TORONTO,10.12.18- – Toronto jazz vocalist SIMONE MORRIS is reeling from the wonderful success of her recently released, all-original, debut album SETTLING UP. The album hit #1 on the iTunes Jazz Chart in it’s very first week and has been receiving extensive radio airplay on CBC (Fresh Air and Big City Small World) and campus radio, along with in-depth interviews and reviews. Joined by her partner in music Mike Freedman She’ll be performing the new music at shows in Guelph (Manhattans, Dec 8), Toronto (The Emmet Ray, Dec 15, 2018 and 120 Diner, Feb. 8, 2019) and St. Catharines (Mahtay Café & Lounge, April 14, 2019) plus more festivals and dates to-be-announced soon. Settling Up is available on CD Baby, Spotify, Apple Music / iTunes, Google Play, and wherever music is streamed or downloaded. For more information please visit Simone’s website

A captivating performer, with a modern yet timeless quality, Simone Morris exudes a rare blend of soulfulness and subtlety. She’s a natural storyteller who captures the essence of jazz classics, while artfully luring audiences into her craftily-spun musical stories.

Simone's partnership with long-time guitarist/co-writer/musical director Mike Freedman has led to an all-original album called Settling Up. Rooted in jazz, the album weaves a musical path that conveys Morris' diverse musical experience and background. Using her own life experiences to connect with audiences in a personal way, she engages in an intimate conversation that reveals her take on life and love.

Although many of the songs on Settling Up are more on the mellow side, like “What A Life,” – led by some tasty electric guitar licks and electric piano, and looks at the sense of defeat that’s underlying someone’s alcoholic behavior – the album opens with "Baby This Works," a sassy swing number about a spunky woman in love, who sees only what she wants to see. The propulsive standup bass, skillful muted trumpet, and slyly insinuated vocal technique combine to create an entirely captivating whole, as charming and forthright as the attitude of the woman it describes. "Don't Come Crying To Me" is a soft, gentle bossa nova – with a lovely nylon-string acoustic guitar solo – that contrasts with its hard, unflinching lyric, one that documents the very difficult end of a love affair. "Will To Fight" is a sweet, reassuring, surprisingly pop-ish song about overcoming the trauma of the past to find forgiveness and the ability to move forward. The piano and electric guitar solo are as yearning and vulnerable as the protagonist in the song. The final track "Take Us Home" was written after Morris and her daughter were in a car accident at the end of 2016, which prompted the creation of this album. Going even deeper than "Will to Fight," the languid but emotionally resonant, Gospel-tinged song invites us to send our troubles floating down the river, so it can "take us home" to where we belong.