Joe Morello | |
|---|---|
 Morello in a 1960 advertisement | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Joseph Albert Morello |
| Born | (1928-07-17)July 17, 1928 Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | March 12, 2011(2011-03-12) (aged 82) Irvington, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Genres | |
| Occupation | Musician |
| Instrument | Drums |
| Years active | 1954–2011 |
| Labels | Columbia |
| Formerly of | The Dave Brubeck Quartet |
Joseph Albert "Joe"Morello (July 17, 1928[1] – March 12, 2011)[2] was an Americanjazz drummer best known for serving as the drummer for pianistDave Brubeck, as part of the Dave Brubeck Quartet, from 1957 to 1972, including during the quartet's "classic lineup" from 1958 to 1968, which also included alto saxophonistPaul Desmond and bassistEugene Wright. Morello's facility for playing unusualtime signatures and rhythms enabled that group to record a series of albums that explored them. The most notable of these was the first in the series, the 1959 albumTime Out, which contained the hit songs "Take Five" and "Blue Rondo à la Turk". In fact, "Take Five", the album's biggest hit (and the first jazz single to sell more than one million copies) was specifically written by Desmond as a way to showcase Morello's ability to play in5
4 time.[3]
Besides playing with Brubeck, Morello also served as an accompanist for other musicians, includingMarian McPartland,Tal Farlow andGary Burton, and recorded his own albums as well. He received numerous accolades during his life, including being named the best drummer byDown Beat magazine five years in a row.
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Tom Morello was born inSpringfield, Massachusetts, United States[1] to Joseph Morello and Lillian LaPalme. His father was a French emigrant fromNice of italian ancestry and his mother hailed fromFrench Canada.[4] Morello suffered from partial vision from birth,[5] and devoted himself to indoor activities. At six years old, he began studying the violin. Three years later, he was a featured soloist with theBoston Symphony Orchestra, playingMendelssohn's Violin Concerto, and again three years later.
At the age of 15, Morello met the violinistJascha Heifetz and decided that he would never be able to equal Heifetz's "sound". Therefore, he switched to drumming, first studying with a show drummer named Joe Sefcik and thenGeorge Lawrence Stone, author of the noted drum textbookStick Control for the Snare Drummer. Stone was so impressed with Morello's ideas that he incorporated them into his next book,Accents & Rebounds, which is dedicated to Morello. Later, Morello studied withRadio City Music Hall percussionist,Billy Gladstone.
After moving to New York City, Morello worked with numerous notable jazz musicians includingJohnny Smith,Tal Farlow,Stan Kenton,Phil Woods,Sal Salvador,Marian McPartland,Jay McShann,Art Pepper, andHoward McGhee.[1] After a period of playing in McPartland's trio, Morello declined invitations to join bothBenny Goodman andTommy Dorsey's bands, favoring a temporary two-month tour with the Dave Brubeck Quartet in 1955.[1] Morello remained with Brubeck for well over a decade, departing in 1967.[1] Morello later became an in-demand clinician, teacher and bandleader, whose former students includeDanny Gottlieb, TigerBill Meligari, Bruce Springsteen E Street Band drummerMax Weinberg,Rich Galichon, Phish drummer Jon Fishman, Gary Feldman, Patrick Wante, Tony Woo, Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons drummer Gerry Polci, Jerry Granelli, RIOT drummer Sandy Slavin, retired Army Blues drummer Steve Fidyk, Glenn Johnson, Pittsburgh drummer Bennett Carlise,Level System author and professional drummer Jeff W. Johnson,[6] Jazz drummerJohn B. Riley, and Bon Jovi drummerTico Torres.
Morello appeared in many Brubeck performances and contributed to over 60 albums with Brubeck. On "Take Five", he plays an imaginative drum solo maintaining the 5/4 time signature throughout. Another example of soloing in odd time signatures can be heard on "Unsquare Dance", in which he solos using only sticks without drums in 7/4 time. At the end of the track, he can be heard laughing about the "trick" ending. He also features on "Blue Rondo à la Turk", "Strange Meadow Lark", "Pick-Up Sticks" and "Castilian Drums".
During his career, Morello appeared on over 120 albums. He authored several drum books, includingMaster Studies, published byModern Drummer Publications, and also made instructional videos. Morello was the recipient of many awards, includingPlayboy magazine's best drummer award for seven years in a row, andDown Beat magazine's best drummer award five years in a row. He was elected to theModern Drummer magazine Hall of Fame in 1988, the Percussive Arts Society Hall of Fame in 1993, and was the recipient of Hudson Music's first TIP (Teacher Integration Program) Lifetime Achievement award in June, 2010.[7][3][8]
Morello died at his home inIrvington, New Jersey, on March 12, 2011, aged 82, and is interred at Saint Michael's Cemetery, Springfield, Massachusetts.[2]
Upon his death, Morello's wife Jean gave control of Joe Morello's memorabilia and collections to Marvin Burock, one of Joe's students, who had toured extensively with Morello and who was tasked with transcribing Morello'sModern Drummer articles for ten years.[9][10][11]
WithDave Brubeck
WithGary Burton
WithTal Farlow
WithGil Mellé
WithSal Salvador
WithChuck Wayne
With others
