Marlowe Morris

Marlowe Morris ( born May 16, 1915 New York City; † May 1978 ) was an American jazz pianist and organist.

Life and work

Morris was the son of a music teacher ( and nephew of the cornet player and bandleader Thomas Morris). He was largely self-taught. In addition to piano, he also played a number of other instruments (drums, ukulele, harmonica).

In 1935 he accompanied two years, the singer June Clark after he worked for several years as a soloist. In the 1940s he played ( interrupted by military service ) with Coleman Hawkins ( 1940/41, in the combo), Al Sears, Scoville Toby Browne, Big Sid Catlett (including the short film Jammin 'the Blues from 1944 by Gjon Mili ), Tiny Grimes, Eddie South, Doc Wheeler. In the first half of the 1940s, he headed at times, his own trio. From 1946 he played mainly as a soloist in Harlem, inter alia, in Luckey 's Rendezvous, while he worked during the day at the post office. From 1949 he was a professional musician again, where he joined the Hammond organ. In 1952, he played in a quintet with Buddy Tate, Buck Clayton, Edmond Hall and Ray Barretto; 1953 Paul Quinichette and Freddie Green.

The mid-1960s he had his own " Marlowe Morris Trio" ( with tenor saxophonist Julian Dash ), but also began to compose and teach. He took under his own name and, inter alia, with Ben Webster, Lester Young, Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Rushing, Sister Rosetta Tharpe on. ' Marlowe's album "Play the Thing" (Columbia ) won the Grand Prix du Disque of the Hot Club de France. He plays such as Organ on " A Night at Count Basie 's" ( a club in Harlem, the Count Basie was one ) by Joe Williams (published in 1958, Vanguard ), with live recordings from 1956, including Bargeräuschen and Count Basie as an MC ( he does not play ) Bobby Henderson ( seated at the piano ), Emmett Berry, Vic Dickenson, Aaron Bell ( bass) and Bobby Donaldson (drums).

Lexical entry

• Carlo Bohländer: Reclams jazz leader. In 1989.