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Joe Morris
Joe Morris was born in New Haven, Connecticut on September 13, 1955. At the age of 12 he took lessons on the trumpet for one year. He started on guitar in 1969 at the age of 14. He played his first professional gig later that year. With the exception of a few lessons he is self-taught. The influence of Jimi Hendrix and other guitarists of that period led him to concentrate on learning to play the blues. Soon thereafter his sister gave him a copy of John Coltrane's OM which inspired him to learn about Jazz and New Music. From age 15 to 17 he attended a student run alternative High School called The Unschool in downtown New Haven next to the campus of Yale University. Taking advantage of the open learning style of the school he spent most of his time day and night playing music with other students, listening to ethnic folk, blues, jazz, and classical music on record at the public library and attending the various concerts and recitals on the Yale campus. He worked to establish his own voice on guitar in a free jazz context from the age of 17. Drawing on the influence of Coltrane, Miles Davis, Cecil Taylor,Thelonius Monk, Ornette Coleman as well as the AACM, BAG, and the many European improvisers of the '70s. Later he would draw influence from traditional West African string music, Messian, Ives, Eric Dolphy, Jimmy Lyons, Steve McCall and Fred Hopkins. After high school he performed in rock bands, rehearsed in jazz bands and played totally improvised music with friends until 1975 when he moved to Boston.
Between 1975 and 1978 he was active on the Boston creative music scene as a soloist as well as in various groups from duos to large ensembles. He composed music for his first trio in 1977. In 1980 he traveled to Europe where he performed in Belgium and Holland. When he returned to Boston he helped to organize the Boston Improvisers Group (BIG) with other musicians. Over the next few years through various configurations BIG produced two festivals and many concerts. In 1981 he formed his own record company, Riti, and recorded his first Lp Wraparound with a trio featuring Sebastian Steinberg on bass and Laurence Cook on drums. Riti records released four more LPs and CDs before 1991. Also in 1981 he began what would be a six year collaboration with the multi-instrumentalist Lowell Davidson, performing with him in a trio and a duo. During the next few years in Boston he performed in groups which featured among others; Billy Bang, Andrew Cyrille, Peter Kowald, Joe McPhee, Malcolm Goldstein, Samm Bennett, Lawrence "Butch" Morris and Thurman Barker. Between 1987 and 1989 he lived in New York City where he performed at the Shuttle Theater, Club Chandelier, Visiones, Inroads, Greenwich House, etc. as well as performing with his trio at the first festival Tea and Comprovisation held at the Knitting Factory.
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Charles Downs: Inner
by Don Ball
It has been a long time coming for Charles Downs' debut recording as a leader. He began his career in the 1970s playing as Rashid Bakr with the likes of Cecil Taylor, Jemeel Moondoc, William Parker and others before reverting to his birth name in the new century. Since then, he has performed as part of the Flow Trio with Joe Morris and Louis Belogenis, as well as playing with Larry Ochs, Joe McPhee, and Peter Brötzmann, among others. At ...
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Joe Morris, Barry Guy/Roberto Ottaviano & Bill Connors
by Maurice Hogue
Bassist/guitarist Joe Morris was recently honored at the annual Vision Festival for his lifetime contributions, and if anyone has any doubts about that, just listen to his new album Counter Spectacle out on the FSR label. With reed players Rob Brown & Anna Webber & drummer Matthew Rousseau, Morris lets freedom reign. This is a true keeper! It's one of a number of wonderful new releases from FSR featured in this episode--the sublime yet daring first-time match-up of master bassist ...
Continue ReadingVision Festival 2026, Part 1
by Luciano Rossetti
A collection of photos from the Vision Festival in New York City from June 22, 2026 to June 28, 2026 featuring Joe Morris, Marshall Allen, Nicole Mitchell, Matthew Shipp, William Parker, Jen Shyu, Luke Stewart, Ingrid Laubrock, Tomeka Reid, Craig Taborn, Val Jeanty, Alexis Marcelo, James Brandon Lewis, DoYeon Kim and many others. ...
Continue ReadingVision Festival 2026, Part 2
by Luciano Rossetti
More photos from the Vision Festival in New York City from June 22, 2026 to June 28, 2026 featuring William Hooker, Alan Braufman, Ahmed Abdullah, Dave Sewelson, Eri Yamamoto, Bobby Zankel, Chad Taylor, William Parker, Jason Kao Hwang, Taylor Ho Bynum, Steve Swell, Rob Brown, Whit Dickey, Matthew Shipp, Brandon Lopez, Ned Rothemberg, Sylvie Courvoisier, Nasheet Waits, Daniel Carter, Federico Ughi, Matt Lavelle, Hamid Drake and many others. ...
Continue ReadingJoe Morris at Vision Fest 30
by Fran Kursztejn
Joe MorrisAbrons Arts CenterVision Festival New York, NYJune 23, 2026 “Joe Morris is the real deal," said Matthew Shipp, relating the first time he met the multi-hyphenate musician and educator, who was presented with the Arts for Art's Lifetime Achievement Award at the 30th annual Vision Festival. Morris introduced himself to the pianist after a show in the early '80s. He gave Shipp his first record, of which Shipp admits he “let sit for ...
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Ivo Perelman: Trifecta
by Vincenzo Roggero
Nella mastodontica discografia (quasi duecento album incisi, la maggior parte dei quali per l'etichetta londinese Leo Records) di Ivo Perelman, storico sassofonista di origine brasiliana, mancava un triplo CD dedicato all'arte del duo sax-chitarra. Ecco quindi Trifecta dialogo a rete libera con tre dei massimi chitarristi della scena contemporanea quali Marc Ribot, Elliott Sharp, Joe Morris. Un confronto con lo strumento praticato fin da giovanissima età e poi abbandonato per la difficoltà nel trovare una voce personale, qualità che riconosce ...
Continue ReadingPerelman / Ribot / Sharp / Morris: Trifecta
by Mark Corroto
With a discography approaching 200 releases, it might be tempting to imagine saxophonist Ivo Perelman as a kind of jazz gunfighter, in the lineage of Charlie Parker or Coleman Hawkins, stepping into one cutting contest after another. But that image misses the mark. Perelman's recordings are rarely about competition. Instead, they are grounded in creation, collaboration and deep musical partnership. The closest he comes to that rough-and-tumble spirit is in his long-running exchanges with pianist Matthew Shipp, where the intensity ...
Continue ReadingMarch 5 At New England Conservatory: Gordon Beeferman, Eden MacAdam-Somer, & Joe Morris Embrace Improvisation, Classical Virtuosity, Roots Music And Avant-jazz Innovation
Source:
Braithwaite & Katz Communications
NEC’s Contemporary Musical Arts presents a special residency concert with composer, pianist, and improviser Gordon Beeferman joined by CMA Department Chair Eden MacAdam-Somer (voice/violin/foot percussion), CMA and Jazz Studies faculty Joe Morris (guitar) and CMA students on Thursday, March 5 in Jordan Hall. The program features Beeferman's works, drawing on a multitude of genres and influences, including songs, compositions and improvisations on solo piano, and scored improvisations for trio and large ensemble. Admission to the 7:30 p.m. concert is free ...
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Elmo Hope and Joe Morris
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JazzWax by Marc Myers
Bebop's fast tempo and complex rhythms were embraced by modern-jazz fans when the jazz style emerged in the mid-1940s. But bop also provided jump blues with an opening. Bebop was spectacular and electrifying, but it wasn't for dancing. It was mostly for sitting and listening. As a result, the big-beat, horn-driven dance music made major inroads in Black neighborhoods and in the record market. By 1949, R&B was so popular that Billboard started an official R&B chart. Hundreds of R&B ...
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Red Piano Records To Release "Cosmopolitan Greetings" From Frank Carlberg/Joe Morris/Pascal Niggenkemper/Luther Gray
Source:
Jason Byrne, Red Cat Publicity
Available October 16, 2015 Brooklyn-based Red Piano Records is proud to announce the release of Cosmopolitan Greetings, a collective effort by four veterans of the improvised music scene. This album marks the recorded debut of this quartet, with a line up featuring guitar legend Joe Morris, pianist/composer Frank Carlberg, bass wizard Pascal Niggenkemper and unsung drum master Luther Gray, in a program of three Carlberg compositions, and three collective improvisations. In the liner notes Carlberg describes the genesis of Cosmopolitan ...
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Guitarist Joe Morris Joins Forces With Keyboardist Jamie Saft & Drummer Mike Pride On Microtonal Blues Project Raoul
Source:
hubtone PR
The sound of Joe Morris’ electric guitar, with distortion pedal set on stun and wah-wah pedal fully engaged, colliding with Jamie Saft’s droning, microtonal organ and Mike Pride’s thunderous free drumming approach to the kit creates a mind-numbing maelstrom on The Spanish Donkey's RAOUL, the improvising trio’s debut on RareNoiseRecords. A follow-up to XYX, their 2011 album, which was released on Northern Spy Records. The album consists of three throbbing tracks — the brutal 32-minute title track ‘Raoul, the 22-minute ...
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Joe Morris and Agusta- Ferna Ndez - Ambrosia (Riti Records, 2011) ****
Source:
Free Jazz by Stef Gijssels
By Paul Acquaro This guitar and piano duo album from Joe Morris and Agustí Fernández is an outing by like minded improvisors, happily extending the definition of melody and the physical limitations of their respective instruments. Between rich acoustic tones they scratch and pluck in unintended places, creating rhythm and melody in adventurous ways. The series of improvisations begin with “Ambrosia 1," which finds Fernández delivering fleeting phrases on the keys while Morris, reacting, provides counter argument via his fretboard. ...
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Joe Morris - Sensor (Nobusiness, 2010)
Source:
Music and More by Tim Niland
Joe Morris is a veteran musician, playing and teaching in New England and New York. Primarily known a guitarist, he added bass to his arsenal about a decade ago, and has built a remarkably original and personal conception of the instrument. This solo album was recorded in 2010 and released as a limited edition vinyl record. “Sensor" is one long meta-track, broken into seven sections, featuring Morris on both plucked and bowed bass. “Sensor 1" opens the album with him ...
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Jazz Guitarist Joe Morris Does It His Way
Source:
All About Jazz @ Spinner
By Tad Hendrickson A jazz artist who balances a sharp ear for melody with an intellect inspired by improvisation's outer reaches, Joe Morris is part of a community of musicians who play what has been called the downtown jazz, avant-garde, free jazz or even just free music scenes. Since he began performing on guitar in 1975, he's carved out a reputation for himself that is up there with innovative guitarists including Derek Bailey, Eugene Chadbourne and Marc Ribot. Always in ...
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The Jazz Session #96: Joe Morris
Source:
Michael Ricci
Guitarist Joe Morris has spent three decades finding ways to contribute to the language of the guitar and to the literature of improvised music. Hes managed to stay true to himself and his sound during that entire time, even as hes added the bass to his repertoire. On Today On Earth (AUM Fidelity, 2009), Morris continues to explore the place of the guitar in the world of free improvisation. In this interview, Morris talks about his early decision to play ...
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Bjork in Full-Throated Plumage, Jazz in a Calmer Key
Source:
Michael Ricci
There has been no shortage of live Bjork documentation in recent seasons. So lets file Voltaic, released by Nonesuch a couple of weeks ago, under the category of Things We Didnt Think We Needed.
Available in five configurations, from a single CD to a multiple CD-DVD-LP set, it chronicles a typical frenzy of activity following the release of Bjorks 2007 album, Volta. The principal CD, recorded in one pass at a studio in London, features live versions of the songs ...
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Firehouse 12 to Present the Joe Morris Quartet This Friday 4/11
Source:
Improvised Communications
On Friday, April 11th, New Haven's Firehouse 12 will welcome back acclaimed guitarist/composer and New Haven native Joe Morris to its Spring Jazz Series for a two-set performance with his quartet. This will be be Morris' sixth appearance at Firehouse 12 and his second as a leader. His quartet, which can be heard on the 2006 release, Beautiful Existence (Clean Feed), features saxophonist Jim Hobbs, bassist Timo Shanko and drummer Matt Rousseau.
“With hauntingly atmospheric modal grooves, tender, reflective ballads ...
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Joe Morris
Instrument: Bass, acoustic
Born: September 13, 1955
