James Morgan Jazz
James Morgan is a guitarist, composer, producer, and recording artist based in San Diego, CA. Growing up in Northern California, he was inspired as a teenager by Return to Forever, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew. These influences led him to pick up the guitar in the 1970s. During this time, he studied with Return to Forever guitarist Bill Connors, traveling weekly from Santa Cruz to Half Moon Bay for lessons that shaped both his foundation and lifelong commitment to music.
Over the next four decades, Morgan became a bandleader, writing original compositions and forming several jazz fusion groups. His band Dialog Project earned early recognition in 2013, receiving a San Diego Music Award nomination for Artistry of Jazz Fusion and sharing stages with Allan Holdsworth, Stu Hamm, Dokken, and other notable artists.
In 2017 Morgan founded the Ghost Jazz Trio, creating his own style of “West Coast Contemporary Jazz.” Their debut album Invisible Time (2020) achieved critical success and was nominated for Best Jazz Album of the Year. He followed with On the Level (2021), an eclectic blend of smooth jazz, funk, swing, and R&B, and Dreams Above (2022), which fused jazz with symphonic strings. His 2023 release Groovin’ Smooth, co-produced with guitarist Dean Brown and recorded by Grammy-winning engineer Alan Sanderson, highlighted the natural tone of Morgan’s Pat Metheny PM2 guitar. All Ghost Jazz Trio albums debuted in the Top 100 smooth jazz, jazz, and rock charts, maintaining a four-year streak of recognition.
In 2024 Morgan launched a new chapter with A Soul in Time (Morgan/Husband/Feraud), returning to his jazz-rock fusion roots. The five-song EP, co-produced with Dean Brown, featured Gary Husband, Hadrien Feraud, Eric Marienthal, and Joey De Leon. The project topped jazz and rock charts, appeared on the 67th Grammy Awards ballot for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album, and earned Morgan the Intercontinental Music Award for Best Contemporary Instrumental with his composition “A Feather’s Touch.”
In 2025 Morgan began releasing music under his solo brand, James Morgan Jazz. His singles Live Love and Frequency of Love reflect his evolution as a smooth jazz guitarist, blending fluid melodies, intricate solos, and a uniquely clean tone with his signature contemporary style.
In just five years, Morgan has released five albums and two singles, becoming one of San Diego’s most recognized jazz guitarists. With multiple San Diego Music Award nominations and consistent international chart success, he continues to expand his reach as a prolific composer as a self-taught guitarist. His music bridges smooth jazz, fusion, and contemporary instrumental artistry—honoring the legacy of his 1970s influences while shaping a forward-looking creative vision that’s both inspirational and innovative.
Artist Interview
Tell us the brief history of your band or musical career.
I grew up in northern California and as a teen in the 1970's and started listening to Return to Forever, John McLaughlin’s Mahavishnu Orchestra, Miles Davis, inspiring me to take up the guitar. In the late seventies I was fortunate enough to take guitar lessons from Bill Connors of Return to Forever fame, studying technique and how to let the instrument and music lead the way for your musical journey. I lived in Santa Cruz, CA and drove to Half Moon Bay weekly to take lessons whereby I formed a close friendship with Bill. I went on to become a bandleader throughout the following decades, writing my own compositions whilst forming various jazz Fusion bands along the way, including my band Absolute Black which was the opening act for singer Mickey Thomas's band Starship. My jazz fusion band Dialog Project, achieved quick acclaim in 2013 being nominated for best jazz album 'Artistry of Jazz Fusion' and opened for such acts as Allan Holdsworth, Dokken, bassist Stu Hamm and others. My current band, Ghost Jazz Trio was formed in 2017 with 4 total albums in four years including my forthcoming album Groovin Smooth to release in March 2023. My 2020/2021/2022 albums were nominated for best jazz album of the year. I am excited to have had legendary guitarist Dean Brown produce and arrange all the songs on my forthcoming album, as well as play on the album and co-write many of the songs. My accolades are listed below.
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James Morgan, Guitarist, Bandleader, Founder, Composer, Producer and Recording Artist with
7 albums released in total and three 'Best Jazz Album of the Year" 2013, 2021, 2022 and 2023 nominations with
40+ years performing.
Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
My main influences were the jazz fusion bands of the 1970's including Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever and of course the album Bitches Brew by Miles Davis. The guitarists that I listened to as a teen were John McLauglin, Bill Connors, Larry Coryell, Icarus Johnson, Al Di Meola, Allan Holdsworth and John Abercrombie.
What album has had the greatest impact on your life as a musician?
Bitches Brew by Miles Davis, Inner Mounting Flame by Mahavishnu Orchestra, Hymn to the 7th Galaxy by Return to Forever. These albums helped to form my approach to playing and composing. Just like the movie Cool Hand Luke, those bands taught me there are rules and then how to break those rules in regards to playing and composing music.
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Is there a particular song that has resonated with you for a long time?
There are a couple songs that I still enjoy listening to this day; Black Queen by Stephen Stills and Captain Senor Mouse on Hymn to the 7th Galaxy by RTF to name two.
What’s your favorite accomplishment as a musician thus far?
That would be discovering my own sound and voice in a sea of many voices in the music and guitar world. Finding your own voice, sound, tone, style and ability to tell a story with your instrument, to me is what being an artist is all about. If you lack any one of those, you are not there yet.
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Tell me about your favorite performance in your career.
I would have to say it was opening for the great and late Allan Holdsworth at Brick by Brick in San Diego, CA back in 2012 on January Friday the 13th. It was amazing to open for an artist I admired since I was a teen.
What's the best piece of advice another musician ever gave you?
Take your time when playing a solo, starting slow and build to a definite point of repose, and tell the best story you can with your instrument.
What's new in the recording of your music?
I would have to say the concept of new album Groovin Smooth is about playing a box of wood with strings, stripped of most artificial effects to allow the listener to hear the wood of the instrument. To me, this is new, because so many guitarists use effects that overpower the organic sound of their instrument to where the instrument itself becomes secondary to the effects. On this album, the guitar wood sound comes first and is very much present in the recordings. Dean Brown, my producer on the album was adamant about capturing the natural sound and clean tone of the guitar, with string inflections and all, and I think we accomplished that.
How has your music changed over the years?
My composing has simplified in form, to allow the instruments to be the focus rather than the intricate changes and dynamics being the focus. To me, this makes listening to the song more relaxing. My style has also changed, in that I am playing more melodic and compositional when soloing.
What inspires you to write the music you write?
Rhythm inspires me. I tend to work off rhythm when writing a song. I find some harmony in the chords I come up with based on a rhythm I like. I then playback the song and jam with it until I find a phrase or phrases I like, that then become the melody. I always allow the solo part of a song to be different than the song form, if that makes sense.
What made you want to play the instrument you play?
At first playing guitar was a refuge for me to step outside the turbulent childhood I found myself in. Later it became and still is a tool I can use to create my own reality based and filled full of joy, and happiness. It is also a language I can master and use to commune with other artists when improvising and playing songs.
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How does your latest album differ from any of your others in the past?
This latest album allows my guitar playing to be more showcased than the ensemble formats of my past albums. Thanks to Dean's genius when it comes to arranging compositions, this album delivers the perfect accompaniment by the supporting musicians to showcase my playing style and tone of the guitar. It is my best work yet.
How are you continuing to grow musically?
Playing music, like being human, is a lifelong journey of growth, development and mastering the art of living music. I allow the music to lead the way. It creates the path for me to follow and explore. Being a musician is not just about playing an instrument, it is about living the life of music. Dedicating yourself to that life like a monk dedicates his life to spirituality.
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If you could change anything about the music industry today, what would it be?
The way music artists that are not part of the corporate run part of the industry are compensated for recordings and performances, and how royalties are paid out by the streaming platforms. The digital approach to recordings that take away 99% of the organic sounds of the instruments and lack of real instruments in today's music recordings.
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What are your biggest obstacles as a musician?
It used to be finding other musicians that can tell a story with their instruments. I have been fortunate to have overcome that obstacle.
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What do you think the best aspects of the music business are?
The ability to create a brand and market that brand as a band or solo artist. An artist can build a fan base, record and market and sell their music without giving up all control to a third party entity. You do need to partner with other online music entities to build your brand, but it's in a fair and complimentary way that benefits both parties.
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If you had to choose one... live performance or studio work, which do you prefer and why?
Live performance is the best, because you are present in the moment with other musicians when playing jazz. You are having a spontaneous dialogue within the framework of an ongoing music piece designed to that end. It's exciting and comforting at the same time. It allows you to create in the moment from the energy and stories the other musicians are telling. It allows you to explore new ideas that come to you in that moment with the full support of the other musicians.
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What is your favorite piece of gear and why?
My current combination of gear gives me the tools I need to communicate my story as a guitarist. I play an Ibanez PM2 Pat Metheny Signature Hollowbody Electric Guitar that is no longer in production. This, combined with my Roland Blues Cube Artist Series Combo Amp and my Zoom G3X effects unit, give me the tone I look for to allow me to express myself musically.
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What does your practice routine consist of?
I practice according to the Kobe Bryant approach. Get up at 5am, practice two hours, break for life stuff and come back to practice from 10am to noon, break for life's obligations then come back 3pm to 6pm and break for rest and food, then practice 8pm to 10pm, then sleep. I do that 4 days a week now, but I used to do it 7 days a week.
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What do you like most about your new album?
The raw unadulterated natural sound of the guitar and the amazing song arrangements by Dean Brown. His ability to hear so much more in the basic recordings I sent him, and see him bring them to their full potential musically on this album is amazing. I am fortunate to have him part of this album. Each song tells its own unique story in a short time. Also having Dean play on the album is amazing.
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What artists do you enjoy listening to nowadays?
I listen to a few really good guitarists on Youtube; Guitarists; Kurt Rosenwinkel, Tom Guarna, Ricardo Grilli, Matteo Mancuso, Tom Ollendorff and a couple others.
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How do you promote your band and shows?
I use all the free platforms to add content; Youtube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and am always soliciting for performance work, mostly corporate as venues don't as well. I also partner with smoothjazz.com global radio and of course my new album on Guitar One Records.
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Anything you would like to share, from new merch to upcoming shows/tours or songs/albums?
The Ghost Jazz Trio may open for Spyra Gyro later this year
Anything Else You Would Like to Include?
Look for the release of my first jazz fusion solo album “A Soul in Time” Morgan-Husband-Feraud to release on GO Records. I will be joined by two iconic players in the jazz fusion genre, Garys Husband on drums and keyboards and bass prodigy Hadrien Feraud. This will be a 5 song EP of all original songs composed by James Morgan and Dean Brown. All music is arranged and produced by Dean Brown.