Morrie Louden
Morrie Louden was born into a musically-inclined family on September 16,
1960 in Concord, CA. When he was 12, he began to play the electric bass.
A year later he added formal acoustic bass and piano studies. By age 14,
band leaders of some of the best bay area groups were hiring him to
play, sneaking him through the back doors of night clubs. His dedication
to his craft throughout high school led to a music scholarship at De
Anza College in Cupertino, California, known for having the finest jazz
department in the Bay Area.
After graduating in 1980, Morrie
toured the world for many years with pop icons: Engelbert Humperdinck,
Barbra Streisand, The 5th Dimension, and Paul Anka, to name just a few.
These experiences led to performing with The New York Philharmonic, The
Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra at
Royal Albert Hall.
In the nineties, Morrie formed his own group
featuring well-known jazz soloists---to include: Bob Sheppard, Carl
Fontana, Rick Margitza, Eric Marianthal, Ralph Moore, Brandon Fields,
among others. It was during that time that he had the great fortune of
finding his lifetime instrument---a 300-hundred-year-old Pietro Rogeri
contrabass, circa 1713.
In 1996, he built the superb MoSound
Recording Studios in Las Vegas, Nevada: a state-of-the-art recording
facility where he has spent much time composing and producing.
After relocating to New York in 2005, Morrie played in Jazz clubs, by night. By
day, he was hard at work composing and recording his new CD “Time Piece”. It was
recorded, mixed, and mastered at two of the finest studios in New York: Avatar
Studios (formerly The Power Station), and Sterling Sound. In addition to using
horn and string sections, Morrie chose a cast of jazz greats to perform his
music: Adam Nussbaum and Gary Novak on drums, Bob Sheppard and Seamus Blake on
saxophone, Alex Sipiagin on trumpet, Edward Simon and Mike Eckroth on piano,
Lionel Leouke on guitar, string and horn arrangements by Gil Goldstein, and the
sensual voice of Gretchen Parlato.Reviews::
Click here to read an in-depth
interview with Morrie in Jazz Improv NY Magazine!
"Louden's
virtuosity was apparent from the opening piece"
Don Heckman, Los Angeles
times Jazz Review
“Time piece delivers one exciting and compelling
musical treat”.
Edward Blanco – Allaboutjazz, Ejazznews and Jazzreview
“Morrie Louden succeeds brilliantly. A truly remarkable recording”.
Brad Walseth, Chicago Jazz
“Louden's Time Piece has scores of
creative ideas – so many I was left wishing for a sequel”.
George
Harris, All About Jazz
