LEA

"...an extraordinary talented singer/songwriter, [with an] ability to connect with the audience that is most incredible. LEA enriched all of us with her positive energy, rich repertoire of tunes, expressive acoustic guitar playing, and melodious alto voice, combined with a sense of spontaneity."
- Alan D. White, Ph.D., Coordinator of the 2007 Meet the Performing Artist Series

"... a singer/songwriter whose ... magnetic voice and deep, heartfelt appeal draws us in... LEA is so refreshing in a sea of wanna-be, sound-alike, cookie cutter performers... a reminder of true talent, bringing not only a fresh perspective, but sound."
- Women's Rising Magazine

"She's just plain good." - Cathy Fink, multiple Grammy Winner and one of LEA's mentors at Strathmore

"When imagining the influences for Lea's music, the obvious starting point would seem to fall within the genre of Folk. However, allow yourself to listen a bit closer and a bit longer and you will hear the soulful lyric frankness of Blues accompanied by the chordal and melodic complexity of Jazz. Ultimately, the strongest influence on her music is Lea, which she projects with charm and ease when she takes the stage." - Various Sources

"...an extraordinary talented singer/songwriter, [with an] ability to connect with the audience that is most incredible. LEA enriched all of us with her positive energy, rich repertoire of tunes, expressive acoustic guitar playing, and melodious alto voice, combined with a sense of spontaneity."
- Alan D. White, Ph.D., Coordinator of the 2007 Meet the Performing Artist Series

"... a singer/songwriter whose ... magnetic voice and deep, heartfelt appeal draws us in... LEA is so refreshing in a sea of wanna-be, sound-alike, cookie cutter performers... a reminder of true talent, bringing not only a fresh perspective, but sound."
- Women's Rising Magazine

"She's just plain good." - Cathy Fink, multiple Grammy Winner and one of LEA's mentors at Strathmore

"When imagining the influences for Lea's music, the obvious starting point would seem to fall within the genre of Folk. However, allow yourself to listen a bit closer and a bit longer and you will hear the soulful lyric frankness of Blues accompanied by the chordal and melodic complexity of Jazz. Ultimately, the strongest influence on her music is Lea, which she projects with charm and ease when she takes the stage." - Various Sources

For several years now folk music enthusiasts have bypassed smoky bars and loud clubs by hosting concerts in their homes. Typically an audience of 25 to 50 people will fill up the living room, dining room and family room at a host's house. Some bring snacks to share; desserts and coffee are sometimes provided. No alcohol is served or consumed. And, there is always a basket with a "suggested donation" sign with the evening's contributions going strictly to the performers. People go for one reason, to hear the music -- every word, every note. Artist and fan benefit from this practice, says singer-songwriter Lea, who appears at the Weil House concert Oct. 18 in Takoma Park. "The atmosphere is created entirely by the musician and the audience. People ask questions. There is definitely less distance and it is definitely welcomed," says Lea. "You can imagine how intimate it can be." A young woman in her mid-twenties, Lea has just released her second album, "Looking Forward," and is at work on her next, due out in summer 2004. Her songs are well crafted and they bring Lea much respect within the local folk scene as well as among her peers. There is also a more musically aggressive side to Lea, which she releases when playing bass in the all-girl, funk-rock, horn-driven septet Zeala. In both settings it is Lea's songwriting that shines. "Long Time" from the new release can be heard on her MP3 page. "It was written on a rainy day last November, a day or two before [returning to] Germany [on tour]. Seeing the leaves wet on the streets made things look different. I was thinking about the past. Impressions we get of the world change." "Looking Forward" follows a theme of reflection and reevaluation. Though, Lea says, it was not a conscious choice when she selected the tracks that would appear on the album. She seems ready to embrace a new phase and is hopeful that whatever comes her way will lead toward achieving a greater listening audience. "It [does] reference where I've been in my personal development. Generally, when thinking of looking forward you have some hope of where you're heading."

Maria Villafana - Washington Post

Her music has been compared to Joni Mitchell and is a soulful blending of R&B, jazz and urban folk. "If I could get away with not describing it, that's what I would do. Most folks say it's a folk-jazz fusion," Lea said. "My musical influences come from classic rock artists like Neil Young and Eric Clapton. I'm most like Neil Young in terms of his simplicity and the things he was writing about."You might say that Lea was born into music. Her mother was a member of the Jones Family Gospel Singers and her father a professional trumpet player. Lea credits them for her polished performances as well as starting her with music lessons at a young age. By the time she was 13, Lea had not only begun playing guitar and writing songs but also knew it would become her career. "When I was playing and writing, there was a fulfillment there that I knew I wouldn't get anywhere else."In between touring and taking care of her three-year-old daughter, Lea has found time to lend her talent to benefit nonprofit organizations like Community Harvest and Habitat For Humanity. "It's not part of my mission statement, but when I open myself to using my greatest gift to give, not just to make money or ease my own mind, the opportunity presents itself. When I'm playing in someone's living room, it has a healing effect and brings love and peace, and then I'll meet someone there who wants me to do something. I wouldn't say I'm an activist, but I'm conscientious about creating positive energy."Today, Lea is on the road in the U. S. and Europe promoting her second CD, "Looking Forward." Regarding her commentary between songs, she said, "I have to be honest and open, and I find myself saying things to the audience that I wouldn't say to friends. I find it very therapeutic."

Linda McCarty

- Chapin Group Press

"...an extraordinary talented singer/songwriter, [with an] ability to connect with the audience that is most incredible. LEA enriched all of us with her positive energy, rich repertoire of tunes, expressive acoustic guitar playing, and melodious alto voice, combined with a sense of spontaneity."
- Alan D. White, Ph.D., Coordinator of the 2007 Meet the Performing Artist Series








Jill Griffith, an audience member says:

"I think you have the most unique and beautiful voice and the most amazing gift for writing songs that transport me to another place and at the same time, speak directly to my soul. Thanks again for sharing your gift."

Moby (in the morning), Atlanta, GA radio personality says:

"LEA is absolutely the most refreshing musician I have heard in quite some time. To say she is incredibly talented is an understatement, but it's all I know to say. She totally knocks my socks off. "

Ray Ruskin of the Kensington Coffeehouse says:

"Astouningly talented, LEA has to be on of the finest young artist in the DC metro area. She simply hypnotizes the audiences with skill and sophistication at a level beyond her years. Intriguing and soulful, LEA is completely original, always enjoyable."

Phil Peacock of The Merryhills in London, England says:

"From the very first opening bars, of the very first track of her demo CD, it was very clear to me, that Lea has a very special talent indeed. What I call having that Magic Ingredient "X". I just wanted to keep playing the CD over and over!
And, WOW!! what a performance!!
Beautiful Songs, Beautiful Voice, Delivery, and Exceptional Guitar Playing! If ever a singer/songwriter deserves stardom, then Lea should be top of the list! If nobody in the States snaps her up soon, then I feel sure she would make it BIG TIME in the UK! It'll be your loss America!!"

Amikaeyla Proudfoot Gaston of the National Womyn of Color Institue says:

LEA's muse- ic is sultry, soothing and spectacular... Her style, although similar in tonation and instrumentation, reaches further than the Tracy Chapman/Joan Armatrading genre - bridging styles and cultures alike... Charged with simplicity and integrity." - Various Sources

Her music has been compared to Joni Mitchell and is a soulful blending of R&B, jazz and urban folk. "If I could get away with not describing it, that's what I would do. Most folks say it's a folk-jazz fusion," Lea said. "My musical influences come from classic rock artists like Neil Young and Eric Clapton. I'm most like Neil Young in terms of his simplicity and the things he was writing about."You might say that Lea was born into music. Her mother was a member of the Jones Family Gospel Singers and her father a professional trumpet player. Lea credits them for her polished performances as well as starting her with music lessons at a young age. By the time she was 13, Lea had not only begun playing guitar and writing songs but also knew it would become her career. "When I was playing and writing, there was a fulfillment there that I knew I wouldn't get anywhere else."In between touring and taking care of her three-year-old daughter, Lea has found time to lend her talent to benefit nonprofit organizations like Community Harvest and Habitat For Humanity. "It's not part of my mission statement, but when I open myself to using my greatest gift to give, not just to make money or ease my own mind, the opportunity presents itself. When I'm playing in someone's living room, it has a healing effect and brings love and peace, and then I'll meet someone there who wants me to do something. I wouldn't say I'm an activist, but I'm conscientious about creating positive energy."Today, Lea is on the road in the U. S. and Europe promoting her second CD, "Looking Forward." Regarding her commentary between songs, she said, "I have to be honest and open, and I find myself saying things to the audience that I wouldn't say to friends. I find it very therapeutic."

Linda McCarty

- Chapin Group Press

We recently had the good fortune to host Lea Morris at Unity Church in Charlottesville as the guest musician for our Sunday worship service. The topic was "love" and Lea masterfully added to the service with original music and vocals that brought congregants to their feet.

Lea's contribution was a sensitivity to the theme of the service that minister's dream of - a musical thread that allows hearts to open and a space for deeper connection with Spirit to occur.

We look forward to Lea's return and can highly recommend her for your church. - Rev Don Lansky of Unity Church in Charlottesville, VA


Delightful and uplifting. We are so grateful that LEA has been lead to share with us. Her musical message and presence are always a blessing on our community. - Revs Don & Cynthia Foster

What a precious light! You are so appreciated and loved. The songs you sing inspired warmth and joy, for which we are so thankful. - Mahala Connolly of Unity by the Bay in Severna Park, MD - Various Unity Minsiters

We recently had the good fortune to host Lea Morris at Unity Church in Charlottesville as the guest musician for our Sunday worship service. The topic was "love" and Lea masterfully added to the service with original music and vocals that brought congregants to their feet.

Lea's contribution was a sensitivity to the theme of the service that minister's dream of - a musical thread that allows hearts to open and a space for deeper connection with Spirit to occur.

We look forward to Lea's return and can highly recommend her for your church. - Rev Don Lansky of Unity Church in Charlottesville, VA


Delightful and uplifting. We are so grateful that LEA has been lead to share with us. Her musical message and presence are always a blessing on our community. - Revs Don & Cynthia Foster

What a precious light! You are so appreciated and loved. The songs you sing inspired warmth and joy, for which we are so thankful. - Mahala Connolly of Unity by the Bay in Severna Park, MD - Various Unity Minsiters

"Great musician and message. Definitely the best act we've had on campus this year." - Bethany Peters, college student in Salem, VA

"LEA really captured the essence of African American History Month by sharing her own perspective, as well as, a terrific overview on the musical contribution of others... We are so glad we booked her and will certainly have her back again next year." Lily Graaf - DSA in Knoxville, TN

"It's not her singing or guitar playing, which are both really good. And it's not so much what she's singing about. It's that she manages to get you with all three. The music sounds good and as soon as you stop to listen to the lyrics, you're glad you did... The show was inspiring and gave me a really good feeling. I'm really glad I came down to check her out and I would suggest her music to anyone." - Todd Hamlin, college student in Wilkes Barre, PA

"Just great. Professional, easy to work with and music that the staff and students enjoy. We'll keep bringing her back." - Mounira Morris DSA in Meadville, PA - College Students & Staff

Her name is LEA, but it's not some arrogant one named songwriter thing like Jewel or Madonna.
Her music has its own ring to it, so for a name, just "LEA " is fine for the 24 year old.
The Washington DC songwriter calls her music jazz/folk fusion. SHe recently told an audience that she was somewhere between India.arie and Rage Against the machine.
It'd be a disservice, though, not to point out that sh's way more in line with the R&B sppirit of the former than the metal of the latter.
If you define an artist like Ani DiFranco as the middle ground between those tow, well, then, she's happy to be listed in that company, which she often is... - by Brad Barnes, Staff Writer - Ledger Enquirer - Columbus, GA

"Great musician and message. Definitely the best act we've had on campus this year." - Bethany Peters, college student in Salem, VA

"LEA really captured the essence of African American History Month by sharing her own perspective, as well as, a terrific overview on the musical contribution of others... We are so glad we booked her and will certainly have her back again next year." Lily Graaf - DSA in Knoxville, TN

"It's not her singing or guitar playing, which are both really good. And it's not so much what she's singing about. It's that she manages to get you with all three. The music sounds good and as soon as you stop to listen to the lyrics, you're glad you did... The show was inspiring and gave me a really good feeling. I'm really glad I came down to check her out and I would suggest her music to anyone." - Todd Hamlin, college student in Wilkes Barre, PA

"Just great. Professional, easy to work with and music that the staff and students enjoy. We'll keep bringing her back." - Mounira Morris DSA in Meadville, PA - College Students & Staff

LEA's brand new CD, creation, was much anticipated by her friends in Takoma Park's Okay cafe songwriter's ciricle and her growing following in the DC coffeehouse circuit. She's a true standout. Her melodies are charming, her lyrics resonant, her alto warm and soft and delicious, just like honey. She's stunning to hear live and comforting to hear in the background of any winter day.
This CD, being a self produduced enterprise, doesn' that that orchestral, miledeep quality of corporately sponsored records. But LEA's style is so straightforward that it calls for a clean setting. It keeps her smooth vocals and harmonies (all done by LEA) at the forefront, where they belong. It gently showcases her multiinstrumental talents as well, with only a few credits per song going to other musicians.
Some favorites: "Favourite" (coincidence?), which decorates her pretty acoustic guitar with just a little mandolin and percussion. It's the best kind of song - intelligent and catchy all at once. In this tune as in her others, LEA has got a lot to say, but she won't say it in song unless it's got some hook to it. On "Nothing", which has her riled up enough to plug in guitars, there is an unmistakable joy in its melody. "Pins & Needles" is moody and restless, made palatable with harmony vocals haunting the background. Those harmonies then turn around and go dreamy sweet on "This Song", a declaration of love just as soft and enchanting as moonbeams. But I think I like "Chickens" best - it's classic LEA, with the loveliest of guitar tones and most memorable of vocal melodies.
Listen and you'll get why everyone prodded her to get her stuff recorded, already! - by Carolyn Feola
- Takoma Voice

LEA's brand new CD, creation, was much anticipated by her friends in Takoma Park's Okay cafe songwriter's ciricle and her growing following in the DC coffeehouse circuit. She's a true standout. Her melodies are charming, her lyrics resonant, her alto warm and soft and delicious, just like honey. She's stunning to hear live and comforting to hear in the background of any winter day.
This CD, being a self produduced enterprise, doesn' that that orchestral, miledeep quality of corporately sponsored records. But LEA's style is so straightforward that it calls for a clean setting. It keeps her smooth vocals and harmonies (all done by LEA) at the forefront, where they belong. It gently showcases her multiinstrumental talents as well, with only a few credits per song going to other musicians.
Some favorites: "Favourite" (coincidence?), which decorates her pretty acoustic guitar with just a little mandolin and percussion. It's the best kind of song - intelligent and catchy all at once. In this tune as in her others, LEA has got a lot to say, but she won't say it in song unless it's got some hook to it. On "Nothing", which has her riled up enough to plug in guitars, there is an unmistakable joy in its melody. "Pins & Needles" is moody and restless, made palatable with harmony vocals haunting the background. Those harmonies then turn around and go dreamy sweet on "This Song", a declaration of love just as soft and enchanting as moonbeams. But I think I like "Chickens" best - it's classic LEA, with the loveliest of guitar tones and most memorable of vocal melodies.
Listen and you'll get why everyone prodded her to get her stuff recorded, already! - by Carolyn Feola
- Takoma Voice

A 23 year old folk/jazz artist named LEA stuck out in the youngster line up of the Gwyneth Fair in Loudoun County in late July. If her age didn't single her out, her music definitely did.
LEA, a singer/songwriter from Silver Spring, MD, gracefully walked out on the stage. it was just her and a guitar, and that was all she needed to pull the audience in.
Her warm voice and poignant lyrics reminded me what it was like to be a teenager and told the teens that she knew what they were going through.
When all was said and done, the songs she played took the audience on a blissful rider from adolescence to adulthood.
LEA has been singing her whole life. Her mother sang all the time and her father is an accomplished trumpet player.
"The music I was singing and listening to as a kid" was a major influence for her.
"It's taken me a long time to figure that out", she said.
Her music, an eclectic "folk/jazz type stuff", is masterfully written. While she is very good with just a guitar, the cull band on her first CD, creation, adds to her magnificence.
Songs like, "Nothing" and "Chickens" have an intriguing quality that make them good songs to use with the repeat button on the CD player.
In "Nothing" for example, she sings "I don't want to be there/but I can't find the door. Someone told me I look like the lady on the pancake box." Such lines remind listeners of a time when they felt the same way.
LEA's lyrics touch the soul, while her music relaxes the body.
"I can always draw a line to my life or a friends life," she said of her lyrics. She hopes that her music will promote unity because, she said, "we're all pretty much in the same boat."
Besides being an accomplished solo artist, LEA also plays bass for an all female funk band called Zeala. Catching her alone or with Zeala is well worth the trip. - Kristie Little - Times Community Weekender

By Alex Kafka

Say there was a dazzling D.C.-area singer-songwriter with an irresistible, velvety alto voice, an assured stage presence, and an endless repertoire of wonderfully fresh, original tunes. You'd have heard her--or at least heard of her--right?

Well, maybe. Maybe, if you'd happened upon her at the right Starbucks or were drawn to her endearing sounds as you browsed at Borders. Or maybe if you wandered into one of the monthly Kensington Coffee Houses in the basement of St. Paul's Methodist--that's assuming you can find the entrance. No not that one, follow the sign. No, not that one either, that's the main sanctuary. Yeah, that one, at the top of the handicapped-access ramp, the other side of the building from the parking lot.

How's this for slick? Five-dollar cover, and that includes the bottomless cup of joe donated by Café Monet. Desserts, like those incredible brownies made by one of the three dozen volunteers who manage the event, are a buck extra, but hey, proceeds go to after-school tutoring, and if you have change, you can put it in the donation box for the September 11 victims. Have a seat in one of the folding chairs at a long table with a red plastic cloth and the flowers donated by Johnson's. Heck, take the flowers home after the show if you like, but leave the vase, OK?

So, get the feeling you're not in the heart of the hustle of the big-label music biz? There's the husband-and-wife duo, Richard Dahl and Audrey Morris. He's singing a funny coal-miner-style folk song about dot-commers getting the shaft (his day job's at an Internet firm, he jokes, but he's lucky to have the non-paying folk gigs, for security). These performers are like family. The ones not on stage are all sitting together at a table up front, clapping supportively, laughing at the between-song patter from the performers. Audrey and Richard invite up on stage, for vocal back-up, Cletus Kennelly, Garth Ross, and Lea. She's up there again, for the next set, playing bass and singing back-up vocals for Kennelly, who will later sing back-up for her.

She's unassuming. The demeanor of a self-contained junior-high-school librarian or some such. "A little more vocal?" she asks the sound man, like Oliver Twist requesting more gruel. Yeah, a real prima donna, this one.

Next set, and it's her turn.

*

Lea, who in fact has a last name--"Morris, like the cat," she says--is, by all accounts, ready to take off. "She's in her own ballgame," says Pat Staton, who's played Lea on her show on WAGE-a.m. in Leesburg. "People I think are sitting up and taking notice of her through the music gossip line."

Sarah Launius, who books performers for local Borders stores, doesn't want to lose Lea, but says, "I hope to see her doing more along the lines of the larger university auditoriums, breaking into larger venues. I think it wouldn't be totally out of the question to see her playing at the Birchmere in a year or two."

Molly Ruskin, who runs the Kensington Coffee House with her husband Ray, remembers several years ago when, "out of the blue she sent us a tape. . . . We get lots of stuff but we popped it in, and even though it wasn't a highly produced tape we were immediately intrigued and enchanted. And later, after she had played at the coffee house--at the time she was only 20 years old--we were stunned by her sophistication and the mature sound."

And what is that sound, exactly? Well, that's when people have to scratch their heads for a moment. There's certainly a folk element, "but it's not a folky-dokey type music," says Staton. "There's a lot of jazz and bossa nova. She stretches her voice" A little gospel. A little soul. Her debut CD, Creation, with some arrangements backed by drummer Chris Wheel, has a few cuts--like the angst-rocker "Nothing," or "Pins and Needles," about a humiliated lover--that would sound at home on alternative rock stations. And a couple--like "Chickens," an infectious ode to the little people who plan to become big names--that would sound apt on soft rock stations. But even the DJs who play Lea, like Mary Cliff, who's featured Lea's music on WETA's "Traditions" program, will tell you that most of Lea's material would fare better on public, community, and college stations in Boston, Austin, or New York. Some of the album's best cuts--for instance, "I Was (One)," a heartbreaking lament inspired by overcoming fear of neo-Nazis on a German train she was riding, or "Favourite," a gladdening, but wary, celebration of self--are wonderfully alluring, but maybe too gentle for mainstream airtime.

Jeff Gruber, of Blue House productions in Silver Spring, who co-produced Creation and plays some inventive guitar and mandolin tracks on it, says, "If you can't pigeonhole somebody, the record companies aren't much help." And for Lea, that's a problem. Staton, speaking practically, urges mixing in some "standard pop" on Lea's next CD, "just to get noticed." That approach would be a shame if - The Idler

A 23 year old folk/jazz artist named LEA stuck out in the youngster line up of the Gwyneth Fair in Loudoun County in late July. If her age didn't single her out, her music definitely did.
LEA, a singer/songwriter from Silver Spring, MD, gracefully walked out on the stage. it was just her and a guitar, and that was all she needed to pull the audience in.
Her warm voice and poignant lyrics reminded me what it was like to be a teenager and told the teens that she knew what they were going through.
When all was said and done, the songs she played took the audience on a blissful rider from adolescence to adulthood.
LEA has been singing her whole life. Her mother sang all the time and her father is an accomplished trumpet player.
"The music I was singing and listening to as a kid" was a major influence for her.
"It's taken me a long time to figure that out", she said.
Her music, an eclectic "folk/jazz type stuff", is masterfully written. While she is very good with just a guitar, the cull band on her first CD, creation, adds to her magnificence.
Songs like, "Nothing" and "Chickens" have an intriguing quality that make them good songs to use with the repeat button on the CD player.
In "Nothing" for example, she sings "I don't want to be there/but I can't find the door. Someone told me I look like the lady on the pancake box." Such lines remind listeners of a time when they felt the same way.
LEA's lyrics touch the soul, while her music relaxes the body.
"I can always draw a line to my life or a friends life," she said of her lyrics. She hopes that her music will promote unity because, she said, "we're all pretty much in the same boat."
Besides being an accomplished solo artist, LEA also plays bass for an all female funk band called Zeala. Catching her alone or with Zeala is well worth the trip. - Kristie Little - Times Community Weekender