NPR TOUTS FOLK-SOUL SINGER MORLEY AS NEW ALBUM 'UNDIVIDED' RELEASES THIS WEEK

NEW YORKERS: MORLEY AT JOE'S PUB APRIL 7

NPR has aired a 17-minute segment on and music and life of New York folk-soul artist Morley. NPR's Jacki Lyden said, "['Undivided'] blends world rhythms with folk, soul, and pop [and] one of the things that your work does it bring people together."

Morley and Lyden talk about the artist growing up in the diversity of Jamaica, Queens; how she wrote 30 songs in the desert after playing at the Nomad Women's Cultural Festival on the border of Algeria with the elders and children of the area; choreographing for Max Roach and Alvin Ailey; working with teens from conflict regions on conflict resolution with the organization Face To Face | Faith To Faith and how that inspired her to write "Be The One"; playing for the Dalai Lama; and how music heals and brings people together.

NPR also played excerpts from the songs "On My Way," "To Begin Again," "Be The One," "Wild Bird" from 'Undivided' and "Women of Hope"

Morley will perform at Joe's Pub in NYC on April 7; Room 5 in LA April 23; and Johnny D's in Boston May 11.

Stream 'Undivided' in its entirety this week at AOL Music.

Morley on WBAI March 8

Morley on WBAI on March 8: interview & live performance, previewing her April 7 show at Joe's Pub.

BILL BRAGIN CELEBRATES MORLEY AS SHE PREPS RETURN TO JOE'S PUB APRIL 7

With Morley's return to Joe's Pub coming up April 7, Joe's Pub and Lincoln Center guru Bill Bragin said, "Morley expertly combines an earthiness, sensuality, etherealness, intelligence and social consciousness, and melds it into sophisticated, globally-minded pop that would easily fit into your playlist amidst Sade, Joni Mitchell, Amadou & Mariam, Annie Lennox and Marvin Gaye."

Morley – the New York-born and raised singer-songwriter and peace activist – will celebrate the official release of her new album 'Undivided' with a show at Joe's Pub, a venue she sold out in November, 2011, on April 7.

'Undivided' came about following a year of travel for Morley, who brought back rhythms and melodies from the Sahara and Morocco. Her video for "Wild Bird" debuted on National Geographic Music, which called it "a dazzling, sun-drenched voyage to the Sahara desert.

WHO: Born & raised New Yorker Morley

WHAT: Official album release show for 'Undivided'

WHERE: Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, NYC, (212) 539-8778

WHEN: 9:30pm, Saturday, April 7

TICKETS: $15 in Advance, $18 at Door via Joe's Pub box office or Joe's Pub.com

JOAN WASSER OF JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN BRINGS "VIBRANT & POTENT APPROACH" TO BEAR ON MORLEY'S STUNNING ALBUM 'UNDIVIDED'

MORLEY'S NEW ALBUM OUT APRIL 3 WITH NYC & LA SHOWS COMING UP

Joan Wasser of Joan As Police Woman added Fender Rhodes, Wurlitzer, piano, electric violin, and vocals to Morley's album 'Undivided,' out April 3. Joan testifies to Morley's talent, "Morley takes this life -- the joy and love, pain and sorrow -- and purifies it in her songs. She is the real deal, able to make me cry at the drop of a hat. What most moves me is that she truly means it and that's all I ever want from a song."

Morley recalls, "Joan is masterful and fearless in the studio, she brought joyous vibrancy and deep honest contributions to the songs. It was exciting for me to share the space, she has a blazing focus that really allows an unfolding to happen in the music."

Wasser sang on "Love & Understanding"; played piano and electric violin on "On My Way"; Fender Rhodes on "Two of a Kind"; and played Wurlitzer and sang backing vocals on "Bear Song," a pensive song to a loved one who has passed away that shows off Morley's gorgeous alto.

Morley says, "I look up to her. She encouraged me so much early on. I think of her like a sister."

New Yorkers: Morley will celebrate the release of 'Undivided' with a concert at Joe's Pub, a venue she sold out in November, on April 7.

Los Angelinos: She will perform solo April 23 at Room 5.

Bostonians: She'll be at Johnny D's on May 11.

CELEBRATING NEW ALBUM, MORLEY PERFORMS AT ROOM 5 ON APRIL 23

MORLEY ALSO ADDED TO TADASANA INT'L FESTIVAL OF YOGA & MUSIC

Morley – the world-traveling singer-songwriter and peace activist – will celebrate the release of her new album 'Undivided' with a show at Room 5. Morley is also confirmed to perform at the Tadasana International Festival of Yoga and Music in Santa Monica April 20-22.

'Undivided' came about following a year of travel for Morley, who brought back rhythms and melodies from the Sahara and Morocco. Her video for "Wild Bird" debuted on National Geographic Music, which called it "a dazzling, sun-drenched voyage to the Sahara desert.

She also performed as part of TEDxWomen in December, alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem. View her performance here.

The Huffington Post wrote, "She has the uncanny ability to make you feel good about yourself and life without you realizing that you're feeling good about these things. It's just the instantaneous contact that happens inside your headphones... The keyword here is community, something Morley is expert at creating, be it through her hospice work or teaching yoga in prisons. Yet none of her music is sacrificed for a message... In Morley, all factors are stitched together beautifully, undivided and complete." Read the complete review and view the "Be The One" video here.

Morley's concerts are exercises in unity, bringing audiences together. Born in Jamaica, Queens, the singer-songwriter teaches conflict resolution to teens from conflict regions such as Northern Ireland and Israel and Palestine, working with the organization Face To Face | Faith To Faith on three-week workshops. She is also a yoga instructor.

WHO: Singer-songwriter and teacher Morley

WHAT: LA solo show featuring songs from 'Undivided'

WHERE: Room 5 Lounge, 143 North La Brea, 2^nd Floor, Los Angeles, CA 90036

WHEN: 8pm, April 23, 2012

TICKETS: $10

Morley's "Be The One" video

Morley's "Women of Hope" video, directed by Damani Baker

WOMEN OF HOPE Directed by Damani Baker from morley music on Vimeo.

CELEBRATING NEW ALBUM, MORLEY MARKS RETURN TO JOE'S PUB APRIL 7, VENUE SHE SOLD OUT IN NOVEMBER

Morley – the New York-born and raised singer-songwriter and peace activist – will celebrate the official release of her new album 'Undivided' with a show at Joe's Pub, a venue she sold out in November, 2011, on April 7. Since then, she performed as part of TEDxWomen, alongside Dr. Mehmet Oz, Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem. View her performance here.

'Undivided' came about following a year of travel for Morley, who brought back rhythms and melodies from the Sahara and Morocco. Her video for "Wild Bird" debuted on National Geographic Music, which called it "a dazzling, sun-drenched voyage to the Sahara desert.

The Huffington Post wrote, "She has the uncanny ability to make you feel good about yourself and life without you realizing that you're feeling good about these things. It's just the instantaneous contact that happens inside your headphones... The keyword here is community, something Morley is expert at creating, be it through her hospice work or teaching yoga in prisons. Yet none of her music is sacrificed for a message... In Morley, all factors are stitched together beautifully, undivided and complete." Read the complete review and view the "Be The One" video here.

Morley's concerts are exercises in unity, bringing audiences together. Born in Jamaica, Queens, the singer-songwriter teaches conflict resolution to teens from conflict regions such as Northern Ireland and Israel and Palestine, working with the organization Face To Face | Faith To Faith on three-week workshops. She is also a yoga instructor.

WHO: Born & raised New Yorker Morley
WHAT: Official album release show for 'Undivided'
WHERE: Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, NYC, (212) 539-8778
WHEN: 9:30pm, Saturday, April 7
TICKETS: $15 in Advance, $18 at Door via Joe's Pub box office or Joe's Pub.com

Morley at the Blue Note last week

MUSIC LEGEND DAVID AMRAM JOINS MORLEY FOR HER STELLAR NEW GENRE-HOPPING ALBUM 'UNDIVIDED,' OUT APRIL 3

The legendary David Amram – a multi-instrumentalist, composer, film scorer, and veteran of sessions with Allen Ginsberg, Thelonious Monk, and many others – joins New York singer-songwriter Morley on her new album 'Undivided.' He plays on the hidden track "I Will Stay," performing the traditional Lakota round dance melody on vocal and Lakota courting flut

Amram testifies, "Morley is one of the outstanding voices of her generation, as a singer, songwriter and bandleader she’s in a class of her own, transcends all categories and is making a major contribution to contemporary music."

Morley says, "He's a master! The session was an education. He talked about working with Dizzy Gillespie and Jack Kerouac during the breaks, it is always an honor to be in his presence, it reminds me of why I am blessed to make music."

World Music icons Hamid Drake (drums; Herbie Hancock, John Zorn) and William Parker (upright bass; DJ Spooky, Zorn) also appear on "I Will Stay."

Morley — the New Yorker singer and composer whom the New York Times said, "embodies modern-day New York femininity in all its multicultural finesse." — will release her uplifting, genre-mixing new album, Undivided, on April 3, which also marks her debut as solo producer. She is joined on the album by a stellar cast of musicians including Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman), Raúl Midón, Dave Eggar, and Amram.

NYC SINGER-SONGWRITER MORLEY'S POWERFUL "WILD BIRD" SHOT IN THE SAHARA DESERT WITH STILL BILL'S DIRECTOR, DAMANI BAKER

PERFORMING AT DROM IN NYC TONIGHT NEW ALBUM 'UNDIVIDED' OUT APRIL 3

NYC singer-songwriter Morley -- whom the New York Times said, "embodies modern-day New York femininity in all its multicultural finesse" – has drawn on her experience teaching teens from international conflict zones for the stunning new song "Wild Bird," which she first debuted live at the Blue Note. Her vocals are vulnerable and riveting on the plaintive song. She has also made a stunning new video shot on location in the Sahara Desert by Damani Baker ("Still Bill"), which premiered this week on National Geographic Music.

WILD BIRD directed by Damani Baker from morley music on Vimeo.

Morley has been a conflict resolution and dialogue facilitator for the organization Face to Face | Faith to Faith for three years. Face to Face/Faith to Faith brings teenagers from the United States, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Israel and South Africa together for summer intensive workshops. She says, "I've witnessed true alchemy with the students… their willingness to open doors that have been boarded up by the generations, and their capacity to stand in a place of possibility, amazes and inspires me. By the end of the summer intensive they are weeping as they say goodbye. The friendships that form at Face to Face | Faith to Faith change their entire emotional systems, and possibly change the course of history."

One of the ways in which she teaches is through songwriting. She says, "The goal is to encourage the students to communicate their life experience by evoking their universal emotions through music. I facilitate their collaboration with each other on the songs that they write, sharing their rhythms and harmonies suspends issues of borders, religion and race and reveals their humanity and interconnectedness. This process allows them to linger in the sacred space music can provide."

She reflects, "'Wild Bird' is a confessional song about finding a safe place to land in the world and in the heart. A look at how universal that search is and how many hearts and lives are lost. At times it has felt like I have had to be a soldier and fight to find it, a very lonely struggle but ultimately it has been within me all along...that safe space that no one and no physical place can be for me, even in the midst of emotional or political turbulence."

Morley is joined on 'Undivided' (out April 3) by a stellar cast of musicians including Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman), Raúl Midón, Dave Eggar, and the legendary David Amram (Thelonious Monk, Allen Ginsberg).

Since 2001, Face to Face | Faith to Faith has brought together hundreds of Christian, Jewish and Muslim teenagers from Northern Ireland, the Middle East, South Africa, and the U.S. to develop a new generation of leaders able to negotiate a multifaith global society.

For more information on Face to Face | Faith to Faith, please click here.

Morley photos.

More info and streaming tracks.

RAUL MIDON JOINS MORLEY ON "SOULFUL" (HUFFINGTON POST) TRACK "THANK YOU" FROM HER NEW ALBUM 'UNDIVIDED' (APRIL 3)

Raul Midon joined New York singer-songwriter Morley on guitar and vocals on "Thank You," a highlight of her new album 'Undivided.' Midon calls Morley's music "universal and spiritual conscious music for the 21st century."

"It was amazing!," she says. "We went to his house and into a studio that he runs. It was magical to be in his presence. We just kept it simple."

Hear "Thank You" and other tracks here.

New Yorkers: heads up that she'll be performing at DROM on January 6.

Following her performance at TEDxWomen earlier this month, Derek Beres of The Huffington Post recently wrote, "She has the uncanny ability to make you feel good about yourself and life without you realizing that you're feeling good about these things. It's just the instantaneous contact that happens inside your headphones: 'Be the One,' 'On My Way' and the soulful 'Thank You,; featuring the inimitable Raul Midon, offer hope and light... The keyword here is community, something Morley is expert at creating, be it through her hospice work or teaching yoga in prisons. Yet none of her music is sacrificed for a message... In Morley, all factors are stitched together beautifully, undivided and complete." Read the complete review and view the "Be The One" video here.

Check out video of her on the streets of Harlem, talking about teaching, and performing.

FRESH FROM SOLD OUT JOE'S PUB SHOW, NEW YORKER MORLEY TO PREVIEW SONGS FROM 'UNDIVIDED'

HUFFINGTON POST: MORLEY'S MUSIC IS "STITCHED TOGETHER BEAUTIFULLY, UNDIVIDED AND COMPLETE"

Fresh from a November 2 sold out show at Joe's Pub, New York musician and teacher Morley will perform songs from her forthcoming album 'Undivided' January 6 at DROM. Born in Jamaica, Queens, Morley is also a teacher of young people from international conflict zones.

Most recently, Morley presented at TEDxWomen, on a day-long international conference bill with Barbara Walters, Dr. Mehmet Oz, Jane Fonda, Gloria Steinem, and others. Watch her performance here.

Rhythms and production on the uplifting new album 'Undivided' are influenced by Morley's experience as a teacher and time in the Sahara desert. The stunning new album features guests Raúl Midón, Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman), Dave Eggar, and David Amram (Thelonious Monk, Allen Ginsberg).

The Huffington Post recently posted Morley "Be The One" video, saying, " Morley's sound has always been large. Even with just a simple guitar and her elegant voice, the Queens, NY native has consistently conjured music that can barely be contained in the room that attempts to house it. The reasons are numerous: smart production, intelligent songwriting and -- especially in Morley's case -- poetry disguised as lyrics that immediately resonates with heartfelt conviction… In Morley, all factors are stitched together beautifully, undivided and complete":

The New York Times said, "Morley embodies modern-day New York femininity in all its multicultural finesse."

WHO: New York singer-songwriter Morley
WHAT: Preview of songs from 'Undivided'
WHEN: 6:30pm, January 6, 2012
WHERE: DROM,
TICKETS: $10 in advance, $15 at the door, via dromnyc.com or 212.777.1157

Check out some video of her on the streets of Harlem, talking about teaching, and performing.

Hear a few tracks and more information.

Photos

NY TIMES EMERGING ARTIST OFFERS UPLIFTING, NEW GENRE-HOPPING ALBUM UNDIVIDED WITH GUESTS JOAN WASSER (JOAN AS POLICE WOMAN), RAÚL MIDÓN & DAVID AMRAM

Undivided — adj.: not parted by conflict; characterized by unity; being or joined into a single entity, a single devotion.

Morley — the New Yorker singer and composer whom the New York Times said, "embodies modern-day New York femininity in all its multicultural finesse." — will release her uplifting, genre-mixing new album, Undivided, on April 3, which also marks her debut as solo producer. She is joined on the album by a stellar cast of musicians including Joan Wasser (Joan As Police Woman), Raúl Midón, Dave Eggar, and the legendary David Amram (Thelonious Monk, Allen Ginsberg).

"This is album is influenced, sonically and rhythmically, by my time in the desert of Morocco. I went there to heal from a personal loss and found solace and strength."

Undivided, Morley’s fourth recording, is also deeply rooted in her work with young people from international conflict zones, through the organization Face to Face/Faith to Faith. "I’ve witnessed an amazing kind of alchemy in the teenagers I get to work with from conflict zones, their willingness to open doors that have been boarded up by generations before them and stand in a place of possibility amazes and inspires me."

From the driving rhythms of "On My Way" and "Thank You" to the ethereal, pensive "Wild Bird" to the playful call-to-action of "Love and Understanding" and "Be the One", Morley fuses hip-hop, world rhythms, acoustic guitars, and piano to take the listener on a journey of celebration and reflection.

Morley has performed at TEDWomen and for His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Nelson Mandela, Ban Ki-moon, Mary Robinson, and Ela Gandhi. She has also written, collaborated, and shared the stage with renowned artists such as Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon, Norah Jones, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Queen Latifah, Angélique Kidjo, Sarah McLachlan, Wynton Marsalis, and Cassandra Wilson. Growing up in diverse and urban bustle of Jamaica, Queens, Morley has been a dancer and choreographer, yoga instructor, and a teacher of expressive movement in a variety of settings, from public high schools to community centers to rehabilitation centers for the formerly incarcerated.

Musicians, fans, and press alike have embraced Morley. Elle Magazine has said, "Morley creates modern soul music — cerebral lyrics, sultry grooves, and vocal sophistication." Multiple Grammy® Award-winning artist-producer Daniel Lanois says, "The music of Morley: love, kindness and hope at every bend."

Hear a few tracks and more information.

Photos.

Morley publicity photos

'Undivided' cover art

credits: Sandrine Lee







credit for below: Ebet Roberts