Esy Morales

Who was Esy Morales?

Ismael "Esy" Morales, was a musician born in Puerto Rico. One of his brothers, Noro, was also a musician. Before the age of ten, Esy was performing on tenor sax, clarinet and flute. In 1930 he moved to New York City, and is credited on Xavier Cugat's album Cugat On Film, as well as other Cugat records. In the late 1930s he formed a band with his brothers Humberto and Noro.

Morales went on to form his own band, The Esy Morales Orchestra and had a cameo appearance in the 1949 motion picture Criss Cross performing the song "Jungle Fantasy". His name is also listed in the credits of this movie. The song Jungle Fantasy appears on Herbie Mann's 65th Birthday Celebration: Live At The Blue Note In New York City, as well as Yusef Lateef's 1960 recording The Centaur and the Phoenix.