Jorja Smith has flirted with genres beyond R&B over the years, including grime and dancehall. For her latest single, “Kiss Me in the Morning”, she’s expanding her resume to include jazz music.
With her vocals outstretched across jumpy piano keys and warm brass, Smith longingly sings, “And I wake up with this feeling/ And my body aches for you/ And I know in my heart, this is one I can’t part with/ I’m so by your side, that’s the truth.” These types of arrangements afford Smith the ability to really show off the litheness of her pipes.
While jazz marks new territory for Smith, it’s not an entirely random venture for the Grammy-nominated English artist. “Kiss Me in the Morning” appears in The Eddy, the new Netflix musical drama from La La Land director Damien Chazelle. The series, which premieres this Friday, May 8th, is focused on a jazz musician who runs a music venue in Paris.
Check out the new track below, followed by The Eddy trailer.
Smith teamed up with Burna Boy on last year’s “Be Honest”, but her most recent album came with Lost and Found from 2018. She recently partook in NTS’ 24-hour livestream concert “Remote Utopias”.