Morris Nanton (September 28, 1929 - November 15, 2009) was an American Jazz pianist.
Nanton was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey and lived there all his life. He served in the US Armed Forces during the Korean War and played in the 5th Army Division Band. He graduated from the Perth Amboy High school, then studied at the Juilliard Conservatory of Music in New York.
Known throughout the metropolitan area, The Morris Nanton Trio performed for over 50 years; 53 of those years together with bassist extraordinaire, Norman Edge. The trio also included drummers Al Beldini, Oliver Jackson and Jeff Brillinger. They completed an unprecedented 22-year stand at the Cove in Roselle, where such jazz greats as Rashan Roland Kirk, Don Elliott, Sal Nestico, Babs Gonzalez, and Joe Morello shared the spotlight with the group.
They have performed at numerous jazz festivals and universities, sharing the stage with the Count Basie Orchestra and Tito Puente. They have accompanied vocalists Jack Jones, Mel Torme, Nel Carter, and Barbara Streisand, to name a few. They recorded several soul jazz albums from 1958, first for Warner Bros. and then for Prestige Records, such as Roberta (1959) , Something We've Got (1965) and Soul Fingers (1967), with “Troubles of the World” / “ The Shadow of Your Smile ” as a single.
Their recordings include "Flower Drum Song,""Roberta," and "The First Jazz Piano Trio" on the Warner Bros. label; "Ray Ellis Orchestra and Chorus,""Big Big Voice of Lovelace Watkins" on the MGM label, and Roberta (1959), Something We've Got (1965) and "Soul Fingers (1967) on the Prestige label, with “Troubles of the World” and “The Shadow of Your Smile ” as a single.
Their recording of "Ja Da" (1959) was the first music to be heard on outer space, as the recording came over Apollo's radio during the first orbit around the Earth.In addition to his own compositions his repertoire included mostly popular film themes like Black Orpheus as well as pop and jazz standards such as " Fly Me to the Moon ,"" I'll Remember April " , "My Man's Gone Now ”and“ Things Ain't What They Used to Be ”.
The New York Times covered the Trio's performance at Shanghai Jazz in May 2008, showering their performance with accolades in an article entitled, "Jazz Survivors." The Trio has been performing at Shanghai Jazz in Madison up to and as recently as September 2009, and as a soloist at the Quay in Sea Bright on Sundays. Morris' last performance was Sunday, Sept. 27, 2009, the day before his 80th birthday.
He died peacefully at his home on 15thNovember 2009. Morris mentored and taught several of the musicians who play in the Consortium's jam sessions.
(Edited from The Star-Ledger & Wikipedia)