He first achieved prominence with The Lionel Hampton Orchestra in 1942 and remained with Hamp for four years.
In 1946 he formedhis own orchestra with Johnny Griffin, tenor sax; Bill McLemore, baritone sax; Wilmus Reeves, piano; George Freeman, guitar; Embra Daylie, drums; and Leroy Jackson, Bass. this band recorded for Manor before before laying down their first eight tracks for Atlantic on december 12, 1947.
LOWE GROOVING was issued in march 1948 featured Johnny Griffin, received favorable reviews and sold very wll up and down the East Coast. Atlantic´s distribution was limited at this time, and the record never reached the very limited R&B chart listings. Sales were undoubtedly helped by the fact that the tune was dedicated to popular disc Jockey Jackson Lowe, working out of Washington, DC. Lowe made the tune his theme song and played the hell out of it.
The success of this record was due in no small part to the fine sax work of Johnny Griffin, but reviewers were undecided as to the category of music they were hearing. It was new, and it didn't fit any of the convenient "jazz", "Bop" or "race" pigeonholes. It represented the first tentative step toward an easily-identified r&b sound.
By september 19, 1948 The Morris Orchestra included the great Mathew Gee, trombone; Elmo Hope, piano; Percy Heath, bass; and Philly Joe Jones, drums; Joe's exuberant vocal on THE APPLEJACK is backed by this all-star array, still of course, with Johnny Griffin in the spotlight.
After a year on the road, Morris returned to the Atlantic Studios in June 1950, this time with a full-blown musical revue. The "Joe Morris Blues Cavalcade" was a road show heavy on the hard-swinging instrumentals and shouting vocals, loosely patterned after the very successful Johnny Otis Show. Morris had Little Laurie Tate as his counterpart to Otis' Little Esther. Vocalist Tate proved to be extremely popular and her high-pitched, emotional stylings
handed Morris his first chart hits.
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