressive articulations on the bassoon (an increasingly popular instrument in modern jazz circles these days). During one particular passage on the title track, Morris creates fierce rhythmic movement through fleet-fingered yet clear toned plucking in the lower register of his electric guitar. Here, Morris reminded this writer, although momentarily, of the legendary progressive rock guitarist Robert Fripp. However, this is purely coincidental, as Morris’ music bears no similarities to King Crimson or rock for that matter. Yet once again Morris shines as he employs the “group or team” approach as there is a whole lot going on here.

On “First Appearance”, imagery abounds in a somewhat imposing manner. Here, the conversational aspects are pensive, as the overall tone of this piece becomes enigmatic or curiously unpredictable. Andrea Parkins’ utilization of the sampler casts multidimensional effects on “Chapel Level” as the omnipresent element of surprise lurks behind the shadows. Again, the ensemble’s clever improvisation and intuitiveness is akin to thematic plot development as in film.

Morris is a human buzz saw on “Motion To The Air” and sounds as if he were playing a violin ...we may add that this is 100% technique and not due to electronics or sound shaping technology. More reason to witness Morris in a live setting. How does he pull it off, some may ask?

Music of this ilk can be difficult to describe and must be seen and/or heard! MANY RINGS may be Joe Morris crowning recorded achievement thus far and should open many more doors here and abroad. Mr. Morris has firmly established himself as a modern day innovator with few peers in the business!

Outwards…Whether performing duets with Matthew Shipp, William Parker, or Ivo Perelman, or free jazzing it with woodwinds and piano, Joe Morris continues to display his multidimensional persona as told through the voice of his guitar. Powerful music indeed, which seemingly takes on a life of it’s own as new aspects and dimensions are revealed with subsequent listens. Although this music (like the universe) may occasionally seem disjointed and arbitrary, it (like the universe) is undeniably infused with reason, logic, intelligence, and compassion. AAJ readers who consider themselves inherently curious or deliberately adventurous are both invited and encouraged to take the next step and seek these recordings out. Just listen.

More information about these recordings can be obtained from:

Knitting Factory Records http://www.knittingfactory.com/
AUM Fidelity Records http://www.aumfidelity.com/
Leo Records http://www.atlas.co.uk/leorecords/