Joe Morris (trumpeter)
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| Joe Morris | |
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 Cover of compilation album
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joe Morris |
| Born | 1922 |
| Origin |  Montgomery, Alabama, USA |
| Died | November 1958 |
| Genre(s) | Jazz Rhythm & Blues |
| Occupation(s) | Trumpeter Bandleader |
| Instrument(s) | Trumpet |
| Years active | c. 1942 - 1958 |
| Associated acts | Faye Adams Lionel Hampton Johnny Griffin |
Joe Morris (b. 1922, Montgomery, Alabama–d. November 1958) was an American jazz and rhythm and blues trumpeter and bandleader.
He began his career as a jazz trumpeter, working and recording with Earl Bostic, Milt Buckner, Arnett Cobb, Dizzy Gillespie, Johnny Griffin, Buddy Rich and Lionel Hampton. After working with Hampton as a writer, arranger, and trumpeter, he left in 1946 to set up the Joe Morris Orchestra. This featured, among others, Johnny Griffin, Elmo Hope, Percy Heath and Philly Joe Jones. One of his first credited recordings as bandleader was with Wynonie Harris on "Drinkin' Wine, Spo-Dee-O-Dee".
Morris signed with the then fledgling Atlantic Records, and released "Anytime, Any Place, Anywhere", with vocals by Laurie Tate. This rose to number one on the R&B charts in 1950, and he followed up with "Don't Take Your Love Away From Me". The band functioned as the unofficial house band for Atlantic in the early 1950s, and several future stars passed through its ranks, including Ray Charles and Lowell Fulson.
In 1953 Tate left for a solo career, and Morris replaced her with his new discovery Faye Adams. He moved to Herald Records, where he backed Adams on her # 1 R&B smash hit, his own composition "Shake A Hand", and its follow-up "I'll Be True", also an R&B # 1 hit. At the same time, he had his own hit with "I Had A Notion", featuring vocals by Al Savage.
Morris died of a cerebral haemorrhage in 1958, aged 36.
