Jazz News — George Morrison Sr.; Junior Wells; Roy Hargrove

The name George Morrison, Sr. will become more familiar once the Colorado Music Hall of Fame inducts him on Tuesday, October 17 at 5 p.m. at his namesake park on Martin Luther King Boulevard, across from Cole Middle School. Carlos Lando will emcee the ceremony!

The Denver South High School Jazz Band will perform at the ceremony to honor the man considered “Denver’s Godfather of Jazz.” Councilman Darrell Watson and Colorado College professor Awon Atuire did much of the work to update and restore the interpretive sign and marker for George Morrison, Sr.

District 9’s Darrell Watson will present a proclamation to Morrison’s great-granddaughter Ms. Simone Ross at the Denver City Council meeting tonight (Monday) at 5:30 p.m. (SOURCE: Colorado Music Hall of Fame-George Morrison Sr)

The creepy, unsettling spectre of Artificial Intelligence has come to the blues. Guitar World magazine’s Matt Owen reports that Cleopatra Records – an L.A.-based independent label – has employed AI to create a new release from the deceased Junior Wells. With the permission of the Wells estate, Cleopatra founder Brian Perera and a German engineer found a way to add newly generated vocals from the recordings of Junior Wells for a cover of “It’s Your Voodoo Working,” a song made famous by Charlie Sheffield in 1961.

It’s called the “2023 Mix,” but Wells never recorded the song. AI provides the harmonica solo too.

The release, just in time for Halloween, comes with artwork depicting Wells as a zombie.  Wells died in 1998.  Marketing materials proclaim with this record, Wells has come “back from the dead.” (SOURCE: Guitar World – Junior Wells)

A new Roy Hargrove project has been released by Jazz at Lincoln Center’s in-house record label Blue Engine Records.  The work comes from 1993, when Hargrove was just 23 years old, commissioned to compose and perform “The Love Suite: In Mahogany.” Drummer/producer Willie Jones III, who played in Hargrove’s sextet and RH Factor, led the project to showcase Hargrove’s virtuosity and songwriting prowess when he was one of the young lions of jazz.

This actual recording of Roy Hargrove is available on digital streaming platforms. (SOURCE: /Jazz at Lincoln Center – Roy Hargrove)

Stay connected to KUVO’s programs and our community! Sign up for the Oasis E-News today!