Joe Morris

by Wilson McCLoy
Joe Morris is an uncompromisingly original guitarist following in the tradition of other free-jazz guitar, conceptual innovators like Derek Bailey, Sonny Sharrock, Eugene Chadbourne, and James Ulmer. However, Mr. Morris has developed his own, unique approach to guitar playing, composition, and improvisation which is unlike his peers. He usually incorporates a clean tone of the be-bop lineage for his single-note driven improvisations. His recordings are widely eclectic ranging from solo performances, traditional acoustic settings, and fusion dates to various groups with interesting instrumentation Mr. Morris spent his formative years in New Haven, Connecticut where he taught himself the guitar and immersed himself in a variety of progressive musical styles. He spent numerous weekends attending free symphonic productions at nearby Yale University which included performances of artists as diverse as Karlheinz Stockhausen, Charles Ives, and Duke Ellington. Attention to local AACM (Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians) members Leo Smith and George Lewis and a world-music radio show presented by percussionist Gerry Hemmingway also helped Mr. Morris develop his wide musical pallette. In 1975, Mr. Morris moved to Boston where his unique approach was not initially accepted in the then-prevalent, modal-jazz scene. Despite this temporary setback, and some time spent playing guitar in Europe, he developed a pivotal, collaborative relationship with multi-instrumentalist Lowell Davidson whose unique sound explorations inspired Mr. Morris to further develop his own original approach to music making. In 1981 Mr. Morris began his own label, Riti Records (named after an African, single-stringed folk-instrument), to his prolific musical output. During the 90s he became, arguably, the most widely heralded free-jazz guitarist in jazz while recording with many avant garde luminaries. Mr. Morris became the first guitarist to lead a recording session for the prestigious Black Saint/ Soul Note records with 1994s Symbolic Gesture, and he has continued to record extensively for many outstanding labels such as ECM, Hat Hut, Leo, Incus, Okka Disk, Homestead, About Time, Knitting Factory Works, No More Records, AUM Fidelity, and Omnitone. Also, Mr. Morris has given lectures and workshops for Harvard University, New England Conservatory, Berklee College of Music, and other European universities. Joe Morris recordings can currently be obtained through Cadence/ North Country Distribution or his website at www.joe-morris.com.