- Instrument(s):
- trumpet
- Location :
- NYC
- Occupation:
- Musician/Professor/Author
Carol Morgan is a jazz trumpeter, composer, author and college professor who resides in NYC. Originally from Texas, she is a Juilliard graduate who has worked with many remarkable teachers including Chris Gekker, Mark Gould, Ingrid Jensen, and Dennis Dotson.
Carol discography includes three CD's as a leader. The Carol Morgan Trio CD, Opening, featuring Harvie S and Rich DeRosa was signed by Blue Bamboo Music and released in early 2010. Other session work includes solo outings, Classic Morgana and Passing Time with the Carol Morgan Quintet, as well as filling side-person roles on releases by DIVA Jazz Orchestra, Hawk-Richard Jazz Orchestra, The Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, NPR's The Engines of Our Ingenuity, Thomas Helton, Henry Darragh and Calvin Owens. As a composer she has been commissioned by DiverseWorks, the Michele Brangwen Dance Ensemble, the Arch-diocese of Houston/Galveston and St. Thomas Presbyterian Church, Houston. In 2008, Carol authored what is now a highly-regarded method for jazz improvisation--a textbook entitled "The Practicing Improviser."
Currently, Carol leads her own trio with bassist Harvie S and Rich DeRosa on drums, Carol Morgan's Case Study--a jazz quintet featuring Helen Sung and Mike Moreno--and is a member of the New York-based DIVA Jazz Orchestra. Recent performing venues include Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola (Jazz at Lincoln Center, NYC), Small's Jazz Club (NYC), Blues Alley (D.C.), the Playboy Jazz Festival (The Hollywood Bowl, LA), The Lionel Hampton Jazz Club (Paris), The Elephant Room (Austin), The Deer Head Inn (Delaware Gap, PA) and World Cafe' Live (Philadelphia).
Carol's goal as an artist and teacher is to help people enjoy music more.
Reviews:
"A few months ago, I was lucky enough to have attended a set by Carol Morgan’s jazz trio at the prestigious Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola in New York City. I was immediately impressed by her confidence and maturity as a soloist and a bandleader. Her willingness to explore less-travelled pathways in her improvisation and simultaneously sound easy and flowing marks her as an important voice on the trumpet." --Joel Frahm, Anzic Records Recording Artist
"If you’ve followed Morgan through any of the Diva Orchestra related recordings, you know how sexist it would be to say she can hold her own with any of the trumpet blowing fellahs. Sheesh. A real player with a big tone, Morgan leads the trio through a tour de force that unselfconsciously puts her front and center quite deservedly so. A mainstay in hipper New York jazz circles, this is another winning solo set from Morgan that should serve to widen the ripples from those circles a little farther west of the Hudson. Check it out." --Chris Spector, Editor and Publisher, Volume 33/Number 142, Midwest Record
"...it's an excellent CD." --Jim Wilke, host of Jazz After Hours, Public Radio International
"Top shelf stuff!" --Elizabeth Farriss, Programming Director KEWU, Chaney, WA
"Morgan has a nice lip and a natural 'horn' sense in her phrasing." --Bruce Tepper, KVMR Nevada Ctiy, CA
"The Carol Morgan Trio is comprised of Carol Morgan (trumpet), Harvie s (bass), and Rich DeRosa (drums). The three players originally got together to play a series of sets at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. The shows went so well that the three decided to record an album together...and thus Opening was born. This album has a nice sparse sound...presenting the tunes simply without unnecessary clutter. Morgan's playing is nice and fluid...and unlike most trumpet players she doesn't overplay the instrument. Harvie and Rich provide the perfect backdrop for Carol's understated lead melody lines. Eight classy cuts here including 'Opening Line,' 'Dark Continent,' and 'Calypso Blue.' Nice cool subdued stuff..." --Don Seven, LMNOP Magazine
"(the) sweet-toned trumpet of Carol Morgan (was) interpretively compelling..." --Frank Leone, President of the Las Vegas Jazz Society
"Carol Morgan is a musician possessed of formidable technique. Yet, that technique never undermines the musical message. Her improvisations are filled with twists and turns. They are passionate, adventurous, and always display a keen sense of balance, structure and form. But most of all, she is just damn fun to listen to. I always look forward to the next chapter of her story!" --Joe LoCascio, Heart Music Recording Artist.
