Morgan James (born November 24, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She has appeared in numerous

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

shows, including '' Motown: The Musical'', ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical in two acts with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set t ...

'', and ''

The Addams Family The Addams Family is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 standalone single-panel comics, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' between 193 ...

''. Her first studio album, ''Hunter'', was released by

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...

in November 2014. Her second studio album, ''Reckless Abandon'', was released on April 7, 2017. James is also well known for her numerous musical collaborations with the jazz collective

Postmodern Jukebox Postmodern Jukebox (PMJ), also known as Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox, is a rotating musical collective founded by New York-based pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011. Postmodern Jukebox is known for reworking popular modern music into different vi ...

Early life and education

James was born Morgan Grunerud in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

, the daughter of educators and actors Allen Grunerud and Shellie Harwood. The family moved frequently when James was a child, going from

Pocatello, Idaho Pocatello () is the county seat of and the largest city in Bannock County, Idaho, Bannock County, with a small portion on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation in neighboring Power County, Idaho, Power County, containing the city's airport. It is t ...

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, and eventually

Modesto Modesto ( ; ) is the county seat and largest city of Stanislaus County, California, United States. With a population of 218,069 according to 2022 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, it is the 19th-most populous city in California. Modesto is locate ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

where she spent her high school years. She has a younger brother, Nicholas, who is an avant-garde musician and comedian. James was inspired by her actor parents to enter the performing arts, and she joined a choir while in

middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

. Her grandmother also bought her a karaoke machine and agreed to pay for singing lessons until James went to college. James attended high school at Peter Johansen High School in Modesto and graduated in 1999. At the age of 17, she realized it was her dream to attend

The Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, and after auditioning, she was eventually wait-listed and then rejected. However, after significant correspondence with the head of admissions, she persuaded him to accept her as the class's seventh singer, one above the usual six. There, she studied

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

, and eventually earned her

Bachelor of Music A Bachelor of Music (BMus; sometimes conferred as Bachelor of Musical Arts) is an academic degree awarded by a college, university, or conservatory upon completion of a program of study in music. The degree may be awarded for performance, music ed ...

in Voice in 2003. In college, James also took a master class headed by Broadway veteran

Barbara Cook Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals '' Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' ( ...

Career

After college, James initially struggled to find work and looked for jobs that enabled her to use both her operatic and classical training. James did not make her Broadway debut until 2010 in the musical production of ''

'', starring

Nathan Lane Nathan Lane (born Joseph Lane; February 3, 1956) is an American actor. Since 1975, he has been Nathan Lane on screen and stage, on stage and screen in both comedic and dramatic roles. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Na ...

and

Bebe Neuwirth Beatrice "Bebe" Jane Neuwirth ( ; born December 31, 1958) is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Known for her roles on stage and screen, she has received two Primetime Emmy Awards, Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and two Drama Desk Awards. ...

. In 2011, James appeared in

Frank Wildhorn Frank Wildhorn (born November 29, 1958) is an American composer of both musicals and popular songs. His musical ''Jekyll & Hyde (musical), Jekyll & Hyde'' ran for four years on Broadway. He also wrote the hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" for ...

's ''Wonderland'' and the Broadway revival of ''

''. James sprained her ankle in a rehearsal for ''Godspell'' in October 2011 and was unable to perform during previews. She recuperated and, by November 2011, was performing in the musical at the

Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, within the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. The current Broadway theater, completed in 1972, i ...

. In 2013, James took on the role of

Teena Marie Mary Christine Brockert (March 5, 1956 – December 26, 2010), known professionally as Teena Marie, was an American Soul music, soul and Contemporary R&B, R&B singer, songwriter, and producer. She was known by her childhood nickname Tina before ...

in '' Motown: The Musical''. She stayed with the cast until December 2013, when she left to pursue a vocal performance tour. While on Broadway she moonlighted as a solo artist, with a backing band often composed of Chris Fenwick, Matt Fieldes, Damien Bassman, among others. She has played at numerous New York City clubs, including

(Le) Poisson Rouge (Le) Poisson Rouge (often referred to as LPR) is a music venue and multimedia art cabaret in New York City founded in 2008 by Justin Kantor and David Handler on the former site of the Village Gate at 158 Bleecker Street. The performance space was ...

54 Below 54 Below is a nonprofit cabaret and restaurant in the basement of Studio 54 in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Run by Broadway producers Steve Baruch, Richard Frankel, Marc Routh and Tom Viertel, 54 Below has hosted shows by such performer ...

Rockwood Music Hall Rockwood Music Hall is a music venue at 196 Allen Street on the Lower East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Owner Ken Rockwood, aka "The Professor", opened the establishment in 2005 as a small bar and music venue. Today, the venue features t ...

, and Birdland. Her first solo album, ''Morgan James Live: A Celebration of

Nina Simone Nina Simone ( ; born Eunice Kathleen Waymon; February 21, 1933 – April 21, 2003) was an American singer, pianist, songwriter, and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and po ...

'', was recorded at New York jazz club, Dizzy's, and is a collection of Nina Simone cover songs. It was released via Epic Records in December 2012. Her second solo album (and first studio album), ''Hunter'', was recorded in 2014 and released via Epic Records in June 2014. The 11-track album was produced by

Doug Wamble Doug Wamble (born Samuel Douglas Wamble, October 22, 1972) is an American jazz guitarist and vocalist from Tennessee. Biography Wamble grew up in Memphis, Tennessee. He was inspired to play guitar after hearing records by Charlie Christian. H ...

and is James' first album of all solo material. The album included her cover of

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

's song " Call My Name", which Prince allowed her to put on the record. On December 16, 2016, James released her second cover album, ''Blue'', released on the 45th anniversary of

Joni Mitchell Roberta Joan Mitchell (née Anderson; born November 7, 1943) is a Canadian and American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and painter. As one of the most influential singer-songwriters to emerge from the 1960s folk music circuit, Mitch ...

's album of the same name. ''Reckless Abandon,'' her second solo studio album, was independently released on April 7, 2017, via her self-created Hedonist Records. It is her first album to feature completely original material and heavily incorporates elements of

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

and R&B. On March 31, 2017, she embarked on a national headlining spring "Reckless Abandon Tour" in support of the album. Since 2014, James collaborates with

, producing several cover songs on their YouTube channel and joining them on tour. In 2018, Morgan James released '' The White Album'', her own interpretation of The Beatles' album, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary. In 2020, James, alongside Broadway legends

Cynthia Erivo Cynthia Chinasaokwu Onyedinmanasu Amarachukwu Owezuke Echimino Erivo ( ; born 8 January 1987) is a British actress and singer. Known for her work on both stage and screen, she is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Cynt ...

Orfeh Orfeh (born March 28, 1971 as Orfeh Or) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She performed at the Lincoln Center's American Songbook Series in 2016, in the Broadway musicals ''Saturday Night Fever'', '' Legally Blonde'', ''Pretty W ...

Shoshana Bean Shoshana E. Bean (born September 1, 1977) is an Americans, American actress, singer and songwriter. She has appeared in numerous Musical theatre, musicals, performing in major Off-Broadway and Broadway theatre, Broadway theatres, including in the ...

and

Ledisi Ledisi Anibade Young (; born March 28, 1972), better known simply as Ledisi, is an American singer-songwriter, music producer, author, and actress. Her name means "to bring forth" or "to come here" in Yoruba. In 1995, Ledisi formed a band afte ...

, was featured on the all-female EP, ''She is Risen'', which covers songs from

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

Personal life

James lives in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

with her husband, guitarist and producer

, whom she wed in spring of 2016.

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

Cover albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:James, Morgan 1981 births American women singer-songwriters American women jazz singers American jazz singers American musical theatre actresses Actresses from Modesto, California Epic Records artists Juilliard School alumni Living people 21st-century American women Singer-songwriters from Idaho