BIOGRAPHY DMORR (Duane Morris) a native of the greater Cleveland, Ohio area aspires to bring a fresh sound to the listening ear with positive lyrics to counteract today’s anti-family world. His father (who also was an accomplished local jazz percussionist with Jesse Dandy and Co) always said, “Son, you have a great ear for music.” Duane has played trumpet ever since 1975 and started writing and arranging songs with the first being for his lovely bride in 1990. He has played with the likes of Chris Gray and the Love Center District Choir in Statesville, North Carolina, traveling to the Southeast, East Coast and to Midwest cities like Philadelphia, Chicago, Newark, Columbia, and of course Winston-Salem. Providence Baptist Church in Cleveland, Ohio is blessed to have a trumpeter/songwriter with such smooth sounds. The musical/passion play “Old Rugged Cross” and “Will You be Ready?” written and directed by Denise Cunningham-Doggett utilized Duane’s trumpet skills for the passion play for six years. Jazz is in Duane’s soul and he played with a jazz group called “GUMBO,” playing at different clubs in the greater Cleveland area. He also was a trumpet player for the Jazz Poets, while playing at the Kamikaze Coffee House; a patron singled DMORR out and asked for the trumpeter and the drummer to play a little something by the two of us. Some else said “OH YEH” as if her emotional soul was being touched. Additionally, aerobic instructor at Bally’s uses Duane’s material for the exercise classes. While attending Winston-Salem State University (NC), he also sang in the gospel choir while he was class President, President and Founder of the Accounting Society, and Class Chaplain. Mr. Morris did all this while maintaining a 3.4 GPA and was awarded three academic scholarships to pay for the last three years of college, and was a 1987 Who’s Who Among American Colleges and Universities. The last three semesters were all 4.0, even while working at the IRS as a CO-OP student (accounting major). Upon graduation, Duane pursued the accounting career with a big six accounting firm as a financial auditor. His accomplishments furthered when he passed the CPA exam. Duane also has a U.S. patent for an electronic monitoring device that will be licensed to a manufacturer of smart-home devices. With all said, the song inspirations just continue to flow. In 2001, Duane wrote and produced his coming out CD named Sample This. Getting into the act was his, at the time, four-year-old daughter. She and Duane sang a duet called “When a Father Loves his Child." The song melted listeners. One goal for Duane is to become a hits factory for other aspiring artist. Duane has written over 270 songs to date and counting and they just keep getting better covering different genres such as R&B, jazz, dance, inspirational, Latin, orchestral, and Hip Hop. In 2004, Duane produced and arranged a very catchy and smooth version of Disney’s Cheetah girls’ theme song as well as "Hello" by Lionel Richie for his daughter Layla Morris’ (Sweet L) an upcoming vocalist. Duane’s trumpet prowess was a part of the Providence Baptist Church 2004 Arise and Build CD project. DMORR played trumpet for the Jazz Poets, which were featured weekly at the Cleveland Art Museum for over a year in 2004 and 2005. In February 2006 DMORR was selected as one of 13 musicians from northeastern Ohio to play trumpet at the Quicken Loans arena, home of the Cleveland Cavaliers for the 2006 Cleveland Praisefest. There were 10,000 screaming fans in the stands. Part of the Praisefest team was recording artist and minister of music Eric Wright (Keyboardist), Rodney Hubbard, Keyboard (former keyboardist with the Mississippi Mass Choir-National Gospel Group). DMORR in 2007 finalized the much awaited Philadelphia Freedom CD project with the likes of Cleveland heavy-hitters such as keyboardist Cerena Mangum and Dontave Cowsette on percussion and drums, Justin Erkins on sax (Washington, D.C.), Nicholas Moore on lead guitar. DMORR wrote all of the music for the stage play reading with rave reviews at Karamu House in May 2007 (Karamu debut) Even the Blind Can See play written by Vickie Williams Morris. In the various groups, Duane has been part of opening acts for the likes of John P. Key, Donnie McClurkin, and Vickie Winans, all national artists. In 2009 and 2010 Duane's versitility is shown with him playing trumpet and the bass in the play written by Sonya Blakely Out of Order and Out of Order II held at Cuyahoga Community College Eastern Campus and the Lakeshore Cultural Center. The other band members consisted of the Providence Baptist Church Band (David McWilliams (keyboard), Dontave Cowsette (drums), Jimella Cowsette (percussion). This band has so much chemistry that we have been told that we are one of the best pit bands in the area playing classic r&b songs like the Closer I Get to You, Isley Brothers (Between the Sheets), Gospel featuring Faithful by LaShun Pace among others. Duane played Bass Guitar for the Providence Baptist Church (PBC) Band in March 2010 at Quicken Loans Arena as part of the 2010 Gospel Fest, which featured the kid’s choir, and many of the local musical heavyweights.