Facebook twitter Instagram Youtube
Share menu
HOME
ARTIST
Producer · Engineer · FOH
Jake Morelli
Jake Morelli
Jake Morelli

Jake Morelli

Producer, Songwriter, Musician
Facebook
Jake Morelli

Given the family he grew up in it is perhaps unsurprising that producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Jake Morelli (aka JMo) was destined for a career in music. 

Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Roberta Flack, The Roots, Village People, &More (Chill Moody & Donn T)
Jake has been using:
Origin
Spirit
Keeping it in the family

What a career, with Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, Roberta Flack, The Roots and many others on his list of credits and collaborations.

Jake’s father and grandfather were both drummers and at the age of four Jakob was jamming guitar and singing with his Dad around New York’s blues boltholes. His godfather, the late Howie Blauvelt, played bass and sang with Ram Jam (whose track Black Betty was a huge hit) and also with Billy Joel early in his career with the Hassles.

He says he got used to being around microphones, and to the recording process in general, at an unusually early age, through making recordings with his Grandfather:

“He had a Panasonic cassette recorder which he used to record all his shows. I have a lot of cassettes in the studio now with me at ages 3 - 8 years old, singing, playing guitar and drums, doing skits, and pretending to be a weather forecaster. My Grandfather recorded everything.”

Jake intends digitising the cassettes and using clips of his former self on his forthcoming solo project, Good News, a blues-infused album due for release in 2019.

“I finally found time for some of my own music and I thought ‘I’ve been doing this all my life so why not include the past?’”

Mesmerised

Jake is married to R&B singer and songwriter Donn T who is currently working with Chill Moody on their &More project, which Jakob has also been producing and playing live. &More has just been signed to Crossover Touring, who will handle their live shows, while recordings will be released on Jake and Donn T’s own label, D Tone Victorious.

Among his list of performance and production credits, Jake singles out Ed Sheeran as the most ‘down-to-earth’ artist he’s worked with, and says working with Roberta Flack was a particularly inspirational experience:

“I don’t tend to get star-struck but something about Roberta was mesmerising – how she’d conduct herself, talk about music and how she knew what she wanted musically. I remember her walking into the studio and telling the bass player ‘You’re too loud.’!”

Jake also counts touring with Village People as well as &More who just toured with Low Cut Connie (the US rock band whose fans include Sir Elton John), as two highlights of his distinguished and varied career. Another one was playing second guitar with The Roots for several years in front of nearly a million people at the ‘Welcome To America’ shows in Philadelphia.

"Music heals. I'm truly blessed to be able to tour the world and share my gifts; afterwards I love returning home to the family studio to dig in and uncover the next phase of artistic creation."

Shining mics

Jake uses Aston’s large diaphragm Origin and Spirit mics in the Philadelphia studio which he now co-manages with his wife.

“The Aston mics have been shining across a variety of applications. They just seem to sound good on everything. They’re awesome!” he told us.

“The studio has been around and in the family for roughly 20 years now and has recorded a laundry list of who's who in the industry. Lots of love and incredible music have emerged from these walls in Philadelphia over the years, no question.”

My wife and her brother Questlove (The Roots) started the room for their artistic endeavours, as well as a proper home for their vast record collection. You could spend an entire lifetime in there, without listening to them all...perhaps in the ballpark of 75k records.”

They studio utilizes a Raven control surface with Logic X and Ableton DAWs plus Digigrid/Waves systems. “Virtually everything is done ‘in the box’.” Mic pres are Focusrite Clarett series (8preX & 8 pre).

“We’re really loving the warmth of the Aston mics, along with the transparency of the pres in the Clarett. We send our Origin and Spirit directly in, whether it be on guitars, vocals, or drums...they always deliver with ease and grace!”

Vocals in a nutshell

Jake says he was taken by the story of the Aston 33, the panel of top audio practitioners who participate in the blind listening tests which help define and refine the sound of each new Aston microphone. The panel has now grown to more than 120 audio experts

“I was humbled by the process of how Aston used all those producers to help create the mics. A real conglomerative effort. That’s how some of the greatest music can be created, with open-minded collaboration.”

In addition to Origin and Spirit mics, Jake says he adores the Aston Halo reflection filter and portable vocal booth, which he describes as “an amazing space aged vocal booth in a nutshell!”

Catch Jake with Donn T, Chill Moody and &More on the festival circuit in 2019 and look out for new releases by Donn T, &More and Jake’s new blues-infused album, featuring his past and present musical self, thanks to those shoeboxes full of his Grandfather’s cassette recordings!

Out-takes

Q. Who are your favourite artists?
A. Miles Davis, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Steely Dan, John Coltrane, Bob Marley

Q. What would your fantasy mic be?
A. A mic where you could go into associated software and change things like the polar pattern.

Q. Which four words woudl you use to describe Aston?
A. Clarity, Punch, Warmth, Brilliance

Q. What is the first song that made you you cry?
A. In Memory of Elizabeth Reed by the Allman Bros

Credits

Donn T

Chill Moody

Chuck D

Jake Morelli solo projects

©2018 - 2024 Aston Microphones, All rights reserved.
Accept cookies.
We use cookies to help give you the best experience on our site.
Information received tells us how customers use the Aston web site and provides information to help us improve your browsing experience. For further details see our Cookie Policy