Jackie Morris
Carpinteria, California, United States | Established. Jan 01, 2006 | INDIE
Music
Press
"A brilliant songwriter with a great voice!'
- Bill Hahn, "Traditions"
"Hootenanny Cafe Mini Concert featuring: Amazing singer songwriter, Jackie Morris. Her songs and voice are mesmerizing. You can't help being swayed by the music." - Jon Stein, Hootenanny Cafe, FOLKDJ-L (Oct 9, 2014)
(said live on show, 7/26/11)
"Her music is always exceptional.....There's always a wink and a nod in her songs." - Lilli Kuzma, Folk Festival, WDCB
"Jackie Morris is a fabulous songwriter...(She) plays folk music that's informed by a wealth of different styles, with lyrics that are in turn touching, funny, poignant and authentic...MONEY TO BURN is exquisite." - Wildy Haskell, Wildy's World - Wildy's World
Both "House of Cards" and "Our Town Said No" by Jackie Morris were among Rich Warren's top "picks" on 7/16 and 7/23 respectively. - Rich Warren, The Midnight Special & Folkstage
"A talented songwriter, singer and guitarist, Jackie Morris spins some delightful new tales in her third CD....Once again, she has gathered some amazing talent to accompany her...Together, they have created a wonderful listening experience that you will enjoy over and over." - Gary Lynch, "The Latest Spin," The Bard Chord
Wow! Despite the album title (CAN'T FIX CRAZY), this isn't a comedy record. This is a folk/Americana record that is so perfect and beautiful that you have to play it a few times to be sure you heard what you thought you heard. A bar raising effort from a talent whose name should be one everyone’s lips, this is one killer of a high water mark for folkie/singer-songwriter/acoustic music. A top shelf winner throughout, Morris is charming, warm and such a wonderful writer that driving around with this in the car can easily replace hanging at Starbucks with a pal. Killer stuff throughout. - Chris Spector, Midwest Record (May 22, 2014)
"Outstanding listening....charming...witty and cynically humorous." - Carl Gage, FolkWorks (March 10, 2014)
(Track 11) "Our Town Said No" can serve as an inspiration to many communities facing exploitation of natural and economic resources by big, multinational companies." - Charles "Charlie B." Blair, Host, Musica Americana, America's Stories Told in Song (KCPR, San Luis Obispo, CA) - Charles "Charlie B." Blair, host, "Musica Americana"
"Performing with a crystalline voice...Morris has emerged as a gifted songwriter and entertainer." - Mark Brickley, The Music Beat, "Coastal View News"
A Song with a Cause
Jackie Morris, an enthusiastic environmental crusader, puts her music into action. The acoustic musician's latest release, "Money to Burn," has a heartrending rhythm with poignant lyrics.
Come, listen and be moved. For each song downloaded (from Jackie's Myspace store) a proceed will be donated to Carbonfund.org. - Erika Leung, Carbonfund.org
"A joy to listen to.
"Warm and humorous...poignant and thought provoking...lively and lots of fun...Jackie Morris glowed on stage at Jensen's Mainstage in Santa Barbara...ending with a standing ovation and calls for 'More!'
"Jackie has clearly grown and expanded her already amazing songwriting abilities. This CD sparkles!" - Lorraine Cumiskey, The Bard Chord
"Jackie Morris' CD really is a gem." - Andrew Doerr, KCSB radio host, "Roadtunes Sessions" (91.9 FM)
Soft Female vocals provide a nice veneer of melody. Country folk music emanates, curling up the outsides with bluegrass and bluesy ballads. Clever songwriting is tucked inside each song.
Smart singer/songwriters of the female persuasion are unfortunately few and far between in the land of country folk, so it's refreshing to see one so boisterous in her music. -- J-Sin - J-Sin, Smother Magazine
“The album …bring(s) back the memory of the high tide mark of the traditional C and W genre, although Morris also includes elements of country as well as bluegrass, folk and blues. In part, thanks to her crystal-clear voice and the accomplished string playing of multi-instrumentalist David West, she is able to distill a unique sound of her own from the blend of all these styles.” -- Benny Metten - Benny Metten, www.ctraltcountry.be, Belgium
What is "Retro Country/Folk?" The genre seemed frustratingly vague at first, but after listening to Jackie Morris' latest release, the term was surprisingly apt. It draws back memories of the late 60s and 70s where folkies were aspiring to be troubadour storytellers.
Morris' sharp diction and soft tones remind me of Catherine O'Hara's lovelorn folk character in "A Mighty Wind," but her rich lyricism approaches, at moments, Marty Robbins. Like Robbins, with his tragic yarns about gunslighers, Morris compresses existing stories into song format, culling from true-to-life stories....(with a) strong melodic backbone and healthy dose of danger. -- Charles Martin
- Charles Martin, Indie-Music.com
Jackie Morris has with her new record given listeners a high quality collection of well written songs, superior melodies, sympathetic production, and the wonderful attack on GMOs. Best of all, Jackie Morris has such a warm, engaging voice. She could probably record almost any song and it would be entertaining. She is another singer who should be much better known, and with her new CD this seems highly likely. - Paul Riley, Country Music People (July 1, 2014)
Jackie's voice is sweet and clear. Actually, it's pretty darn silky....Oh, one more thing, this gal can whistle! - J.W. McClure, Victory Review Magazine (May 18, 2012)
"We just came back from gifted and prolific Jackie Morris’s CD release party for her brand new CD “CAN’T FIX CRAZY”, and couldn’t wait to give it a listen. This is her fourth CD, and every song is a jewel. Her pretty, clear voice and remarkable vibrato whistling bring out the imaginative lyrics. Add to that her wonderful backup band and harmony singers, and I have to say, this is my favorite Jackie CD so far! The tracks are a perfect mix of humorous songs, pensive tunes and sweet songs that touch the heart." - Renata Decher, The Bard Chord (Apr 1, 2014)
(Re: CAN'T FIX CRAZY) "Jackie Morris has a new CD, just out. She is a treasure who should be nationally famous." - Larry Wines, Acoustic Americana Music Guide (Mar 21, 2014)
"CAN'T FIX CRAZY is definitely a winner...such an engaging blend of life stories, insinuating melodies, and truly memorable songs, all delivered by Jackie Morris, a story teller supreme." - Hal Miller, jazz historian and Santana biographer
Discography
Jackie's first album, "Where the Legends Grow Like Weeds," was released in late January 2006; Her second album, "Money to Burn," was released in May 2008. And her third album, "Tell Me a Story," was released in May 2011.
All tracks from the three albums can be previewed on www.CDBaby.com, or at Jackie's website at www.jackiemorris.com.
Lyrics for all three albums are radio-friendly, and can be found at www.jackiemorris.com.
Photos
Bio
"A brilliant songwriter with a great voice." - Bill Hahn, radio host, "Traditions," WFDU
Releasing four albums in the past ten years, singer/songwriter Jackie Morris has built a reputation for engaging “story songs” that combine traditional Folk and Americana styles with contemporary themes. A Pandora artist, she is best known for her insinuating melodies and her way with words – lyrics laced with humor and irony, sometimes poignant, and often thought-provoking – as well as an uncommon vibrato whistle. These qualities, plus the accompaniment of some truly inspired instrumentalists, have put her last three albums on the Folk Radio Airplay Charts, as well as placed her latest album, “Can’t Fix Crazy,” at #35 on RMR’s Top 100 Americana Country Albums Chart for 2014.
Jackie grew up in New York City, where her earliest musical influences were folk icons like Leadbelly, Pete Seeger, Woodie Guthrie, Joan Baez, and Bob Dylan – and yes, her father, playing accordion, a cool ragtime piano, and whistling. Later, of course, she came to admire John Prine, Judy Collins, Simon and Garfunkle, Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and countless others. But the result is that each of her albums reflects a vibrant mix of blues, ballads, bluegrass and folk-rock, as well as some old-time, good-time rhythms.
By age 13, her little childhood ukulele was replaced by an acoustic guitar, and almost immediately Jackie started to write her own songs. On weekends in high school she’d play in Washington Square in Greenwich Village, and later at The Midtown Inn in Cortland, N.Y., where she went to college. But after graduating, it was many years before Jackie returned to serious song-writing.
She earned a Masters in English from NYU and went on to make a living as a writer and editor – writing book jackets in New York, and later, advertising in Los Angeles. This writing background was not wasted when she returned to music 15 years ago and the songs began to flow.
Her voice is consistently described, as J.W. McClure (reviewer for Victory Music) put it, as “soft and warm, and she seems to be smiling through the delivery... the perfect medium to deliver some clever, punchy lyrics.”
In addition, she has been privileged to be accompanied by some of the most outstanding musicians on the West Coast. Her second album, “Money to Burn,” features the late, great Kenny Edwards (co-founder of the Stone Poneys with Linda Ronstadt) on guitar, bass and mandolin; her third and fourth albums feature fiddler Gabe Witcher (of the Punch Brothers), bluesman Alastair Greene (guitarist with Alan Parsons) on resonator guitar, and David Piltch (bassist to k.d. lang); and all four albums display the multi-instrumental wizardry of David West (formerly with Kate Wolf and Cache Valley Drifters) on guitar, banjo, mandolin, dobro and bass.
Jackie Morris has performed locally on the Central Coast of California for many years before moving to the south of France, where she now lives for half the year. She appeared on “The Roadtunes Sessions” on KCSB (Santa Barbara), where her first album was a pledge drive selection. Most recently, in October 2014, she was the featured artist on Jon Stein’s Hootenanny Café, WTBQ (Warwick, New York). Her third album, “Tell Me a Story” was among Top Albums of the Year on the Folk Music Radio Airplay Charts of 2011, and had the honor of being named among “favorite albums of 2011” by long-time DJs – Bill Halhn (WFDU) and Lilli Kuzma (WDCB). And the title track of her last album, “Can’t Fix Crazy,” was #7 last summer on the Roots Music Report Americana Country Song Charts.
Jackie has recently completed a music video, shot in France, featuring her new single, “Bon Appetit.”
Band Members
Links
