
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, Charle...