The Creative Music Series Presents
A Dynamic Duo
Rhythmic, Sophisticated, Improvisational
The return of a great one back to Boston, a New England legend,
Guitarist, Composer, Educator, Joe Morris.
“If Ornette Coleman were Jim Hall, he would be Joe Morris."; "… he sounds like no one else."; "One of the most profound improvisers at work in the U.S." The Wire
"… a guitarist whose sound is completely his own, oscillating between deadpan sweetness and dangerous, shrapnel-like caprice." Down Beat.
Joined in Duet
Also returning to Boston, now a ubiquitous presence in the New York (& world) scene…an artist whose urbane writing is equal to his impressively nuanced creations, ...
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The Creative Music Series Presents
A Dynamic Duo
Rhythmic, Sophisticated, Improvisational
The return of a great one back to Boston, a New England legend,
Guitarist, Composer, Educator, Joe Morris.
“If Ornette Coleman were Jim Hall, he would be Joe Morris."; "… he sounds like no one else."; "One of the most profound improvisers at work in the U.S." The Wire
"… a guitarist whose sound is completely his own, oscillating between deadpan sweetness and dangerous, shrapnel-like caprice." Down Beat.
Joined in Duet
Also returning to Boston, now a ubiquitous presence in the New York (& world) scene…an artist whose urbane writing is equal to his impressively nuanced creations,
Drummer, Composer, Educator, Tomas Fujiwara.
“Its music that sounds as unpredictable as it does inevitable. That's just the magic of drummer Tomas Fujiwara's work...It's daring music that leaves no doubt as to the veracity surrounding Fujiwara's place in the pantheon of left-leaning explorers leading the charge today.” All About Jazz, his Triple Double 20l17 release.
In The New York Times, Nate Chinen writes, “Drummer Tomas Fujiwara works with rhythm as a pliable substance, solid but ever shifting. His style is forward-driving but rarely blunt or aggressive, and never random. He has a way of spreading out the center of a pulse while setting up a rigorous scaffolding of restraint...A conception of the drum set as a full-canvas instrument, almost orchestral in its scope.”
Bios
JOE MORRIS was born in New Haven, Connecticut on September 13, 1955. With the exception of a few lessons he is self-taught. The influence of Jimi HendJrix 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. 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. 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 helped to organize the Boston Improvisers Group (BIG) with other musicians. In 1981 he formed his own record company, Riti. Between 1987 and 1989 he lived in New York City.
In 1989 he returned to Boston. Between 1989 and 1993 he performed and recorded with his electric trio Sweatshop and electric quartet Racket Club. In 1994 he became the first guitarist to lead his own session in the twenty year history of Black Saint/Soulnote Records with the trio recording Symbolic Gesture. He has toured throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe as a solo and as a leader of a trio and a quartet.
He began playing acoustic bass in 2000, and is currently on the faculty at New England Conservatory in the jazz and improvisation department.
TOMAS FUJIWARA. Born and raised in Boston, MA, Tomas studied with legendary drummer and teacher Alan Dawson for eight years before moving to New York at the age of 17. He is currently a member of ensembles led by Taylor Ho Bynum, Mary Halvorson, Matana Roberts, Nicole Mitchell, Matt Bauder, and Tomeka Reid, in addition to projects with artists such as Anthony Braxton, John Zorn, Michael Formanek, Ben Goldberg, and Benoit Delbecq, and has performed at festivals and venues across North America, Europe, Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. He also has many experiences outside the jazz realm.
Fujiwara is now a Brooklyn-based drummer and composer. Tomas is an active player in some of the most exciting music of the current generation, with his bands Triple Double (with Gerald Cleaver, Mary Halvorson, Brandon Seabrook, Ralph Alessi, and Taylor Ho Bynum), Tomas Fujiwara & The Hook Up (with Jonathan Finlayson, Brian Settles, Halvorson, and Michael Formanek) and The Tomas Fujiwara Trio (with Alessi and Seabrook); his collaborative duo with cornetist Taylor Ho Bynum; the collective trio Thumbscrew (with Halvorson and Formanek); and a diversity of creative sideman work with forward thinking peers like Tomeka Reid and Matana Roberts.
The Creative Music Series in recognition of THE WE HAVE VOICE collective—Women in Jazz and other artistic expressions—shall encourage safe(r) workplaces in the performing arts – zero tolerance for harassment of any kind! URL: www.wehavevoice.org.
The Creative Music Series (CMS) was established in Jan., 201t5, to showcase the work of adventurous jazz musicians from out-of-state, presenting them in intimate venues in the Cambridge/Somerville area. My endeavor was a reaction to the apparent lack of invitations being extended to accomplished, new talent and even unknown musicians to the Boston area. CMS has now begun to zero in on Boston based musicians who are creating their own projects with these out-of-town guests, and taking these musical risks to find an expression and gain a wider appreciation.
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