The work of Joe Morris has been documented on some hundred records, both as a leader and as a sideman, both on guitar, and - more recently - bass. He’s played on the records of William Parker, Barre Phillips, Ken Vandermark, Joe Maneri, and Matthew Shipp. As a fan of these artists and Morris’ own works as a leader, I came to respect his uniquely ingenious style of playing immensely. However, it wasn’t until June of 2005, when I saw Morris perform at the Vision Festival with William Parker and Hamid Drake, that I fully understood the depth and breadth of his creative mind. Playing late-night set (starting at 1:30) as a collective trio called “Eloping With the Sun” (Morris self-released a studio document on his own Riti label in 2003), the three men created a groove-driven polyrhythmatic state of hypnosis for the better part of an hour, and I was transfixed. KMB Jazz had not yet been birthed at that point, but when I saw Morris playing banjo again with Parker’s Double Sunrise Over Neptune Ensemble, I knew that I had to work with him on a solo banjo release. Atmosphere is the result, carefully crafted by Morris himself at his home studio in Connecticut. As to the music itself, here are the liners, with Joe’s own explanation of the music: “My interest in the banjo goes back to the 70’s when I began listening to traditional string music from around the world. The banjo gives me the chance to play music that is pure rhythm and rhythm as melody or pure melody. I don’t try to be historic or to be ethnic. The banjo just has this music in it. I do what I can to bring it out. I don’t try to play within any tradition either. I make this music because I think it is a contemporary thing to do. However, I do find inspiration in music played on various lutes like the ngoni, halam, guimbri, saz, tar, oud, shamisen and the early banjo. I think about what I can do with the raw sound of the string when it’s plucked, strummed and picked stretched over a skin. I hope the results perpetuate the continuously valid and universal idea that culture and music can help us to contemplate our time on this planet, and to come together. On this recording I play a 5-string banjo and a 4-string banjouke—a ukulele with a drum resonator. I use plain nylon and steel wrapped nylon strings on the 5-string and plain nylon ukulele strings on the banjouke. Sometimes I use a pick and sometimes I don’t. Sometimes I change the tuning, sometimes I don’t. “ -Joe Morris, 2008