Who is PJ Morton?
 |
| Maroon 5 with keyboardist PJ Morton second from left. |
I have a new partnership with a photographer, G Will, who takes photos for this blog and my Examiner.com column. Last month, she told me that a guy named PJ Morton was set to perform in Charlotte. I had never heard of him.
G Will goes on and on about how I should interview this guy because he makes dope music and has an interesting background. By the way, he's from New Orleans...she was biased...her people are from New Orleans!
PJ Morton plays keyboards for Maroon 5, you know that group headed by Adam Levine? -G Will
Morton just released his first label album, New Orleans. He was signed by Young Money Entertainment (YMCMB) at the end of 2011.
Young Money? Umm...okay. I'm not much a fan of other Young Money artists, but my photographer pal was persistent.
So I decided to check this PJ Morton guy out. Little did I know, I already knew him. Well, not him, but his music. Not only did I know PJ Morton through his music, but I knew his dad too!
Well...get out of here. PJ is the son of Bishop Paul S. Morton and has written music for DeWayne Woods and several other artists including India.Arie. Like me, Morton grew up in church.
In his early 30s, PJ Morton has a long resume that includes winning Grammy, Dove, and Stellar Awards. This dude won a Grammy in college! Now that is pretty dope. So I scoured the internet looking for more of his music.
Prior to signing with Young Money, Morton put out a couple of studio albums and a live album independently. He already had a fan base for quite some time. Alright, cool. Let's do this interview.
My content manager from Examiner.com, Greg Hunt, contacted Morton's reps and secured an exclusive interview for me. By the time the interview rolled around, I had heard everything Morton had, by way of music, online. Some songs were on steady repeat.
I met Morton at Double Door Inn in Charlotte, he had just driven in from Atlanta. Let me tell you, the Double Door Inn is old school...no a/c...just fans. It was like a step back in time. But I actually liked it. The guy who runs it, Xavier, was funny and a wealth of knowledge on the art scene in Charlotte.
The interview went well. More like a conversation than anything. I tried my best not to cross examine him, but after practicing law for a while...my interviews are very reminiscent of my examination of witnesses LOL.
PJ's rep, Tanya, invited us back to review his live performance. PJ's band includes a saxophonist, a drummer, base player, a trumpet player, and two additional vocalists who also play instruments. One of the vocalists, JoJo, tore up the part Adam Levine sang on Heavy. Don't quote me on those instruments...I know only a little about them...so...
Let me tell you, that PJ Morton put on a show. It was just something short of WOW! The arrangements for the songs were out of this world and everyone crowded around the stage singing and grooving to the music.
Talented is not even close to what this dude is. I was shocked to say the least. I stood there and listened to this man turn the theme from Cheers into some kinda inspirational tune. All that time spent in church as a preacher's kid was very present in Morton's music.
There's this old way of doing music in the church. You talk to the congregation, you give them a little testimony and then you draw them in. I have seen it since I was a little kid. Plus my dad sings in a gospel group. I hearken back to the days of traveling to all of these church concerts...Each group doing two songs and a theme.
Morton's music was eclectic, a mixture of jazz, rock, funk, blues, and heavily New Orleans influenced. It was also modern and poetic...and a little churchy. His latest song, Only One, even has an appearance by Stevie Wonder.
I don't know where Morton is headed...but I would not be surprised if he became a legend in his own right.
Check back on Sunday for #35 What He Said: A conversation with my guy friend, to hear PJ's interview.
Follow @YBBG_Blog on Twitter and use hashtag #YBBGTopic for more interesting discussions.
Check out YBBG on Facebook.
Comments