Danyel Morgan

Pressing My Way” began very tender and smooth, then Danyel Morgan took over on vocals and the song turned in another direction completely. Danyel’s high octave vocal performance was astounding and this falsetto singing made the crowd irrupt with joy and made the song burst into hyper drive. There wasn’t a person in attendance that wasn’t groovin’, dancin’, and sweatin’ by the end of the song. - Cory Tressler

Danyel Morgan

By Jimmy Leslie |

Sing High, Play Low

Between his 6-string bombardment and his flying falsetto vocals, Robert Randolph &the Family Band’s Danyel Morgan might cover the most sonic territory of any musician on the road today—and he wants to take it further. “I can make all the chords on the 6, but I want to get a 9-string next,” he says smiling backstage after performing an infectious gospel/blues set at this summer’s Bonnaroo festival in Manchester, Tennessee. Obviously pumped, Danyel adds, “That’s the biggest crowd I’ve ever played to in my life!”

Playing bass has been Morgan’s passion from the beginning. “I’ve played in gospel bands with my father all my life. He was always looking for bass players, so I just picked it up. When I was five years old I learned how to play Al Green’s ‘Let It Happen,’ and I’ve been playing ever since. I play bass, drums, a bit of piano, lead guitar, vocals, some tenor saxophone—one talented little brother walking around here,” he laughs. “They all help me as a bass player, because I can see the song from every perspective.”

Morgan developed his talent and honed his tone all on his own: He learned by listening. “Everything just came to me—boom. Nobody sat down and showed me anything.” If one influence shines through in his playing onstage and on pedal steel guitarist Randolph’s first Warner Bros. studio recording, Unclassified, it’s Stanley Clarke. “I like a lot of bass players. Robert turned me on to Flea, and he’s tight, but Stanley Clarke is my idol, my man.” Still, Danyel is very much his own player. “One thing my father instilled in us was that no matter who you pattern your playing after, have your own style. You might hear Stanley Clarke’s influence when I slap, but I do everything my own way. Sometimes I strum with my fingers, and sometimes I use a pick.”

Robert Randolph &the Family Band have quickly become the buzz of the jam-band scene, which suits Morgan just fine. “Just go off! That’s my style. In the studio I play more laid-back and smooth as opposed to live. Out here, you do your thing and act crazy. I use the same gear setup either way, so it’s just a matter of approach.”

Morgan relies on his Modulus Quantum 6, with a Peavey Cirrus as a backup. He made the jump from four to six strings around the same time the Family Band project took shape. “I’ve got big hands, so I like the 6. The Modulus has the sound, and the Bartolinis give me everything I need for slap or fingerstyle.” Morgan’s signal travels through a trio of Boss pedals—a TU-2 tuner, CEB-3 Chorus, and OC-2 Octave—before entering a Mesa M-Pulse 600 head, which powers two Peavey 4x10 cabinets.

Danyel’s double-duty diversity makes him an audience favorite, whether he’s digging deep and slapping the intro to “Squeeze” or flinging falsetto notes a la Earth, Wind & Fire’s Philip Bailey on tunes like “I Need More Love.” “I don’t understand it. I talk deep, but I’m comfortable singing up high,” he says. When he does, audience eyes grow wide in amazement—but for Danyel, it’s as natural as going to church on Sunday. In fact, that’s how he wound up onstage with the Family Band in the first place. “We’re all affiliated with the House of God Church organization,” explains Morgan. “Robert gave me a call in 2000 and said he was about to put this project together, and here we are.”

- JIMMY LESLIE