Justin Morell
Justin Morell is a composer, guitarist, and professor whose work bridges jazz, classical, and contemporary traditions. Originally from Los Angeles, he developed his craft working alongside leading musicians including Bob Florence, John Daversa, Todd Sickafoose, Alan Ferber, and the Dave Pell Octet. His versatile career has taken him from the recording studio to the concert stage, appearing on television scores, jingles, and film soundtracks, including John Williams’ score for Steven Spielberg’s Catch Me If You Can. He is currently Professor of Composition and Theory at Lebanon Valley College in Pennsylvania, where he mentors the next generation of composers and performers and co-directs the Valley Jazz Orchestra.
Morell’s recent projects highlight his ability to fuse personal narrative with expansive musical forms. His trumpet concerto All Without Words, released in 2021 with John Daversa and premiered under the artistic direction of Maria Schneider, is a deeply moving reflection on raising his nonverbal autistic son, Loren. Built on a theme transcribed from Loren’s vocalizations and developed into eleven variations, the work received widespread critical acclaim and was presented in a multimedia production with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra. His Concerto for Guitar and Jazz Orchestra, released on ArtistShare in 2018 and featuring guitarist Adam Rogers with the Frost Concert Jazz Band, demonstrates his mastery of integrating classical structures with jazz harmony and improvisation.
A prolific recording artist and composer, Morell has released numerous albums, including Subjects and Complements, praised for its innovative ensemble and contrapuntal writing for ten-piece jazz ensemble. Exit Music for Intelligent Life on Earth is a unique collection of twenty-one short works for multiple guitars and drums for which All About Jazz said “Justin Morell should be considered for inclusion in the top tier of jazz guitarists, along with Metheny and Bill Frisell, while his Exit Music is a likely candidate for inclusion in 2022’s Best Jazz Records of the Year”. His earlier project the music of steely_dan was named one of the best CDs of 2002 by WBEZ Chicago. His compositions have been performed by ensembles ranging from the Danish Radio Big Band and Fireworks Ensemble to the Oregon Jazz Ensemble, Pacific Serenades, and Bargemusic in New York. He is currently developing a large-scale multi-movement orchestral work that blends jazz with Cherokee language texts, deepening his ongoing exploration of heritage, history, and cultural identity.