Thomas Morris

by Scott YanowA primitive but often effective cornet soloist, Thomas Morris (the uncle of pianist Marlowe Morris) made quite a few records during the 1923-27 period although his style was considered quite dated after the rise of Louis Armstrong. Morris was based in New York from the beginning of the 1920s. He recorded with his Past Jazz Masters (eight titles during 1923) and his Hot Babies (ten songs plus nine alternate takes that comprise the best work of his career), Clarence Williams, Charlie Johnson (1927), Fats Waller (1927) and many blues singers. However, Morris slipped away into obscurity in the 1930s. He worked as a red cap at Grand Central Station in the late 1930s and then became religious, re-emerging as Brother Pierre in Father Divines religious sect shortly before he passed away.