A Few Reviews of Morgan’s Music
About The Morgan Powell Jazz Album
(Chicago Lakeside Jazz)
“Morgan Powell and I grew up in the same musically unpromising small west Texas town. I was struck…by his inventiveness, his passion for music, and his discipline…This album is the fruit of a long love: from the complexities Light and Shadows to the brio of dafunkaMonkus it is rich in the grace and energy that has always characterized Morgan’s music. He had such qualities nearly fifty years ago, and he has them still.”
— Larry McMurtry, novelist
Morgan Powell Jazz Album liner notes
“…This knocked me outta the chair…SO, along comes this CD…I had no idea what a talent was brewing behind what appeared to be a quiet and humble exterior. Well, [Morgan Powell] has SURFACED, folks! No cocktail music here. Don’t even TRY! You’ll need (and WANT) to sit and really listen to this CD…ALL THE WAY without interruptions. It’s unbelievable. The writing, arranging, and PLAYING of the people in the band to pull this off is just a gass!…CHECK THIS OUT!!!!!! IT’S HEAVY!!”
— Bobby Shew, jazz trumpet player
Morgan Powell Jazz Album liner notes
“Just got back from 6 months away and sat down to listen to your CD [The Morgan Powell Jazz Album]. It’s a MONSTER!!! What fabulous creativity! Amazing!! People will love it or hate it, and that’s great (Much better than no reaction). I shall brag about knowing all you North Texas State talents. Keep on keeping on.”
— Russell Garcia, composer/arranger
“The music on this CD…challenges the listener to discard preconceived notions of jazz, the big band, and contemporary classical music. Through the processes of composing, performing, and hearing this music the bar is raised to a new level of what constitutes ‘creative’ music.”
— Jim McNeely, jazz pianist/composer
“Morgan’s music has soul, spirit, song, effect, guts. I listen to these tunes and I get about every emotional feeling you can get.”
— Don Owens, Professor of Music, Northwestern University
and head of jazz studies and the NWU New Music Ensemble
I think it’s the third eye that [Powell’s] music engages, deep inside the head. Despite its frequent magnitude and volume, it is essentially introspective music, and will trick only the inattentive or fearful into thinking it extrovert…Not only does he create great sound, he scrupulously orders sound elements to make intense reactions available when they are unexpected or even resisted. Thus he composes in a large sense—composing, proposing, and suggesting to the listener possibilities for idea and emotion.
— Ann Starr
www.Ann-Starr.com