Farewell Jim At Long Last
Sydney Morning Herald
Sunday April 26, 1987
JUDGING by the events over the past few weeks, anyone could easily be excused for thinking that the 24-year-old multi-instrumentalist, James Morrison, has made more farewell appearances than Dame Nellie Melba and Gladys Moncrieff combined.
The Jazz Action Society began the series of farewells when the talented Morrison performed with Bob Johnson's 'Bones during its April concert.
Bevy's and the Kirribilli Ex-Services Club added their adieus, and at Soup Plus last Monday, James and brother John had the wall to wall crowd almost swinging from the rafters.
Meanwhile, James Morrison Farewells were under way at the Don Burrows Supper Club. On Tuesday, he got together with the Oz Bop Band, and consorted with his Tuba Brass Consort on Wednesday. A Big Bad Band bash was part of Thursday night's offering by the Morrison Brothers, and on Friday, the James Morrison Quintet was in action.
Morrison's forthcoming engagements overseas are impressive and exciting. His first stop will be Rio de Janeiro. Then comes a taste of the Big Apple before he embarks on a tour of the principal European jazz festivals.
Some highlights of this tour will include his introduction by jazz giant Benny Carter at the North Sea Festival in Holland and a special trumpet night at Montreux Festival where he lines up with top US horn men, Clark Terry and Jon Faddis.
At the Umbria Festival in Perugia, Italy, he'll be guesting with the Benny Carter Quintet. Back in America, he will be appearing with the Red Rodney Quintet at the Jazz Showcase in Chicago and the Village Vanguard, New York.
Morrison, whose arsenal of instruments includes various trumpets and trombones, flugel horn, euphonium, alto saxophone and piano, took to the stage on Saturday for his final of final farewell performance. With him were the club patron, Don Burrows, and the Roger Frampton Trio (Frampton piano, Craig Scott bass and Alan Turnbull drums).
Morrison seemed unusually subdued during the earlier part of the evening, but really got hot on trumpet with old warhorses such as Sweet Georgia Brown and the closer, Basin Street Blues, spitting out sixteenths and hitting the highs.
Gremlins in the sound system understandably were distracting to Don Burrows, who apparently had some difficulty in hearing himself, particularly on flute and clarinet.
On Cottontail, his baritone saxophone, Morrison's angled trumpet and Frampton's piano work made that old rabbit jump joyously. In fact, the musically adventurous Frampton, seemingly lightning-charged, stole a good deal of the thunder throughout the evening.
© 1987 Sydney Morning Herald