Allen Morrison is a music journalist, jazz pianist, songwriter and lecturer on jazz history. A Contributing Writer for DownBeat Magazine, he has also written about jazz for The Guardian, TIDAL Magazine, JazzTimes, and Jazziz.

He has interviewed and profiled many of today’s leading figures in jazz and pop, including Wynton Marsalis, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Jon Batiste, Bobby McFerrin, Donald Fagen, Paul Simon, and many more. He has covered music festivals around the world, including the Newport Jazz Festival (multiple times), the Toronto Jazz Festival, the MIMO Festival in Brazil (twice), and jazz festivals in Rome, Italy and St. Petersburg, Russia.

Allen’s lectures on jazz history have been featured on leading cruise lines as well as at universities, libraries, and before arts groups.
Much of his published work is available at his websites, www.allenmorrison.com and at www.downbeat.com.

(1) A Brief History of Jazz Piano, Part One - "From Jelly Roll to Nat King Cole" (1900-1945): What is jazz and where did it come from? Why is the piano so important to the history of jazz? Jazz journalist Allen Morrison answers these questions, illustrating with fascinating film clips and rare audio recordings of the great players, including Jelly Roll Morton, James P. Johnson, Fats Waller, Art Tatum, Teddy Wilson, and Nat King Cole.

(2) The Great Jazz Singers, Part One (1920-1950) - "From Satchmo to Lady Day": Jazz journalist Allen Morrison traces the development of the art of jazz singing from 1920-1950, with classic film clips and audio recordings of such major figures as Louis Armstrong, Bessie Smith, Bing Crosby, Ethel Waters, the Boswell Sisters, and Billie Holiday.

(3) “Bossa Nova and Brazilian Jazz, Part 1: An Introduction to the Music that Swept the World” - In the 20th century, Brazil had a greater impact on world musical tastes than any country except for the US. Jazz historian Allen Morrison, with the help of rare video clips, tells the story of Brazilian popular music from its beginnings, through choro and samba music, up to the birth of Bossa Nova, covering the phenomenal success of “The Girl From Ipanema,” and the music’s greatest stars like Antonio Carlos Jobim and João Gilberto.

(4) A Brief History of Jazz Piano, Part 2 (1945-Present) - “From Bud Powell to Herbie Hancock”: Using rare film and audio clips, jazz journalist Allen Morrison will explain the development of modern jazz by sampling the work of major jazz pianists including Thelonious Monk, Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Dave Brubeck, and other legends of the piano.

(5) The Great Jazz Singers, Part 2 (1950-Present) - "From Ella to Today's Stars": Jazz journalist Allen Morrison presents the most important jazz singers of the modern era through film clips and rare audio recordings of such major 20th century figures as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Sarah Vaughan, and Tony Bennett. He’ll then introduce the current generation of spectacular singers who are carrying forward the jazz vocal tradition.

(6) “Bossa Nova and Brazilian Jazz, Part 2: Brazilian Jazz from Bossa Nova to the Present” - Jazz journalist Allen Morrison continues his deep dive into Brazilian music, covering more about the incredible life and career of Antonio Carlos Jobim, including his achievements after “Girl from Ipanema.” He’ll also discuss and play hits by other great figures of the Bossa Nova movement, including Marcos Valle, João Donato, and Sergio Mendes, as well as some of the artists who took Brazilian music beyond Bossa Nova into the modern era.

(7) “All Jazz is Modern – A Selective Guide to Contemporary Jazz": With the help of scintillating video clips, jazz journalist Allen Morrison will introduce some of today's brightest young jazz artists - singers, band leaders, and outstanding instrumentalists, put them in the context of jazz history, and illustrate why he believes we are currently experiencing another "golden age" of jazz!

I have presented talks on jazz history and related subjects for more than 10 years aboard Cunard's Queen Mary 2 and Queen Elizabeth. I am a music journalist (The Guardian, DownBeat, JazzTimes) who has interviewed such major jazz musicians as Wynton Marsalis, Jon Batiste, and Herbie Hancock.

The following recent Cruise History has been recorded for this candidate.