MORRIS DAVID BROUGH PERT 1947 - 2010
Here we gather the reaction worldwide to the passing of Morris
Morris's workmate Ian Campbell
On April 27th Scotland lost a hugely talented and very important musician.
He was very important, not because he mixed with and supported the rock elite
during his 18 years of london session work. Not because he flew around the world
playing to 10's of thousands of adoring fans, and not because he had written 3 symphonies
and countless other works that are performed regularly by top orchestras and players or
because he had released 5 cds of his own very brave, dareing and demanding work. He was important to
all the folks that had the pleasure of knowing him because as well as all these achievments
he was just a real genuinely nice guy.
I remember a few years ago when we were setting up a distribution deal with Buckyball Music
from New York, Morris had a call from the head of the company, then he phoned me to let me
know how it had gone, he got the details of that out of the way real quick then spent the rest
of the call telling me how great it was that Hugh & Molly Powell were back from the winter away and Molly would be down the next week to pick up on the piano lessons he gave her, that was Morris
At a time like this it's memories that get stired up and I have a lasting one of a
night we played in Kinlochbervie hall.
I can't remember what the occation was but we had been booked to play and Morris said he'd like to sit in.
5 of us from Durness headed down to meet up with Bob Massey, Norman Mcaskill,
some young lady fiddle player also from Lochinver who's name escapes me.
When we reached the hall Morris was already there and had his kit set up, due to the
narrow stage in KLB and with 8 of us to fit he had set up on the floor in front and to
the right of the stage. It was a huge drum kit. This was the first time any
of us had played with Morris and his full kit, this kit in particular was the one he had purchased from Santanas drummer so it had gone from Woodstock to KLB hall.
The line up was accordions and fiddle guitars and drums and a strictly Scottish set.
Scottish dance music is mostly played with a strict 4 / 4 beat, not this night :-) Our first set went well despite the more traditional musicians amongst us darting bemused looks at each other when beats that had never been played there before were filling the spaces.
At half time when we slipped into the kitchen for a cup of tea and a sandwich, the fact that Morris's kit was on the floor, when we stopped playing it had attracted all the young kids in the hall, I could hear them asking Morris if he could play any hip hop ( this was in the late eighties and the American street music had just reached KLB :-) within seconds I could hear Morris picking up and hitting a funky broken beat, on looking back into the hall there were about 20 kids doing Far North Kinlochbervie Body Popping, break dancing, spinning on thier backs, kids just getting down as they say with the groove, it was magic to see and I'm sure now grown up these kids still remember it.
He never got a cup of tea in the break, never even got a break in the break. We got a review by Andrew Marshall (long lost sadly) in the Northern Times the next week declaring the Cape Wrath Ceilidh Band were ready for the big time. Next stop was Eden Court (the main theatre in Inverness)
nonsense of course but it was the best review any of us had ever had, all except Morris of course.
If he's looking down, we plan bud to keep the music alive as best we can, Dancer has a nice new home and the cats fine.
Give that big celestial gong a skelp for me as you teach them how to play Music of Stars.