Let Me Sing and I’m Happy: The Memoir and Handbook of a Singing Actress by Joan Morris is the history of an actress who sings popular songs. It is also a handbook detailing Joan's approach to bringing the song to life. Learn more & purchase now!

Appearances

Previous events

Bolcom & Morris - "Laughter at the Happy Hour" Virtual Event

Wednesday, February 10, 2021 @ 5:30PMWed, Feb 10, 2021 @ 5:30PM

This edition of "Laughter at the Happy Hour" features Joan Morris, William Bolcom, William Sharp, Amy Burton and John Musto in a concert video presented in 2012 at Thayer Hall in Los Angeles, California. Enjoy songs from The Great American Songbook graciously shared by the SongFest Art Song Festival at Colburn as we celebrate Joan Morris's birthday on February 10! "One thing I loved about the Hobbit books," Joan says, "is that on their birthdays, hobbits give presents to other people instead. So that's what this program will be--my birthday present to our audience!" A very special archival performance from these important and expressive artists! 5:30 pm EST.

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Bolcom & Morris - "Laughter at the Happy Hour" Virtual Event

Thursday, October 29, 2020 @ 5:30PMThu, Oct 29, 2020 @ 5:30PM

Live Stream from Kerrytown Concert House, Ann Arbor, Michigan

"Laughter at the Happy Hour" is more songs and tales of a lifetime of cabaret adventures with Bolcom & Morris, streamed live by Kerrytown Concert House and available online afterwards. Tune into "Live at the 415" at 5:30 PM EDT at https://www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com/live-at-the-415/ More info: https://www.kerrytownconcerthouse.com/month/october-2020/laughter-at-the-happy-hour/

Bolcom & Morris - "Live at the Happy Hour" Virtual Event

Thursday, September 24, 2020 @ 5:30PMThu, Sep 24, 2020 @ 5:30PM

The next installment of the Kerrytown Concert Hall "Conversation Concerts" debuts this week! LAUGHTER AT THE HAPPY HOUR is all about tales and tunes from the world of cabaret. BOLCOM & MORRIS will regale us with some of their favorite songs and stories from a lifetime of performing together. Watch on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/kerrytownconcerthouse or on Kerrytown Concert House's website at kerrytownconcerthouse.com/live-at-the-415/

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Welcome

Traversing Broadway, vaudeville and music hall, performing music from the ragtime era to the end of the 20th century, the duo of William Bolcom and Joan Morris have delighted audiences across the United States and around the world since 1973.

At the piano, composer and raconteur William Bolcom charms the audience with his engaging patter. One of the driving forces behind the ragtime revival that began in the 1970s, he is also the composer of the poignant “Graceful Ghost Rag.” As an accompanist, his lively and harmonically rich touch is impeccably tuned to every nuance of Joan Morris’s voice.

Chanteuse Joan Morris brings out a veritable cast of characters to sing each of her songs — from a curious little kid (“Love in the Thirties”) to a world-weary lover (“Toothbrush Time”) to an unforgettable dowager waging battle at the Ladies Club with her recipe for “Lime Jello Marshmallow Cottage Cheese Surprise.” According to the Chicago Tribune, “She projects not just a song, but the character singing it, and gives that character her own irresistibly funny and winning personality.”

The duo has 25 recordings to their credit, from their Grammy-nominated debut “After the Ball” to recent collections of songs by Yip Harburg, Gus Kahn and Arnold Weinstein/William Bolcom. Their newest CD, Autumn Leaves, is a collection of 21 popular cabaret songs, including “Am I Blue,” “Swinging on a Star,” “Can’t We Be Friends,” and “As Time Goes By.”

"Bolcom and Morris may be the best thing to happen to American popular song since the invention of sheet music." — The Chicago Sun-Times

"Together the couple is, to borrow the title of an early Bolcom opera, 'dynamite tonight.' His brilliantly propulsive, imaginative embellished pianism provides her with a strong rhythmic framework. And Morris plumbs every number for its specific emotional content." — The San Francisco Examiner

Updates

Bolcom & Morris to be honored with Lifetime Achievement Medal on February 11

Arts Alliance Medals for Arts, Sciences & Humanities event celebrates "outstanding and sustained artistic and creative accomplishments within the arts"

Awarded annually, The Arts Alliance Medals for Arts, Sciences & Humanities honor and celebrate the extraordinary contributions and accomplishments of artists, creatives, individuals who live, work or attend school in Washtenaw County, Michigan. Medal recipients are celebrated for exemplary achievements in advancing the arts, sciences and humanities and increasing public awareness of the arts + creative industries in the greater Ann Arbor area and beyond. Medalists make their mark through their leadership, philanthropy and accomplishments setting the standard for excellence and serving as the example for others to follow.

The Lifetime Achievement Medal is presented in recognition of outstanding and sustained artistic and creative accomplishments within the arts, sciences and/or humanities receiving national and or international acclaim.

The award will be presented to Bill & Joan at a gala event in Ann Arbor on February 11, 2019.

For more information, see: https://a3arts.org/the-party-2019/

St. John's Smith Square presents 2-day Bolcom festival in June 2018

Five events in London include masterclasses, concerts, and a special appearance by Bolcom & Morris

A 1986 interview with Chicago classical music host Bruce Duffie

This interview with William Bolcom, which took place on June 29,1986, also included the participation of his wife, mezzo-soprano Joan Morris. Bruce Duffie says: "As with some other musical couples that I’ve interviewed, on occasion they both responded to my questions together back and forth, and I was perceptive enough not to interrupt!"

Brian Kellow Review: "The degree of wit and joy they bring to their music-making brings out aspects of the songs that we might miss otherwise."

New York author Brian Kellow expressed deep appreciation for Bolcom & Morris's Dec. 26, 2016 performance at the Metropolitan Room.

Review: "When the World Was Young"

Alex Cohen writes for Theater Pizzazz: "Selected songs date from 1894-2015, the former offered respectfully as written, not pastiche, the latter, delivered with the insouciance of more devil may care days."