Who is Lee Morse

Echoes of a Songbird-50 Recordings from 1924-30

A Highly Idiosyncratic Style
~B. McCanna
Every so often a release appears, the effect of which is to rekindle interest in an artist who would otherwise be forgotten, and this compilation from Jasmine falls into that category. It is evident on first hearing that Lee Morse was extremely versatile and had a very wide vocal range, and the way in which she deployed her talents makes her very difficult to pigeon-hole. She could sing in almost every register, and across the whole range of emotions. Sentimental ballads (some of which she wrote herself) sound every bit as convincing as the torch songs and the more outré material.

Added to that, she absorbed many different influences; on some songs she comes close to Ukulele Ike's delivery (albeit sounding less frenetic), whilst others contain echoes of Sophie Tucker and even Ted Lewis, to say nothing of Annette Hanshaw. All of those facets combined to produce a highly idiosyncratic style, yet the novelty elements were harnessed to a clear rendition of the lyrics. Underpinning her delivery was the quality of her voice, which rings clear and true despite the age of these recordings. Accompaniments varied from the most basic - guitar or ukulele, usually played (very competently) by herself and sometimes augmented by a piano - to a small jazz band, the line-up of which could include some of New York's finest.

Despite my enthusiasm for this set, I'd be failing if I did not warn that her performance of some of the songs does not fall entirely easy on the ear, because she employs the falsetto voice. Yet the vocal pyrotechnics don't come across as ostentatious (as they sometimes do in others' renditions) but rather as the exuberance of a singer revelling in her ability.

Inevitably, surface noise is audible on the acoustic Pathé and Perfect recordings (and some rumble on one or two), but that did not mar my enjoyment, and there is none on the Columbia tracks. The compilation contains close on half of Lee Morse's recorded output during the period in question and, in keeping with Jasmine's usual approach, includes an informative and well-illustrated liner note. That shows her to have been as vivacious in appearance as she was in voice. It deserves a place in any serious collection of the music of this period.

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