Johnny J. Arceneaux
April 30, 2009May 4
May 4, 2009
F ew artists earn the right to tour with singer/songwriting legends right out of the gate. But 31-year-old Amos Lee, a Philadelphia native, has struck the right notes to catch the ear of the top.
He’s toured with Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello, Paul Simon, B.B. King, John Prine and Merle Haggard. And he’s opened for Norah Jones, who happened to be in the office the day Blue Note Records executives happened upon Lee’s music.
Jones knew a good thing when she heard it and was quick to tap Lee to open her 2004 European tour with songs off his self-titled debut album. The pairing proved to be a hit, leading Rolling Stone magazine to write that Lee is “rightly tagged as the male counterpart to Norah Jones – meaning his debut album is on Jones’ label, jazz giant Blue Note, and he mines the same vein of breezy folk and soul music.”
That was three CDs ago. He’s since released “Supply and Demand” and his latest, “Last Days at the Lodge,” all on the Blue Note label. His self-described folky-R&B sound has continued to gain steam.
Locals may recognize Lee’s vocals from AT&T’s TV commercial featuring a little girl who tracks her father’s travels with her stuffed monkey via phone photos. “Sweet Pea,” the song used in the commercial, is off Lee’s 2006 “Supply and Demand” CD.
A humble, soft-spoken sort, Amos Lee wasn’t always headed toward musical fame.
Growing up an only child on the tough streets of Kensington and South Philly, Lee pursued basketball through high school. His lean, 6-foot, 2-inch frame lent itself to the game, even though his career was cut short when he learned that he couldn’t dunk the basketball.
English became Lee’s next passion. He traded basketball for the books, majoring in English literature at the University of South Carolina.
It was there, too, that he hooked up with friends who played guitar. It was then that he found his calling.
Lee spent hours learning a few chords on his first guitar, a gift from his stepfather. He also began honing his poems into music. It wasn’t long before he had a trove of lyrics.
“I was just writing songs and studying,” Lee told the New York Times. “I wasn’t running around and cavorting.”
It was also in college that Lee took a job as a record store clerk. It gave him access to a wide array of music genres: from R&B to jazz and all stops in between. He latched on to Thelonius Monk, John Coltrane, James Taylor and Donny Hathaway.
“I would listen to eight hours of music every day,” Lee said in a Rolling Stone interview. “Amazing music – the masters, all day. That was sort of a crushing blow to my ego, but was an amazing inspiration.”
When his college days ended, Lee took his English lit degree and returned to Philadelphia. He took a job teaching elementary school.
But music continued to be his passion. Within two years, he left the classroom for good to play the club circuit.
“I left because I wasn’t doing a good job,” he told the New York Times. “I didn’t feel like I was doing the kind of work that I could put my heart into.”
Lee supported his newfound job by bartending.
In 2003, Lee compiled a handful of his original works and mustered the courage to send the recordings to Blue Note. From there, his career has been steadily gaining steam.
His eponymous 2005 release earned a place on Rolling Stone’s Top 10 “Artists to Watch” list and his subsequent releases have earned rave reviews by major publications.
The CD included his smooth, soulful “Keep it Loose, Keep it Tight,” setting the tone for his freshman outing. Set to light guitar with subtle organ, piano and spare percussion and strings, the CD is as eclectic as the music in the South Carolina music store where Lee worked in college.
Lee told the New York Times he culled the final cuts for the CD from 50 original works.
His follow-up CD, “Supply and Demand,” proved Lee is a big league songwriter with something to say and a captivating voice with which to say it.
A compilation of smoky, slow-burning soul sounds and mature ballads, “Supply and Demand’ has garnered Lee invites to “The Late Show with Dave Letterman,” “The Tonight Show” and other nighttime appearances.
His music has also provided the background for a number of movies. (Hint: “Colors” has been featured in TV’s “House” and “Grey’s Anatomy,” and “Seen It All Before” and “Skipping Stone” were used in an episode of “ER.”)
And “What’s Been Going On” off the “Last Days…” CD has been gaining airplay among radio stations.
Lee’s also learning from the legends he’s opening for these days. “When guys like that are sitting at the table, you sometimes don’t even want to touch your fork,” he told the Philadelphia Inquirer, “but we showed up every night and stood behind the songs the best we could, and for the most part had a good time doing it.”
For the most part, however, Lee remains low-key about his building success. Most interviewers note Lee remains gracious about his career, and relatively mum about his life away from the stage.
“I just appreciate everything that I’ve been given by my family,” he told the New York Times. “I feel blessed.”
Tickets for the Amos Lee show at The City Club May 13 are now on sale at www.cityclubofhouma.com.
Seats are $22 for general admission and $32 for VIPs.
New Orleans artist Robin Kinchen is opening for Lee. She’ll be performing songs from her CD “City of Desire.
Blue Note Records artist Amos Lee rolls into Houma’s City Club on May 13.
His latest release, “Last Days at the Lodge,” continues to draw rave reviews
from critics and his song, “Sweet Pea,” which plays in an AT&T TV commercial,
has gained the artist national attention.
