Over the past decade, it’s been an absolute pleasure to watch NOLA pianist-singer-composer PJ Morton move up from mere Maroon 5 recognition into mainstream awareness. His grasp over gospel, R&B, soul, jazz, and beyond have earned PJ Morton four Grammys – Best Traditional R&B Performance for his 2019 cover of Bee Gee’s “How Deep Is Your Love”, Best R&B Song for his 2020 JoJo duet “Say So”, Best Gospel Album for last year’s Gospel According to PJ: From the Songbook of PJ, and Album of the Year for his vocal contributions to Jean Baptiste’s latest LP We Are. PJ’s already scored studio time with an extensive roster of A-list collaborators, and on Morton’s newest full-length Watch the Sun, he managed to land some massive talent.
Watch the Sun features the legends Nas and Stevie Wonder on the same track, ’80s icon El DeBarge, Alex Isley and Jill Scott on the same song, hip-hop heavyweight Wale and more. Despite the variety of backgrounds from those featured artists, PJ Morton’s visionary style pulls them all together through a consistent ray across Watch the Sun. So while the entire Lone Star State seeks shade in a historic heatwave, we’d recommend that you Watch the Sun tomorrow night at Emo’s. Once you’re there, we guarantee you’ll be enthralled with Morton’s showmanship and soulfully inventive originals like “Please Don’t Walk Away”.
–Jack Anderson
