| A native of Baltimore, Morris has been singing for as long as he can remember. A graduate of the University of Maryland Baltimore County and the College of Notre Dame, Morris is presently employed as a manager in the health care consulting practice of Ernst & Young, LLP. Today, he has realized his singing, once a heartfelt hobby, is now an avocation that he can not escape. "I've been blessed with a unique gift," says Morris,"One that plays a major part in defining who I am."
With minimal musical study early in his career, Morris has primarily sought out the guidance of professional musicians and instructors on his own as an adult. Although he performs a variety of styles including pop and gospel, recent years have found jazz to be his genre of choice. Private study with notable pianist Abdu Rashid Yahya has been one of the most significant influences on Morris' repertoire development. "My mission is to preserve the jazz idiom by providing high quality jazz inspired vocal performances to diverse audiences, says Morris. "When I perform, my objective is to entertain my audience by singing in a way that makes them feel the emotions around which the songs are crafted. I like to sing what people want to hear."
Inspired primarily by premiere jazz and R&B vocalists such as Sarah Vaughn, Aretha Franklin, Lou Rawls, and Donny Hathaway, Morris has worked diligently to create his own unique style and sound. As a young child, Morris would spend hours listening to his favorites and now as a professional performer has incorporated these influences to recreate an era gone by.
Closer to home, one of Morris' strongest supporters is "Baltimore's Godmother of Jazz," Ruby Glover, who has shared the stage with Morris on numerous occasions, anxious to introduce him to the Baltimore jazz community. With her urging, Morris entered the annual Billie Holiday Vocal Competition sponsored by the Mayor's Advisory Committee on Art and Culture in 1990 and was selected as a finalist.
With a constant dedication to his first love, Morris is looking forward to broadening his career into the Millennium.
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