The Magnificent Guitar of Jorge Morel: A Life of Music
review by Richard Turner

For this month’s Product Review I have selected a book entitled The Magnificent Guitar of Jorge Morel: A Life of Music (MB21953), by John McClellan and Deyan Bratic. My reason for selecting this book for review is singular; it is the only book that Guitar Sessions editor Stephen Rekas mailed to me with the simple instructions, “Write a review on this one.”

The book is both a biography and a collection of 21 pieces, 9 of which appear here for the first time in print. In addition, it is full of rare personal photographs and reminiscences and is priced at $29.95. That comes down to $1.42 per piece- a real bargain. Plus you get all of the interesting biographical elements and pictures- for free! The music is written in standard notation only.

Jorge Morel has had a long and distinguished career as a performer and recording artist. His early training was in classical guitar but as a performer he is known more for his own stunning compositions and arrangements. His compositions frequently utilize the rhythms and forms of his native Argentina. Morel can really burn up the fingerboard and most of the music in this collection is for the advanced player. If you are an intermediate player and don’t mind playing this music half as fast as it should go, you might also enjoy these pieces! If you have never heard Morel’s artistry I would suggest first listening to his recordings to determine whether this book might interest you. Morel’s influences are diverse- among them classical, jazz, and of course, South American music.

Morel’s life is traced through interviews by Mr. McClellan of both Jorge Morel and his daughter plus short, first-person reminiscences from Mr. Morel. Beginning with forewords by Pepe Romero and David Russell, the book proceeds by interspersing biographical information with the 21 pieces contained herein. The last 50 pages of this edition consist solely of music.

In his mid-70s now, Mr. Morel came to New York in the late 1950s. Of Sicilian ancestry, Mr. Morel’s birth name was Scibana. For professional reasons, he changed his last name to Morel. Through the stories and interviews the reader gets a finely detailed picture of this musician’s struggles, sorrows, and joys.

Several items in this book stood out as highlights. Morel’s discussion of the guitars he has owned and favored is very interesting, even though it doesn’t follow a strict chronology. His instruments have included a 1970 Ignacio Fleta, an Edgar Monch, a Ramírez from the days of the impossible 665 mm string length, 3 instruments by Manuel Velasquez (the 3rd of which was gifted to Chet Atkins and returned to Morel after Chet’s death), and recent guitars by Dieter Hopf (used on the Mel Bay videos), John Price, and Richard DiCarlo.

Morel expresses a clear preference for cedar tops and a 650 mm string length. Sadly, Mr. Morel seems to have genuine contempt for the banjo, insulting this uncontested “king of instruments” on two different occasions in his book. As a closet banjo player (I only play in the closet) I was grievously wounded by his brazen banjo bashing. Perhaps Morel doesn’t appreciate the fact that it takes several generations of selective inbreeding to create a truly gifted banjo player.

In the section entitled “Early Memories” Morel pays homage to Amparo Alvariza and Pablo Escobar as his early guitar teachers. Morel graduated from a music conservatory with two diplomas in 1949. As the son of an actor, Jorge Morel actually did some acting himself, but his father informed him that his acting abilities were neither the worst nor were they the best and that he had best look in another direction for a career.

After a short stay in Cuba in 1959-60 Jorge Morel moved to Puerto Rico, met and married Olga, the love of his life, and then moved to New York. Here he paints a vivid picture of the struggling young musician, discussing his early performances and travels. His early association with Chet Atkins led to his touring under Columbia Artists Management and a lifelong friendship with Mr. Atkins.

Throughout this book it is clear that Jorge Morel enjoys and is influenced by many different musical and guitar styles. He has been associated with Chet Atkins, Barney Kessel, and George Benson among others. His compositional influences include Ravel, Debussy, Gershwin, Villa-Lobos, and Barrios. This degree of diversity and open-mindedness is very healthy for a musician, and I have hope that Morel will yet grow to love the banjo!

The most personal and poignant part of the biography is Morel’s discussion of the death of his young wife Olga in 1973. The reader can really feel the pain of this tragic loss. By Morel’s admission, he has never recovered from it and is very open in talking about trying to cope with his wife’s untimely death. The marriage did bless him with a daughter named Francesca who in her own section of the book shares many warm memories of her father.

In the section on practice and technique, Morel shares his opinions on scale practicing, the use of the metronome, transcription, and on musical values. His discussion of how he prepares himself for recording sessions is particularly interesting in that he stresses the importance of being rested and not overly practiced. In “Thoughts About Music” Morel finds it encouraging that classical guitarists are starting to diversify and are including elements such as jazz and South American music in their repertoire.

As mentioned earlier, the pieces in this book are mostly for the advanced player. Many of them require quick tempi and excellent facility. The pieces include a beautiful arrangement of the Argentine lullaby “Cancion del Viento”, an arrangement of “Yellow Bird” (the version recorded by Chet Atkins), an arrangement of “Greensleeves”, a transcription of “Sevilla” by Isaac Albeniz, as well as many original compositions with clear South American roots. His 3- movement work Olga (Cancion, Fughetta, and Giga) is particularly nice.

Also fascinating are the inclusion of both the Decca and the RCA recorded versions of “Misionera”, a piece by Fernando Bustamente. Several of the pieces use percussive effects (the notation and technique is explained) and numerous pieces use hemiola, so good rhythmic sense is critical. The pieces range in length from 39-214 measures.

It is gratifying to see that John McClellan, Deyan Bratic and, of course, Jorge Morel have undertaken this project and have completed it so successfully. Mr. Morel’s longtime high standing in the guitar world certainly warrants such a book, and I would recommend it as an important resource for advanced players who have followed his music and career.

Richard Turner



Download the PDF here.
Click to hear Yellow Bird.

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About the Author

After demonstrating an early interest in music with the clarinet and folk guitar, Richard Turner studied classical guitar with George Sakellariou and José Rey de la Torre and received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Music from San José State University.

Since 1994 Mr. Turner has taught in the large classical guitar program at California State University at Fullerton. Several years ago he revived his early interest in American roots music and developed a course in the history of American folk music which he also teaches at Cal State Fullerton. His instrumental interests are diverse, including classical guitar, slide guitar, banjo, and steel-string fingerpicking and flatpicking styles.