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Marty Morell

Marty Morell (drums, percussion, vibes, piano, producer) was a member of the Bill Evans Trio for seven years. A highly inventive player, capable of both great subtlety and fiery dynamics.

Morell attended the Manhattan School of Music and studied mallets with Morris Goldberg, and tympani with Saul Goodman at the Julliard School of Music. Prior to joining Bill Evans, Morell worked and/or recorded with the Al Cohn-Zoot Sims Quintet, Henry “Red” Allen , Gary McFarland, Steve Kuhn and Gabor Szabo.

He recorded prolifically and toured the world with pianist Bill Evans and bassist Eddie Gomez from late 1968 through 1974. After leaving the trio, Marty settled in Toronto, Canada where he became a highly sought after studio drummer and percussionist. He fronted his own bands as a drummer and also worked as a vibist and pianist with his Latin band.

Morell has played on numerous jingles, films, and has worked and recorded with many jazz artists such as Don Sebesky, Stan Getz, Kenny Wheeler, Claus Ogerman, Rob McConnell & the Boss Brass, Gabor Szabo, and many others (see discography) He did many drum clinics and percussion seminars across Canada and was the head of the Percussion Department at Mohawk College in Hamilton, Ontario for two semesters, from 1986 -1987)

Considered a highly versatile musician, Morell also performed with the Toronto Symphony, Canadian Opera Company, the Hamilton Philharmonic and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet and from 1989-97 he was the percussionist with the “Phantom of the Opera” orchestra in Toronto.

In 1998 he moved back to his hometown, NYC, to play the Tony award -winning musical “Ragtime”. After a two-year run on Broadway, he toured nationally with the show. Following that, he did the revival of “Kiss Me Kate” (Tony award for Best Musical revival 2001) and “Suessical: the Musical” starring Cathy Rigby. Marty Morell currently resides in Florida and is very active in the jazz community.

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Album Review

The Jazz Professors: Blues and Cubes

Read "Blues and Cubes" reviewed by Jack Bowers


Yes, the Florida-based Jazz Professors, as befits the name, are smart—but don't let that throw you. They also swing in the best jazz tradition, even though their fourth album, Blues and Cubes, was inspired by the art of Pablo Picasso. Unlike Picasso's works, however, there is scant abstraction here; the Professors embody far more bop than bemusement, more Blue Note than bohemian. As for day gigs, the Professors maintain theirs at the University of Central Florida in ...

Album Review

Bill Evans: Behind The Dikes – The 1969 Netherlands Recordings

Read "Behind The Dikes – The 1969 Netherlands Recordings" reviewed by Stefano Merighi


Gli inediti di Bill Evans cominciano a tracimare in questi anni. E se qualcuno si chiedesse se valga la pena ascoltare anche questo recente Behind the Dikes (doppio CD che documenta concerti in studio in Olanda nel 1969), risponderei di andare subito alla versione di “'Round Midnight" per dissipare ogni dubbio. Evans trasfigura il classico monkiano, modificandone il carattere delle singole sezioni, e lo fa proprio in una inedita fluidità di esecuzione, offrendo una straordinaria vetrina al basso di Eddie ...

7
Album Review

Bill Evans: Morning Glory

Read "Morning Glory" reviewed by Jim Worsley


1973 was a time of political volatility and unrest. Argentina's former President Juan Peron was returning to the country after many years in exile. The controversy brought emotions to the surface and created a dangerous environment. Just what three jazz cats didn't need to hear as they made their way to Buenos Aires for a concert. There is an unwritten code of understanding, however, that musicians and athletes are to walk freely. They are artists after all, often considered above ...

24
Album Review

Bill Evans: Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans: A Career Retrospective (1956 - 1980)

Read "Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans: A Career Retrospective (1956 - 1980)" reviewed by Chris May


Only occasionally do classy looking limited-edition box sets prove to be a triumph of style and substance. Too often they are undermined by cheapskate packaging, over elaborate design, poorly written and researched booklets, inadequate session details or, most egregiously, bizarre (in a bad way) track selections. So it is a more than pleasant surprise when something comes along which succeeds, and succeeds magnificently, on all those fronts. Such an item is Concord Records' Craft imprint's Everybody Still Digs Bill Evans: ...

22
Album Review

Bill Evans: Behind The Dikes – The 1969 Netherlands Recordings

Read "Behind The Dikes – The 1969 Netherlands Recordings" reviewed by Dan McClenaghan


Zev Feldman, co-president of Resonance Records, seems to have made it his life's mission to present every unreleased note that pianist Bill Evans ever recorded. Live At Art D'Lugoff's Top Of The Gate (2012), Some Other Time (2016), Another Time: The Hilversum Concert (2017), Evans In England (2019) and Live At Ronnie Scott's (2020) represent the Bill Evans discography on the Resonance Records label, all produced by Feldman. And now 2021 finds Feldman teaming with the Elemental Music label, to ...

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Album Review

Jeff Rupert/George Garzone: The Ripple

Read "The Ripple" reviewed by Jim Worsley


The Ripple refers to the infectious, warm, intimate, yet big sound developed by the great Lester Young, starting in the late 1930s. While Young pioneered improvisational creativity, Stan Getz later took the baton (well, it was actually a saxophone) and further expanded his idol's stylish approach with new and creatively open-ended visions. Young and Getz collectively have had an enormous effect on future generations of sax players. Consequently, they have left a significant and impactful mark on the sound of ...

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Interview

Marty Morell: A Leader at Last

Read "Marty Morell: A Leader at Last" reviewed by Ken Dryden


Marty Morell recently began his fifth decade on the international jazz scene, but it was only recently that he recorded his first CD as a leader. Best known for his long stint as the drummer in the Bill Evans Trio between 1968 and 1974, after leaving Evans he lived and worked in Toronto for a number of years, playing with a number of Canadian bandleaders and also playing on soundtracks and jingles. Morell has performed on recordings by Henry “Red ...

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Performance / Tour

The other side of Marty Morell

The other side of Marty Morell

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes

Tampa-based Marty Morell is best known for his seven-year tenure as pianist Bill Evans' longest-serving drummer, from 1968 to 1975. He was in the house last season as the drummer in saxophonist Jeff Rupert's ensemble featuring singer Veronica Swift, but the Charlotte County Jazz Society's 2018-19 season finale on Monday, April 8 was the first local opportunity to hear him on vibes- and with a decidedly Latin flair. Morell came to Port Charlotte with the M&M Latin Jazz Ensemble, a ...

1

Performance / Tour

A Jazz Matinee with Larry Camp, Marty Morell, Bruce Wallace

A Jazz Matinee with Larry Camp, Marty Morell, Bruce Wallace

Source: Ken Franckling's Jazz Notes

Bassist Bruce Wallace opened the South County Jazz Club's 2014-15 concert season Friday afternoon with a top-notch trio whose members had never worked together in this personnel grouping. It featured guitarist Larry Camp and drummer Marty Morell, best known in jazz circles for his seven-year stint in pianist Bill Evans' trio from 1968 to 1975. Musically, it was a fine, and poignant, afternoon at the Venice (FL) Art Center. This was Wallace's third consecutive season opener for the jazz club. ...

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Interview

Marty Morell on Bill Evans (PT. 3)

Marty Morell on Bill Evans (PT. 3)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

If you think listening to Bill Evans' albums is an emotional ride, imagine what it was like to play drums in his trio. Marty Morell [pictured] had that honor as a member of the pianist's trio for seven years—longer than any other drummer. From 1968 to 1975, Marty toured, recorded albums and grew close to the artist who today has become something of a cult figure among jazz fans. Admittedly, I'm one of those fans. Having spent my teens playing ...

Interview

Marty Morell on Bill Evans (PT. 2)

Marty Morell on Bill Evans (PT. 2)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

The first Bill Evans Trio with bassist Scott LaFaro and drummer Paul Motian liberated the rhythm section. Up until the first Bill Evans Trio's formation in 1959, a rhythm section was largely a supportive unit that played behind horn players. Or in cases where a trio stood alone, the bass and drums were there to keep time while the piano entertained. But with the first Bill Evans Trio, the rhythm section became something much more—a group of independent conversationalists who ...

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Recording

Marty Morell on Bill Evans (PT. 1)

Marty Morell on Bill Evans (PT. 1)

Source: JazzWax by Marc Myers

For seven years—between 1968 and 1975—Marty Morell played drums in the Bill Evans Trio alongside bassist Eddie Gomez. This was a crucial period of growth for Evans. The pianist matured rapidly musically and emotionally, and you can see the physical change on his album covers—transitioning from business-suited Mad Man to bearded Mountain Man. [Pictured above, from left: Bill Evans, Eddie Gomez and Marty Morell in Helsinki, Finland, in 1970] This period remains among the most fascinating and enigmatic for Evans ...

Photos

Music

Recordings: As Leader | As Sideperson

Morning Glory

Resonance Records
2022

buy

Blues and Cubes

Flying Horse Records
2022

buy

Everybody Still Digs...

Craft Recordings
2021

buy

Behind The Dikes –...

Elemental Music
2021

buy

Everybody Still Digs...

Craft Recordings
2021

buy

The Ripple

Rupe Media
2020

buy

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