Joe Morris Trio - Antennae

Joe Morris plays the guitar unlike anyone else – ever – and has been doing so for four decades. Playing with a very clean tone (no fx boxes or pedals), his work builds energy through precise articulation and phrasing, rather than volume or other theatrics. For comparative description, It's actually easier to compare him to horn players like Jimmy Lyons or Eric Dolphy, next to both of whom he stands tall.

The guitar-bass-drums trio format remains a favorite for Joe Morris; one that he has most amply documented in a highly diverse oevre that stretches back to his first (self-released) album in 1983. Within this format, Morris' singularly profound gifts as a player are full to the fore. His band here is also in top form and stunning throughout. And the compositions! Joe Morris writes gorgeous tunes with a beckoning sense of mystery. This album, originally released in November 1997, completed that year's New Jazz Trilogy Nonpareil (together with David S. Ware's 'Wisdom of Uncertainty' and William Parker's 'Sunrise in The Tone World'). Press responses from that time follow..

"He has hot-wired American primitivism and post-modern structuralism to create not just an innovative guitar style, but a far-reaching new music aesthetic. Morris' music taps a lot of roots simultaneously; some are as old as music itself, and some are too new to have a name." –Bill Shoemaker, JazzTimes