Monday, June 5, 2017

Morgan Guerin - The Saga II (2017)


Growing up in a musical family, Morgan was given his first pair of drumsticks at the age of six months…followed shortly thereafter by a drum set. By six, Morgan had his first saxophone and his instrumental repertoire expanded to many more instruments. Having grown up in such a musical household, Morgan had the good fortune of being exposed to jazz from the Marsalis family, Donald Harrison, Christian Scott, among many others. He has shared the stage with such notables as Nicholas Payton, Ellis Marsalis, Herlin Riley, Jimmy Cobb, Esperanza Spalding, Allen Toussaint, Freddy Cole, Terri Lyne Carrington, Robert Glasper, Russell Gunn, Wallace Roney, and Buster Williams.

Now, Morgan is currently studying at The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City. Morgan was a member of the Rialto Youth Jazz Orchestra (Directed by Gordon Vernick) from 2010-2016 and has performed at the Atlanta Jazz Festival annually since 2011. He attended The New Jazz School for two summers (directed by Donald Harrison and Christian Scott), studied at the Berklee College of Music in Boston for two summers in a row (2014 and 2015), was a member of the 2014 Vail Jazz Workshop, and performed at The Monterey Jazz Festival as a member of the Next Generation Jazz Orchestra in 2015 and 2016. In February 2016, Morgan was selected to be a part of the Grammy Band and had the opportunity to attend and perform at the 58th Grammy Awards and in January 2017, Morgan was selected as a Young Arts Finalist in Jazz. Since Morgan had started school in New York, he’d soon reconnect with his long time mentor Terri Lyne Carrington by joining her new band “Social Science” also featuring Matt Stevens and Aaron Parks.

In April of 2016, Morgan released his first album, "The Saga". Each song on "The Saga" explains his life from early childhood the young adult he is now. "After almost one year of work, I’m relieved that this body of work has finally come to fruition. Making this album was a journey – and I am so thankful for the knowledge received in the process.” He says, “Since I was a young boy, it has been my dream to fully pursue my passion for music.  A “saga” is said to be a long, detailed, series of stories. This album is an autobiography of my life – beginning from the moment I started playing the drums (at just a few months old) to now, where my instrumental repertoire consists of a myriad of instruments. Throughout my life, I've been blessed to have many mentors who have taught me to play a variety of instruments. For that, I am very thankful."