Saxophonist, pianist, composer and producer/engineer; Rick Morrison was born and raised in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. He began taking piano lessons when he was five and switched to the saxophone at age six.
Rick honed his skills playing with local concert bands and combos until he left the Sault at seventeen to follow his path.
Quickly recognized as a consummate professional, Rick played with many groups on the road and was soon asked to participate in recording sessions.
In 1971, while performing in Montreal, Myles Goodwyn of April Wine approached Rick and asked him to play on their next album – On Record. The album was recorded at Toronto Sound Studio and engineered by Terry Brown.
His latin/jazz/rock fusion band, Ravin’ won the first Q107 Homegrown Contest in 1978.
In 1984, The Rick Morrison Project album was released to critical acclaim. That was also the year he opened RMP Sound Studio which quickly went from a humble eight track to a full twenty-four track room.
Rick Morrison has recorded and/or performed with such notable artists as Martha Reeves,Long John Baldry, Kathi McDonald, Roger Whittaker, The Good Brothers, Teenage Head, Rupert “Ojiji” Harvey, T.H.P. Orchestra, Ronnie Hawkins, The Band and many more.
Since 1995 he has been a member of The Sattalites, one of Canada’s premier reggae outfits. Always busy recording and gigging with various groups, Morrison also leads the powerhouse ten piece Carnival of Souls Band.
Rick Morrison continues his journey playing live, composing and producing.
It’s One More Time for saxophonist Morrison
Sault native boasts impressive performance history
Posted By By Brian Kelly, The Sault Star
Be prepared to wait a long time if you ask Rick Morrison how many musicians he’s worked with over nearly 40 years. There are literally too many for the saxophonist to mention. “A lot,” is how the Sault Ste. Marie native briefly answers the question. “I really would have to spend some time to add that up.”
Well, here’s a brief list to give some idea of the breadth of talent the Sault Collegiate Institute graduate has rubbed shoulders with since making his studio musician debut with April Wine in the early 1970s. The lengthy, and impressive, list includes Long John Baldry, The Band, Bo Diddley, Jose Feliciano, The Good Brothers, Ronnie Hawkins, Teenage Head, Martha Reeves, Frankie Valli and Roger Whitaker.
“I feel blessed. I really do,” said Morrison of his lengthy career. “I knew that there was something up with the sax as soon as I picked it up. It seemed that that was for me.”
He grew up in a musical home. His father, Jim, played the drums in bands on weekends. His mother, Eila, taught piano. “We had music in the home. It was a real motivation for me,” said Morrison. “I just pursued it always from the time that I was a kid. I just knew that I should get at it.” He started playing piano at age five. But things really picked up a year later when he saw, and heard, Louis Armstrong in the 1959 film, The Five Pennies. Morrison asked his parents for a trumpet. His father picked him up a saxophone from a downtown pawn shop and told him, “Why don’t you try this?” “Thank God for that,” said Morrison. “I think (with) the trumpet I would have had a different life.”
The gigs started early for the budding musician. The success of The Beatles and Rolling Stones meant other young players were picking up the guitar. As a saxophonist, Morrison started playing with older musicians such as Sault Musicians Union president Orlando Sicoli, accordianist Veikko Koskenoja and drummer/singer Willard Trudeau and the Trutones at venues such as the Royal Canadian Legion, the Moose Hall and many weddings. Playing alongside veteran talent who were decades older was a learning experience Morrison relished.
“That was a real education for me. It was really something — going to the rehearsals and listening to these old guys talk. I learned a lot, that’s for sure,” he said. “They had lived life. As a young fellow, be quiet and listen . . . I learned very early on that the sound is everything. That’s really where it’s at, man.”
Among the many albums Morrison has played on include Frantic City, the 1980 breakthrough album from Hamilton punk rockers Teenage Head.
Listen for the saxophone at the start of Somethin’ On My Mind. That’s Morrison. His solo came after hearing the foot-tapping track.
“Being a jazz player, it seems that the first take is usually the one that captures the spirit,” said Morrison. The album went gold thanks to the success of Somethin’ On My Mind and another single, Let’s Shake. “There was a lot of vibe going on with those cats. They were the real thing. Hanging out with them might be bad for your health.” Frontman Frankie Venom died of throat cancer in October 2008. He was 51.
Morrison returned home to perform at 18 Forever, a celebration of the city’s musical scene from the 1950s to 1970s. The “fantastic” show at Essar Centre in December 2007 was a chance to perform alongside Bobbie Dee and the Bobcats, a rock act that mesmerized him when they played his aunt and uncle’s wedding reception when he was a youngster. “It was a total gas to see the faces once again,” said Morrison. He’s back in the Sault for One More Time, the sequel show to 18 Forever. The concert, staged at Kiwanis Community Theatre Centre, features original music from about a half-dozen musicians including Ray Gassi, Keith McKie and Mike Yurich. Morrison will perform with the Kool Jerkz house band. “I feel like I’m just getting going,” he said. “My attitude, my enthusiasm have not waned. It’s redoubled.”
Morrision, who has operated RMP Sound Studio in Toronto since 1984, was inspired to write a song to mark Friday’s concert. One More Time was created alongside another Sault native, Doug Wilde. The pair met in Grade 9 at Sault Collegiate Institute and have remained friends since. “It was like picking up on the next beat,” he said of working with his old high school chum. “Time goes by, but you really don’t change. Your heart’s the same. Pretty darn cool.” Tickets, $33 plus tax, are on sale at Graphix Two, Stone’s Office Supply and The Rad Zone.