Record Label: Universal Motown Records/Universal Music

Style: Folk Jazz

Musicians: Eliot Morris (vocals and acoustic guitar), Victor Indrizzo (drums), Leland Sklar (bass), Craig Doerge (piano), David  Lindley (lap steel guitar) 

Review:

Eliot Morris takes folk-jazz and pop to a level of flight and inspiration that is acoustically comely with adornments of blues, folk, rock, and country in a tranquil grange. The jazz-imbued piano trains patter and mushroom into lavish chimeras. The lounging berth of drumbeats are fluent and erect a bastion of frothy movements while Eliot Morris’ vocals chill over the melodic clips washing over the transitions and tethering on the tight rope of instrument jaunts.

His debut album What’s Mine Is Yours, produced by Tony Berg and his longtime friend Ilya Toshinsky, is music for your home life. Whether for those candlelight dinners or those early morning caffeine in-takes, but it’s especially good for those late afternoon blues.

The blues hues and jazz beats of “Novocain” are top rate, inhaling and exhaling with a natural ease and an emotional sensory. The instrument impulses arch and flow with Morris’ breathing. It is a number that draws you into its current without drowning you. The networking is melodically spun and soothing in a festoon of jazz and blues twinkles.

The sweet solace and concurrent vapors are fixated on tunes like “The Infancy Of Us” and “No One Has To Know.” The depth of emotion in the notes and lyrics are accessible to listeners. There is a commonness in Morris’ verses in that everyone can relate to them, and yet there is a sophistication in there consonance and chord positioning which fascinates and awes the listener. The Gospel-tinged beats and jazz-keys on “I Will Try” reach exalting levels. Accompanied by the female vocal harmonies of Inara George, the song really takes off combined with Morris’ vocals. The final track “Love Rescue Me” has languid movements, subtle rises and bluesy brushed drum strokes that melt into the melody.

Eliot Morris is a middle child in a family of six siblings. Born and raised in Mobile, Alabama, Morris’ parents raised him to value what he did have and to explore what was around him. He attended Auburn University and graduated with a degree in Finance. He moved to Nashville and then migrated to Birmingham, Alabama where he chose to settle. He became a songwriter first in Nashville composting melodies with an acoustic guitar.

Raised on folk music and Motown records, Eliot Morris has mastered a blending of the two with a home life feel. Part of growing up in a family of six is knowing how to entertain each other, and in a way What’s Mine Is Yours is about the emotions of home, appreciating what your have and exploring what is around you.

Tracks: The Infancy Of Us Balancing, The World Fault Line, The Moment You Believe, No One Has To Know, This Colorful World, I Will Try, Anyway, Will She Ever Fall In Love Again, Novocain, Love Rescue Me  

Record Label Website: http://www.umrg.com/

Artist's Website: http://www.eliotmorris.com

Reviewed by: Susan Frances

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