Guitarist and composer Justin Morell, 34, received his BA from UCLA, an MA from California State University East Bay, and is currently working on his Ph.D. at University of Oregon where he studies under Robert Kyr and David Crumb. While his main interest is jazz performance and classical composition, he is an experienced guitarist of all styles. Justin comes from a family of musicians: His father, John, is a jazz guitarist who has worked with noted artists from Shelly Manne to Miles Davis, and his grandfather, Carl Fischer, composed such standards as "You've Changed" and "We'll Be Together Again."
Justin grew up in Los Angeles and got his start as a professional musician there where he worked with a number of notable jazz and studio musicians. During that time, he performed as a freelance guitarist on a variety of jazz projects as well as on television and movie soundtracks. In 2001, Justin moved to Oakland, CA, where he continued to perform and compose music. During his four years there, he performed at jazz venues, premiered new classical works, played in pit orchestras, and studied composition with Frank La Rocca.
In 2005, Justin released his most recent recording, “duOrange,†a piano/guitar duo featuring Leonard Thompson, and playing a set that includes originals by both Thompson and Morell. Justin’s next-most recent CD release, “triOrange,†has been met with critical acclaim since its release in the Fall of 2003. “the music of steely_dan,†his fourth project as a leader, was chosen as one of the best CDs of 2002 by NPR’s third largest radio station, WBEZ Chicago. Justin recently had the privilege of traveling to Denmark where his piece, “Jazz Ensemble,†won third place in the Danish Radio Big Band International Thad Jones Competition. It was one of five finalists chosen among more than one hundred submissions, and was performed in a live broadcast from Copenhagen. He can be heard on CDs, television, and film as a guitarist and as a drummer, as well as recording engineer and producer. Some projects he's worked on include Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me if You Can, Lifetime Original Movies, TV sitcom The Naked Truth, the Lion King-San Francisco, and various TV and radio jingles. Justin has also had works performed by the Oregon Jazz Ensemble, SO Percussion, the Onyx String Quartet, and ECCE (Eugene Contemporary Chamber Orchestra), and has had pieces premiered at the Composers', Inc., concert series and the Oregon Composers Forum.
Justin's list of concert works includes: a string quartet, a saxophone quartet, a chamber sinfonia, a percussion ensemble (with two pianos and four percussionists), a large chamber winds piece, three compositions for large jazz ensemble, and a number of smaller chamber works.
Some of Justin's career highlights have been performing with Russell Ferrante, Brandon Fields, Dizzy Gillespie, James Ingram, Johnny Mandel, Noe Venable, Bob Mintzer, Peter Erskine, Bob Florence, Kim Richmond, John Williams, Todd Sickafoose, James Carney, John Daversa, Scott Amendola, Laurie Lewis, and the Supremes.
Justin plays a Gibson ES335, Carruthers custom long neck, Rivera amps, D'Addario strings, and Jim Dunlop picks.
Selected discography:
as a leader:
Justin Morell “duOrange†Justin Morell “triOrange†Justin Morell Quintet "the music of steely_dan" Justin Morell "Septet" Justin Morell "Quartet"
as a sideman:
Maestros of Cool "A Tribute to Steely Dan" Todd Sickafoose "Blood Orange" Todd Sickafoose "Dogs Outside" Noe Venable, "The World is Bound By Secret Knots" Murmaids "Splash Back, Popsicles and Icicles" Hugh Brodie "Unforgettable Sax" John Daversa "Big Band" Euphoria, music from the stage production "Euphoria" Won Il "Asura"
