Don Burrows & James Morrison
Biography Don Burrows & James Morrison
Don Burrows
Born in Sydney in 1928, jazz and swing musician Don Burrows is a household name in Australia.
A composer and arranger, he's one of the world's finest interpreters of the jazz tradition and highly respected internationally, where he's toured to great acclaim since 1960.
He was the first Australian musician to be invited to perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1972 and later the Newport Jazz Festival and New York's Carnegie Hall.
A multi-instrumentalist, Don has played the clarinet, saxophone and flute with world-renowned musicians.
The first Head of Jazz Studies at the Sydney Conservatorium, he has travelled all over Australia, bringing his enthusiasm for music to students in the bush.
A lifelong fisherman, Don is also an accomplished photographer. Now in his 76th year, Don Burrows has not even begun to think about slowing down.
In this interview, Don talks about his early life at Bondi, leaving school at 14 and working in nightclubs, playing with the world's best musicians, becoming a household name, the heartaches he's suffered and the effect on his music, his credo of staying true to himself and how he plans to keep playing till the end.
James Morrison
is, by anybody’s standard, a virtuoso in the true sense of the word.
Besides the trumpet, this multi-instrumentalist also plays trombone, euphonium, flugel horn, tuba, saxophones, double bass and piano.
At the age of seven, he was given his first instrument, at nine he formed his first band and at 13 he was playing professionally in nightclubs. His international career developed just as quickly. At only age 16 James 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 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 51, 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, has given royal command performances on two occasions for Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and played for US Presidents Bush & Clinton at Parliament House in Australia. In 1997, James was awarded a medal of The Order of Australia in recognition of his service to the arts in Australia.
James was also the artistic advisor to the Sydney Symphony Orchestra’s Kaleidoscope series, which has included performances by Chick Corea, Dianne Reeves, Gary Burton and Kristjan Järvi. He spends much time in education, giving master classes and workshops in many countries and presenting the James Morrison Jazz Scholarship at Generations in Jazz. An avid user of the latest technologies James is very involved in furthering the presence of jazz and music education on the internet. He uses computers extensively in his writing, recording and performances.
The latest chapter in his diverse career has seen James appointed as Artistic Director of the Queensland Music Festival, a music initiative whose vision is to ‘transform lives through unforgettable musical experiences’.
