Nov. 10, 1954  San Antonio Express review of a concert with the San Antonio Symphony Orchestra.
". . . . . .  Probably the first harmonica soloist ever to win a standing ovation from an audience at a symphony concert was Airman (3rd Class) Tommy Morgan, who got just that for his renditions of three difficult pieces at the Corral concert.  He is such a virtuoso that, at times, it was hard to tell which was the harmonica and which was the orchestra.   . . . . . . . .

April 15, 1957.Letter from Ed Sullivan--

Dear Tommy,

I'd like very much to use you again because you were a terrific hit with us.

Drop me a note with available dates.

Sincerely,

(signed) Ed Sullivan

1971

Foreword to the method book TOMMY MORGAN BLUES HARMONICA.

"Hollywood studio musicians have to be the most versatile performers in theworld because of the great variety of demands made upon them.  My friend Tommy Morgan is outstanding among this top echelon of players.  He can turn on the "grease" at a wild rhythm and blues session for Motown in the afternoon; and then put on his tuxedo and play the Villa-Lobos Concerto for Harmonica that same night at the Hollywood Bowl with the symphony.  Brother, that's musicianship!"

Besides being one of the most versatile harmonica virtuosos in the world, Tommy's background as a scholar and composer, (Masters Degree in Music Composition, UCLA; composer of numerous movie and TV scores) uniquely qualifies him to write this book on the harmonica.  Tommy has much to give.  
You and I are lucky - we have much to gain.

Hugo Montenegro   

1971

Foreword to the method book TOMMY MORGAN CHROMATIC HARMONICA.
My friendship with Tommy Morgan goes back many years.  During that time, music has gone through many changes.  With regard to the harmonica, Tommy has known "where it was at" every minute of the way.  He not only knows where it is "now" but where it was "way back then."  Simply stated:  Tommy Morgan does it all!

Hank Mancini

"The Mexican"

I recorded the score to  "The Mexican", starring Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts (just nominated for an Academy Award for Erin Brockovich).  We spent two days with the composer, Alan Sylvestri, and the director of the film at Capitol Studios with just three of us, Rick Riccio (whistler), George Doering (guitar) and me (chromatic and diatonic harmonicas and bass harmonica) working out the "color aspects" of the score.  Our tracks were then overdubbed by the full orchestra the following week.

Tommy 'Phoned It In'......

A very interesting session occurred last week where I literally "phoned in" my part.  The composer, Walter Bryant, was in Kansas City, Missouri, while I was at Bell Sound in Hollywood.  They downloaded the music to a hard disk here.  I then played the harmonica part to the track.  They then shipped my track as well as the mixed version back to Kansas City.  The 30 second spot was for the Missouri Board of Tourism.  It took about 30 minutes.  The is the second "spot" I've done for Walter.

The Code Whisperers

A current film I've been working on is the John Woo directed film, The Code Whisperers.  This is the story of the Navajo Indian "Code Talkers" of World War II.  In the picture, a native American plays Native American Flute, while my character, played by Christian Slater, plays the harmonica.  The two play together in the film.  The composer is James Hoerner.  We've recorded two "pre-score" sessions for the film so far.  I had a meeting with Christian Slater to coach him on how to look like he's playing the harmonica, as he mimics my track.  This is an interesting job, as the harmonica is an integral part of the film and score.