Morris "Mo" Joseph Pleasure (born July 12, 1962) is an American composer, singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist. Pleasure is a former member of band's

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

and the

Average White Band The Average White Band (also known as AWB) was a Scottish funk and R&B band that had a series of soul and disco hits between 1974 and 1980. They were best known for their million-selling instrumental track " Pick Up the Pieces", and their alb ...

. As of now he's the current musical director of singer

Bette Midler Bette Midler ( ;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and author. Throughout her five-decade career Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Bette Midler, numero ...

. Pleasure has also worked with artists such as

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential musicians in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Gen ...

Najee Jerome Najee Rasheed (born November 4, 1957, New York City), known professionally as Najee, is an American jazz saxophonist and flautist. Early life Najee was born in the lower west side of Manhattan in New York City and lived his teenage years ...

George Duke George Martin Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as ...

Marion Meadows Marion Meadows (born July 24, 1962) is an Americans, American soprano saxophonist and composer, mainly in smooth jazz. He was born in Beckley, West Virginia, and grew up mainly in Connecticut. His first album as a leader was ''For Lovers Only'' ...

and

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to prominence in the mid-1970s, with the release of her debut ...

. Along with the likes of

Roberta Flack Roberta Cleopatra Flack (February 10, 1937 – February 24, 2025) was an American singer and pianist known for her emotive, genre-blending ballads that spanned R&B, jazz, Folk music, folk, and pop and contributed to the birth of the quiet storm ...

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

Brian Culbertson Brian Culbertson (born January 12, 1973) is an American smooth jazz/ R&B/funk musician and producer. His instruments include the synthesizer, piano and trombone. Early life and career Culbertson was born in Decatur, Illinois. As a child, he wa ...

, and

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian record producer, composer, arranger, and musician. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His career began as a keyboardist for the pop group Skylark in the early 1970s befor ...

History

Pleasure was born in

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

. His parents Robert and Evelyn Pleasure were originally from Louisiana, but moved to Hartford so Robert could attend

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

from which he graduated in 1961. The family then moved to

Guilford, Connecticut Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, that borders Madison, Connecticut, Madison, Branford, Connecticut, Branford, North Branford, Connecticut, North Branford and Durham, Connecticut, Durham, and is situated on Inter ...

when young Pleasure was 7 years old. Pleasure began playing piano at age four and studied piano under Carol Wright from age seven to 17. Frequent trips to

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

to visit family gave Pleasure a deep exposure to and appreciation for

Gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music vary according to culture and social context. Gospel music is compo ...

as many of his relatives were active in church, and gospel music was the soundtrack of their lives. And it was on these trips that he also experienced first hand the inequalities of a still segregated south. A black family traveling through the south in those times could not stop at a hotel for the night, so the family would make these trips nonstop. By the time Pleasure was a teenager, he had become proficient in trumpet, guitar, drums and violin as well. He composed his first song at age 12. He accompanied his father (an accomplished tenor) at all the Guilford high school's graduations from 1975–80 and was active in his high school's music programs. Pleasure holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in music from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

. Some of his main influences for playing piano/keyboards include

Joe Sample Joseph Leslie Sample (February 1, 1939 – September 12, 2014) was an American jazz keyboardist and composer. He was one of the founding members of The Jazz Crusaders in 1960, whose name was shortened to "The Crusaders" in 1971. He remained a p ...

Ramsey Lewis Ramsey Emmanuel Lewis Jr. (May 27, 1935 – September 12, 2022) was an American jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and radio personality. Lewis recorded over 80 albums and received five RIAA certification, gold records and three Grammy Awards ...

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz musician, bandleader, and composer. He started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. Hancock soon joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he helped to redefine the role of ...

, Donald Blackman, and

Chick Corea Armando Anthony "Chick" Corea (June 12, 1941 – February 9, 2021) was an American jazz pianist, composer, bandleader and occasional percussionist. His compositions "Spain (instrumental), Spain", "500 Miles High", "La Fiesta", "Armando's Rhumba" ...

. Also,

Verdine White Verdine Adams White (born Verdine Adams Jr.; July 25, 1951) is an American musician, best known as a founding member and bassist for the band Earth, Wind & Fire. White was placed at No. 19 on Rolling Stone's list oThe 50 Greatest Bassists of Al ...

Chuck Rainey Charles Walter Rainey III (born June 17, 1940) is an American bass guitarist who has performed and recorded with many well-known acts, including Aretha Franklin, Steely Dan, and Quincy Jones. Rainey is credited for playing bass on more than 1,00 ...

James Jamerson James Lee Jamerson (January 29, 1936 – August 2, 1983) was an American bassist. He was the uncredited bassist on most of the Motown Records hits in the 1960s and early 1970s (Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases un ...

Jaco Pastorius John Francis Anthony Pastorius III, also known as Jaco Pastorius (; December 1, 1951 – September 21, 1987), was an American jazz bassist, composer, and producer. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential bassists of all time, ...

Bootsy Collins William Earl "Bootsy" Collins (born October 26, 1951) is an American bass guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Rising to prominence with James Brown in the early 1970s before joining the Parliament-Funkadelic collective, Collins established himse ...

, and

had a strong impact on Pleasure's love for the bass guitar and his approach to playing it.

Career

Pleasure started his career in 1986 as a new member of

' orchestra. He went on to play the keyboards/bass on

's 1990 album

Tokyo Blue ''Tokyo Blue'' is Najee's third album, released by Capitol Records in 1990. Critical reception Jonathan Widran of AllMusic writes, "Immensely pleasurable, a fun listen from beginning to end." ''Smooth Jazz Therapy'' writes of ''Tokyo Blue'', ...

Everette Harp Everette Harp (born August 17, 1961, in Houston, Texas) is an American jazz saxophonist who has recorded for Blue Note, Capitol and Shanachie Records. His album ''Jazz Funk Soul'', a collaboration with Chuck Loeb and Jeff Lorber, received his ...

's 1992 self-titled LP,

' 1992 album ''Keep It Right There'' and

Stanley Clarke Stanley Clarke (born June 30, 1951) is an American bassist, composer and founding member of Return to Forever, one of the first jazz fusion bands. Clarke gave the bass guitar a prominence it lacked in jazz-related music. He is the first jazz-fus ...

's 1993 LP ''Live at the Greek''. During 1994 Pleasure joined

as the band's new musical director. Pleasure went on to play keyboards on EW&F's 1996 album Greatest Hits Live, 1997 album

In the Name of Love In the Name of Love may refer to: Music Albums * ''In the Name of Love'' (Earth, Wind & Fire album) (1996) * ''In the Name of Love'' (Peggy Lee album) (1964) * ''In the Name of Love'' (Thompson Twins album) (1982) * ''In the Name of Love'' ( ...

and 2004 DVD at Montreux 1997. He also featured on Najee's 1994 album ''Share My World'' and Marion Meadows' 1994 LP ''Forbidden Fruit''. Pleasure then appeared on jazz group

Urban Knights The Urban Knights are an American all-star jazz fusion band. They released their self-titled debut in 1995. They have a total of 8 studio albums. Overview The Urban Knight's debut album, '' Urban Knights I'', was released in 1995 by GRP Records. ...

's 1997 album '' Urban Knights II'' and

Gerald Albright Gerald Albright (born August 30, 1957) is an American jazz saxophonist. He earned Grammys for the albums ''24/7 (Gerald Albright and Norman Brown album), 24/7'' in 2012 and ''Slam Dunk'' in 2014 and was nominated for ''New Beginnings (Gerald Albr ...

's 1997 LP ''

Live to Love ''Live to Love'' is the sixth studio album by Gerald Albright. It was produced by Albright and released in 1997 by Atlantic Records. ''Live to Love'' reached No. 4 on the ''Billboard'' Contemporary Jazz Albums chart and No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' ...

''. As well he produced George Howard on his 1998 album ''Midnight Mood'' and

Philip Bailey Philip James Bailey (born May 8, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter and percussionist, best known as an early member and one of the two lead singers (along with group founder Maurice White) of the band Earth, Wind & Fire. Noted for his fo ...

on his 1999 album

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5–20 minutes, althou ...

. After eight years with EWF, Pleasure played on

's All For You tour and her 2002 feature film '' Janet: Live in Hawaii''. He then guested on

Boney James Boney James (born James Oppenheim September 1, 1961) is an American saxophonist, recording artist, songwriter and record producer. He is a four-time Grammy Award nominee (Best Pop Instrumental Album, 2001, 2004, 2014 and Best Traditional R&B Per ...

' 2004 album ''Pure'' and the 2004

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential guitarists of all time. Inducted ...

tribute album '' Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix''. Pleasure later played bass guitar on

2007 album Bringing Back The Funk and performed on

's 2009 feature film '' This Is It''. He then worked with

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera ( , ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and television personality. Recognized as Cultural impact of Christina Aguilera, an influential figure in music and having received Public imag ...

and later became the musical director of

. Pleasure also played keyboards on

2012 album

Let It Be Roberta ''Let It Be Roberta'' (subtitled ''Roberta Flack Sings the Beatles'') is the fifteenth and final studio album by American singer Roberta Flack, released in 2012 by Sony Music. The album peaked at No. 30 on both the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album ...

. He has also gone on tour with artists such as

Mary J. Blige Mary Jane Blige ( ; born January 11, 1971) is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, actress, and entrepreneur. Often referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Hip-Hop Soul" and "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Qu ...

Chaka Khan Yvette Marie Stevens (born March 23, 1953), better known by her stage name Chaka Khan ( ), is an American singer. Known as the " Queen of Funk", her career has spanned more than five decades beginning in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of ...

, Frankie Beverly & Maze,

Peter Cetera Peter Paul Cetera Jr. ( ; born September 13, 1944) is a retired American musician best known for being a frontman, vocalist, and bassist for the American rock band Chicago from 1967 until his departure in 1985. His career as a recording artist ...

and

Personal life

He has devoted time to philanthropic efforts including fundraising for the Guilford ABC Program and Guilford High School music programs and co-founded "We R 1 Voice" with his ex-wife Lori in 2013. He currently lives in

Aberystwyth Aberystwyth (; ) is a University town, university and seaside town and a community (Wales), community in Ceredigion, Wales. It is the largest town in Ceredigion and from Aberaeron, the county's other administrative centre. In 2021, the popula ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, with his fellow musician/singer partner and wife Kedma Macias and their two daughters.

Discography

*''Elements of Pleasure'' (2004) Watersign Records

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pleasure, Morris 1962 births Living people Musicians from Hartford, Connecticut American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists American multi-instrumentalists American music arrangers American pop pianists American male trumpeters American music directors Guitarists from Connecticut University of Connecticut alumni 20th-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American bass guitarists 21st-century American keyboardists 20th-century American pianists 20th-century American trumpeters 21st-century American trumpeters American male bass guitarists Jazz musicians from Connecticut 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Earth, Wind & Fire members 20th-century American keyboardists Musicians from Aberystwyth