It's thrilling to watch an artist switch gears. Go from zero to 60 mph in three seconds, quiet to thunder and soprano to high tenor.

Thrilling because the shift is often unexpected and takes the listener from sprawling in a chair to standing on their musical tiptoes.

Brandi Carlile can do it at will, Jason Isbell too, but step aside for Morgan James who will transport you from places you have not planned to go to places you're glad you went, all at the speed of musical light.

"Imagine a voice big enough to knock you to the floor — and sensitive enough to make you shiver," wrote The Wall Street Journal's Terry Teachout.

James views her appearance at Buck Owens' Crystal Palace on Wednesday, part of the Guitar Masters concert series, as somewhat of a homecoming. She was born in Boise, Idaho, but went to junior high and high school in Modesto where she discovered music, sang in her first choir, enlisted a voice coach and sang in musicals. Although she has never played in Bakersfield, there is a comfort level in playing down the road where she laid her musical foundation.

"We're looking at the show on March 16 as a celebration of coming back to live music," James said from her home in the Bronx, where she lives with her husband, collaborator and musical director Doug Wamble.

"We can't wait for people in Bakersfield to hear our amazing band."

James can sing about any song — originals or covers — and her musical reach is astonishing.

"Ms. James is a phenomenal talent whose feel for classic soul music is bone deep," wrote Stephen Holden, music critic for The New York Times.

She is like a five-tool baseball player who can hit for power, bunt, play defense, run the bases and inspire her teammates, or in this case, bandmates.

James is charming, a great musician and looks equally at home on a bandstand of a nightclub or a Broadway stage performing in "Guys and Dolls."

The Wall Street Journal called James "the most promising young vocalist to come along so far this century."

Guitar Masters founder Rick Kreiser is jazzed to say the least:

"I was first introduced to Morgan's incredible voice when someone shared a video of her performing with Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox, a rotating troupe of musicians who specialize in 'remaking the pop hits of today into the classic sounds of the legends of yesterday'. The song was 'All About That Bass,' and I was hooked."

James has had an interesting path. She grew up listening to Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, Prince and Aretha Franklin. After graduating from The Juilliard School with a classical music degree, and performing in the original companies of five Broadway productions, James began writing and recording her own music.

A meeting with Berry Gordy Jr. led to a record deal at Epic Records, where she recorded and released a solo album Hunter in 2014, and three more after that. James has recorded and released a full album cover of Joni Mitchell's "Blue" as well as The Beatles' "White Album" in 2018 to celebrate the album's 50th anniversary.

Favorite current singers include Chris Stapleton, Susan Tedeschi, Jazmine Sullivan and Samara Joy, and she has had a lifelong love for Aretha Franklin and Otis Redding. When you close your eyes and hear her sing, it is as if she is channeling the great soul singers.

"I feel like I am a part of the lineage of soul music. My guiding force throughout my creative process is 'What would Aretha say?" James said. "What would Otis say?' This music is me: classic elements, timeless melodies, and lyrics. We need that right now. We need real music now more than ever."

The music business being what it is, she's had her ups and down, but after leaving Epic Records, she took charge of her career from the business and musical side connecting with fans on YouTube, where she has amassed more than 250 million views.

The pandemic was brutal for most musicians because they couldn't play live for two years but James fared better than most.

"We did online shows every single Saturday during the pandemic," James said. "We were able to pay our rent doing those."

More concerts on tap

James, her fellow musicians, fans and Guitar Master's Kreiser hope that 2022 will be the return of live music. This will be season No. 10 for Guitar Masters, and Kreiser has planned a 10-show season including fan favorites like Joe Robinson, Tommy Emmanuel and The Black Market Trust, plus new faces (to our fans, at least) like Morgan James.

"One of the most rewarding things for me is to look out over the audience and see the smiles on their faces as they enjoy the talents of someone they hadn't heard of before the show," Kresier said.