James Morrison

At the age of seven, he was given his first instrument, at nine he formed his first band and at thirteen he was playing professionally in nightclubs. His international career developed equally as fast. Just turned 16 James Morrison debuted in the USA with a breathtaking concert at the Monterey Jazz Festival. Following this were performances at the big festivals in Europe – including Montreaux, Pori, North Sea, Nice, Berlin and Bern - playing with many of the legends of jazz. Dizzy Gillespie, Cab Calloway, Woody Shaw, Red Rodney, George Benson, Ray Charles, B.B. King, Ray Brown and Wynton Marsalis to name a few. There were also gigs in the world’s most famous jazz clubs – the Blue Note and Village Vanguard in New York, the New Morning in Paris and Ronnie Scott’s in London. Now 39, James Morrison’s career thus far has been diverse and perhaps not typical of most jazz musicians. He recorded “Jazz Meets the Symphony” with The London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Lalo Schifrin, performed concerts at the Royal Albert hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden for Princess Anne. Royal command performances on two occasions for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and for US Presidents Bush & Clinton at Parliament House in Australia. In 1997, James was recognised for his service to the arts in Australia and made a member of the Order of Australia. In 2000 James was commissioned to compose and perform the Opening Fanfare of the Sydney Olympic Games. Recent highlights include playing to a sell-out crowd at the Hollywood bowl, concerts with the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, in Tel Aviv with the Israel National Orchestra, concerts in Barcelona, Toronto, South Africa, Berlin and New Years Eve 2000 in Tokyo with Ray Brown’s Trumpet Summit, performances in London with the BBC Big Band at Queen Elizabeth hall, at the LA Jazz Festival, at the Playboy Jazz Festival with Bill Cosby’s All stars, several concerts with The Sydney Symphony. Performances in Europe last summer will included the Ray Brown 75^th Birthday Tour and the premiere of a new work commissioned by the WDR Big Band in Cologne. Apart from touring the world for most of the year James is also head of Morrison Records, an independent label dedicated to the best of jazz. An avid user of the latest technologies James is very involved in furthering the presence of jazz and music education on the internet and also uses Apple Computers extensively in his writing, recording and performances. When not writing film scores, composing or being patron of several youth orchestras, James relaxes in some fairly unconventional ways for a musician - competing in triathlons, abseiling, flying his private plane or driving in a rally championship. His love of cars is well known, as he was host of the national TV program “Behind the Wheel”. With interests so