The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra closes its 24th season with the versatile vocal stylings of Broadway actress and recording artist Morgan James.
As Motown Records founder Berry Gordy, Jr. said, “She sings it all.”
James attended the prestigious Juilliard School to study opera. After graduating Morgan turned to Broadway, where she has appeared in the original Broadway casts of Motown: The Musical, Godspell, Wonderland and The Addams Family.
Having grown up on R&B and soul recordings, Morgan followed her muse from opera to Broadway to the sounds of soul icons like Nine Simone, Aretha Franklin and others, and even began writing her own music.
Today Morgan James has two recordings out and has garnered tens of millions of YouTube hits as a solo artist and performing with Scott Bradlee’s Post Modern Juke Box (PMJ).
The program, devised by both Morgan and KSO Music Director James Cassidy, essentially traces Morgan’s musical journey through various genres. Cassidy said last spring “I was actually looking for Blue Grass programming possibilities, when I accidentally came upon Post Modern Juke Box and Morgan. As I dug to find more about this soulful soprano’s background, I uncovered her Broadway and classical roots and thought, this is quite the story and talent to share with our audience.” Cassidy continued, “So the idea of a blonde soubrette soprano winding up in Motown led naturally to the title SOULbrette (Puccini to Prince).
The program’s first half opens with Bernstein’s Overture to Candide. Jeanne Tessori’s orignal hit for Kristin Chenowith —“The Girl from 14G” introduces MJ as the opera, and jazz singer. Morgan’s classical chops are on display in Puccini’s “Chi Bel Sogno di Doretta” from La Rondine and Richard Strauss’ song “Morgen” (morning).
Broadway enters the fold with Barbara Cook’s feature by Wally Harper — “It’s Better with a Band.” Aaron Copland’s “Laurie’s Song” from the opera The Tenderland gets MJ’s poignant treatment before the vocal fireworks and comedy of “Glitter & Be Gay,” also from Candide.
After intermission, it is Morgan James today, singing two songs made famous by the late Nina Simone (“I put a Spell on You,” “Little Girl Blue”), then a PMJ favorite Maroon Five’s “Maps” in an R&B adaptation. Stevie Wonder’s “If It’s Magic” gets a litteral“harp and soul” treatment before the KSO’s Boogie Band offers the Tower of Power instrumental “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride.” Morgan returns with a couple of tunes from her most recent album — “Hunter” and the late Prince’s “Call My Name.” Aretha Franklin’s popular “Think” (featured in the 1980 film — The Blues Brothers) and Morgan and Doug Wamble’s “Say the Words” close the evening’s chapter, but not the book on this very special and versatile performer.
Morgan will be available to meet and sign her CDs in the lobby following the performance.
The Kentucky Symphony Orchestra traces the musical steps of soprano Morgan James from opera, classical to Broadway, to R&B and soul in one evening.— 7:30 p.m., Saturday, May 14 at Florence Baptist Church (Mt. Zion), Florence, KY. Reserved seating tickets are $24, $32, $40 (children ages 6-18 are 50% off) anare available online, by phone or at the door. kyso.org / (859) 431-6216.
Morgan James
Morgan James discovered her passion for music early on and pursued it whole- heartedly at the Juilliard School. While in the midst of the institution’s rigorous academic program, the Idaho native soon realized her path would diverge from the classical world. “I didn’t want a career in opera, but Juilliard still shaped me,” she says. “The traditional training really made me a disciplined singer. I carry that with me to this day.”
After graduating and low on money, Morgan bounced back and forth between bartending and restaurant gigs. Immersed in classic 1960s and ’70s soul records, she experienced a pivotal revelation. “Out of that frustration came this other voice,” she says. “It was my true voice, and I feel like I discovered it in the middle of so much hardship just trying to be heard.”
In 2008, Morgan booked her first Broadway show — in The Addams Family alongside Nathan Lane, as well as in prominent and leading roles in Wonderland, Godspell, and Berry Gordy’s Motown: The Musical as Teena Marie. The latter set the stage for her to launch her solo career properly.
Gordy recognized Morgan’s talent and introduced her to Doug Morris and L.A. Reid, opening the door for a deal with Epic Records in 2012.
Around the same time, Morgan booked a landmark show at Dizzy’s Club Coca-Cola, where she paid tribute to Nina Simone with songs closely associated with the legendary artist. The show was recorded and released as the critically acclaimed Morgan James Live on Epic Records. It also proved to be the perfect segue for her first studio album, Hunter, released in June, 2014.
All the while Morgan has remained active in the classical world, most recently appeared in Leonard Bernstein’s Mass with the Louisville Orchestra. She also performed in Mass with the Philadelphia Orchestra conducted by Yannick Nézet-Séguin, as well as with the Baltimore Symphony at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center under Marin Alsop. Her symphonic appearances have included Denver, Detroit, Harrisburg, San Diego, Youngstown, Fort Meyers, Sinfonia Gulf Coast, and Greensboro.
Morgan recently toured Europe, Australia, and the U.S. with Scott Bradlee’s Postmodern Jukebox, and she is featured in many of their videos. Those and videos of other performances have garnered more than 35 million views on YouTube. For more information and complete discography, visit morganjamesonline.com.