Bill
Allred's Classic Jazz Band Bios
Randy Morris
Randy
Morris -
Piano
Born and raised in Los Angeles, Randy Morris
is a multi-talented musician and entertainer. A specialist
in classic American music such as ragtime, New Orleans Jazz
and swing, he has performed every kind of music from Top
40 to symphonic. A multi-instrumentalist, he plays the piano,
banjo, and trumpet (and anything else with keys, frets or
valves), and sings and scats, all with his own distinctive
flair.
Starting
with DisneyLand in California as a ragtime piano man,
he transferred
to Orlando, Florida with the opening
of Walt Disney World in 1971, and has remained in various
capacities for 28 years. He was musical director and
pianist for the Diamond Horseshoe Revue, for which he also
wrote
and arranged the music; the show ran for over five years.
He also plays numerous Disney conventions, and subs in
almost every show or venue on property. Other theme park
credits include Sea World, Universal Studios, and Circus
World. He has performed with the world famous Rosie O'Grady's
Goodtime Jazz Band from their opening in 1974 to their
closing in 2002, wrote many of their charts, and led
the band from 1978 to 1981. He appears regularly at Rock
Crusher
Canyon with the Razz Ma Tazz show and occasionally with
his own jazz group (featuring his wife Charlie on vocals).
He has headlined on the Queen Elizabeth II, led the band
on the Mississippi Queen steamboat, and entertained on
the Holland America , Crystal, and Radisson cruise lines.
He plays regularly with the Pieter Meijers Quartet on
Jazzdagen jazz cruises. He has also performed in broadway
shows,
most recently as musical director and pianist/bandleader
for "Satchmo: The Life and Times of Louis Armstrong" at
the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. This was deja vu
for Randy, as he also appeared (playing trumpet) as Bix
Beiderbecke in Kenneth Feld's touring production of "Satchmo!" in
1986. (The rehearsal pianist for that show was an 18-year-old
kid named Harry Connick, Jr.!)
On the jazz
festival circuit, Randy has appeared at the L.A. Classic,
Sacramento Jubilee, Bix Beiderbecke festival
in Davenport, IA, Mammoth Lakes, Eindhoven Holland, and
many more. He has appeared with such oustanding artists
as Tommy Newsome, Urbie Green, Joe Venuti, Alvino Rey,
Ruby Wilson, and The Black Dogs. He currently tours and
records with the incredible Bill Allred's Classic Jazz
Band, The Mickey Finn Show, and Ralf Reynolds and the Rhythm
Rascals. He has appeared at the Southland BanjoRama almost
every year since its inception, and headlined their Year
2000 show. He has appeared onstage with Foster Brooks,
Jack Klugman, Connie Haines, and Conrad Janis. He has appeared
on television with Frankie Laine, Margaret Whiting, the
Delta Steamers Jazz Band, William Sackett ("Love Is
On the Air"), was recently featured in 13 episodes
of the Mickey Finn Show for PBS, and numerous promotional
spots.
No stranger
to the recording studio, Randy has made numerous recordings
and videos. "Christmas Cookies," a
jazzy tribute to the loveliest time of the year, has been
a top seller for the Arbors label, leading to "Christmas
Cookies II: A Fresh Batch" and "Out Of Season
(same band, non-Christmas music). "Jewels" is
another winning collaboration with trumpet master Charlie
Bertini. Randy has recorded with the Rosie O'Grady's Jazz
Band, Bill Allred's Classic Jazz Band, Fred "Mickey" Finn,
Ralf Reynolds and the Rhythm Rascals, The Climaxx Jazz
Band, Ruby Wilson, and many more. He has also worked on
various reissue projects, including several Spike Jones
reissues. He has performed voiceovers for animatronic characters,
and supplied the banjo playing for Kermit the Frog.
Randy always knows how to make an audience feel good!
Whether he's singing a song, ripping through a banjo number,
playing an elegant Gerswhin piece, or paying tribute to
America's great trumpeters, people just always seem to
have smiles on their faces!
Randy lives with his vocalist-pianist (and computer-whiz!)
wife Charlie and little daughter Miranda in a 1913 two-story
Arts and Crafts bungalow, currently under restoration and
filled to overflowing with an amazing collection of phonographs,
rare records, and other musical antiques (which they sometimes
part with on eBay).
For bookings, recordings, or just plain old fan mail,
please contact
musicrjm@aol.com
Members Bios:
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