WOMAD

Sarah Jane Morris

From United Kingdom

'Leave your preconceptions at home,' begins one London critic's assessment of sensual singer-songwriter Sarah Jane Morris, who straddles rock, blues, jazz and soul with a goosebump-raising four octave range that rumbles from the heels of her size eight shoes to the tips of her flame-red mane.

Famed for her association with The Communards in the mid-80s and infamous for a banned rendition of the classic Me and Mrs Jones, Sarah Jane Morris has always attracted as much attention for her politics as for her soul-driven, seismic voice. Nine solo albums later, pop stardom on the continent, and a diverse set of musical collaborations on record, film and stage, Morris continues to steer her unorthodox career to greater heights.

Sarah Jane celebrated her 25-year career with the release of a double-CD, After All These Years. This 34-track compilation, which went Top 40 in Europe, includes acoustic sessions, dance remixes and live performances that showcase the true spirit and energy of this charismatic, uncompromising performer. The CD traces Sarah Jane's career from her early days with political bands The Republic and The Happy End, to chart success, solo singles and unreleased live tracks, and contains a new bossa nova version of her cult hit Me and Mrs Jones. To celebrate her hit with The Communards, Sarah Jane released a new rendition of Don't Leave Me This Way at the end of 2006, twenty years after it hit #1 in Britain and became the best selling single of the year.

In September 2008, Sarah Jane is launching her second CD Migratory Birds in collaboration with Marc Ribot (Tom Waits). The 12 track CD is a collection of songs from Bob Dylan, Rickie Lee Jones, Janis Ian, Damien Rice, Dolly Parton and Velvet Underground. The title track being the only original song co-written by Sarah Jane with Kevin Armstrong.

Sarah Jane will be performing a number of concerts with guitarist Dominic Miller (Sting) to promote the album and her next CD Where It Hurts which she has co-written with Dominic Miller and Martyn Barker and hopes to release in January 2009.

In April this year, Sarah Jane played Mere Ubu at Queen Elizabeth Hall to David Thomas's Pere Ubu in the opera Bring me the head of Ubu Roi. In May, Sarah Jane recorded an album with 14 cellos in Rome, as a collaboration with Enrico Melozzi. The CD is a collection of classic and original songs written by Sarah Jane with one original song written for her by Boy George. The classical contemporary collection will be released in Spring 2009 and will tour in Summer/Autumn with guest Dominic Miller on nylon string guitar.

Some hear Sarah Vaughan or Billie Holliday in her voice, others cite Macy Gray and Erykah Badu, although Morris herself likes to say: 'Nina Simone meets Janis Joplin.' Yes, always her own woman, Sarah Jane Morris is a truly independent spirit who has been making exciting music for twenty-five years.

'When that throaty, extraordinarily-deep voice comes booming out of that pale, auburn-haired face, it's a bit like the possession scene from 'The Exorcist.' (Evening Standard)

'A voice that can excite shivers of passion and delight... Soaring, swooping, sensual and sophisticated, this voice is more than a style, it's a force of nature... Torch song, soul standard or smoky blues, the message remains constant: human passion with a dazzling voice.' (Neil Spencer, The Observer).
(Biography supplied by WOMAD Sicily 2011)

WOMAD Sicily 2011

23rd July

21:50

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