That Swinging, Singing, Liz Morphis

Here's a shot of Liz Morphis I took at the benefit for Stanley Smith Sunday night at The Elephant Room. (See Linda's entry below.)

Liz is unusual in that she's a twenty-something whose repertoire encompasses the Great American Songbook -- stuff like "Honeysuckle Rose," "Is You Is or Is You Ain't" and "All of Me." Not the sort of thing you'd expect from someone this young -- and wow, does she do those tunes justice. She has also fronted a blues band and does a bit of country stuff, too.

Besides being a wildly-talented songstress, she goes the extra mile by snazzing out her look to match the occasion and even baking coffee cakes to serve to her audience. And yeah, as you can see, she's easy on the eyes, too. (Understatement.)

Another thing I like about her is that she really puts herself into her music. All her body language and gestures are tuned to "selling the song" as they say in the business. That's a sharp contrast to many of her contemporaries who just stand there, try to reduce melodies to a monotone exercise, have no sense of dynamics, and do their best not to emote.

What's more, she's a genuinely nice person. She saw me one day at the grocery store and when I didn't instantly recognize her because she had this big knitted cap on, she ran up to me and said, "Forrest! It's Liz Morphis!" and gave me a big hug. What a sweetheart.

Another case of a stunning Austin talent working a day job selling plants at a nursery, updating her website, trying to buy the right clothes to look good on stage, rehearsing whenever she can, and looking for a break.