Justin Morell

The Valley Jazz Orchestra of Lebanon Valley College has just released their first commercial recording, Vicious Fishes, under the direction of Jeff Lovell and myself, featuring six of my original works for jazz orchestra.  They’re joined by guest artists John Daversa and Josh Deutsch, both of whom were artists in residence recently at LVC, as well as by saxophonist Tom Strohman, our long-time legendary LVC woodwind and jazz faculty member.  We are extremely proud of the work our students have done to make this project possible.  Please check it out via the band’s website, www.valleyjazzorchestra.com, and anywhere you stream music.  The scores for all of the pieces on the album are posted in the Store, and parts can be purchased and downloaded directly through this site.

The Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, in partnership with Boundless Arts Foundation and Savage Content, presented a live performance of All Without Words, with trumpet soloist John Daversa and joined by members of the Frost School of Music, on September 20, 2023. The event was filmed and will be available for streaming, along with an accompanying documentary about the making of the project and a full audio recording. Information is available through the All Without Words Live website.

“Justin Morell should be considered for inclusion in the top tier of jazz guitarists, along with Metheny and Bill Frisell, while his Exit Music For Intelligent Life On Earth is a likely candidate for inclusion in 2022’s Best Jazz Records of the Year.” — Dan McClenaghan, All About Jazz.  Read the full review here.

From the album Exit Music for Intelligent Life on Earth, available everywhere on February 4, 2022, featuring Mark Ferber on drums and the visual art of Angela Weddle:

All Without Words, a concerto for trumpet with jazz orchestra and choir, is now available everywhere you listen to music.  We have set up a separate site for this project, allwithoutwords.org, where you can find out about the music and the visual artists who are contributing to the project.

Here’s a short excerpt from the live premiere:

The live premiere event was held at University of Miami, with the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra under the direction of Scott Flavin, on October 2, 2021.  Here’s a link to the complete concert:

Here are three more video excerpts from the concert:

My Four Songs (on excerpts from Lucretius’ “On the Nature of the Universe”) for Bass-Baritone & String Quartet is now available on the Subito Music website, published by Pacific Serenades.

Concerto for Guitar and Jazz Orchestra, featuring guitar soloist Adam Rogers with the University of Miami Frost Concert Jazz Ensemble, directed by John Daversa, is available on iTunes.  Read some reviews here.  

Photo and logo image by John Garbulinski