Peter-Morgan.org.ukAutobiography

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Selected  C.V.

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My Music & Art 

I  was born in Isleworth, Middlesex in 1951, and have lived in Twickenham, Middlesex with a few short exceptions since 1962. I attended local schools and eventually the now defunct Twickenham Art  School, a part of  Twickenham Technical College, also now closed.

When at Art School my interest and involvement in  music grew, fostered by a wonderful music department at the Technical College. I  played guitar and sang in a blues band until I was tempted to try the bass guitar. I  was instantly at home and have considered myself a bass player ever since. 

I started playing  jazz at this time, encouraged by pianist Colin Wood, then a lecturer at Twickenham Technical College. He now works with Acker Bilk; as he has for the last 30 years. We are still friends and still work together, sometimes with Acker.

I left college a year early, when music became more important to me than art school. I joined a band working the U.S. bases and combined that with all sorts of casual work. I worked in West End nightclubs, did some pop tours and worked on cruise ships including the Q.E.2 and the Canberra.              

I finally took up the double bass in 1980 and my life changed completely. I soon found myself  playing jazz  with many of my heroes and still can't really believe it all. I played with many of the well known Traditional bands including Humphrey Lyttleton, Terry Lightfoot, Acker Bilk, Terry Lightfoot and Keith Nicholls. At the same time I was playing with a lot of the more modern or bop oriented bands and players. I joined the Don Rendell quartet and the Tony Lee trio. Slim Gaillard was living in London and I became a member of his band. Many American musicians were visiting the UK at this time and I was fortunate enough to play with lots of them, including Tal Farlow, Yank Lawson, "Peanuts" Hucko, Benny Carter and Harry "Sweets "Edison.

Since then I have played on several Albums and recorded two C.D's under my own name, Duo and  We Met.

It was a very exciting time for me, I only wish that I had been a better player back then. To see many of the fantastic musicians I  have worked with please click on Selected C.V.  I think I am very lucky; not only is it still an exciting time for me but, I have a wonderful family, great friendships and my job is still my passion.

In recent years I have found that my fascination with visual art has resurfaced. I was inspired initially by seeing my elder son Matthew's work at art college and also by my contact with artists that I have modelled for. Modelling is another story for another time,  but I still model for artists and for art schools and I still gain inspiration from it.

I love making artwork again and am grateful to have what I see as a second chance. I think it is all part of  the same journey. Since 2003 I have documented most  of my creative output in what I call "Cowrie Bay", it is like a filing system. I find it really useful and it gives me more focus. To see some of my  work including C.D's and visual art  please click on   www.cowriebay.com.                                               

I hope that you will enjoy visiting both this site and the Cowrie Bay site, thanks for looking.

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