Elijah Rock

Elijah Rock Biography

Long-dedicated to upholding and aligning himself with the first class carriage and aesthetic of timeless entertainment, singer/actor/dancer/recording artist/author and host, Elijah Rock is carrying the blazing torch for the legacy of The Great American Songbook. The Legendary Tony Bennett recently exalted Rock by saying, “Keep on singing and keep this beautiful music alive!”

The finer points of romance are a too often overlooked art…but with triple threat Elijah Rock around, they are ever in bloom and on the rebound. Returning to the scene with his eagerly anticipated sophomore album, Matters of The Heart, Rock slides back into the spotlight ever so smoothly with his tastefully swingin’ rendition of “All I Need is The Girl” – a gentleman’s classic from the 1959 Broadway show “Gypsy” (Words by Jule Styne, Music by Stephen Sondheim). It’s the perfect song to spring into summer as America opens back up from 15 months of uncertainty into a reviviscence of hope eternal…and a flinty rekindling for mingling. Rock’s single release of “All I Need is The Girl” is reached #1 on the World Indie Music Charts and #3 on the European Indie Music Charts! Acclaimed jazz ciritc Scott Yanow from the LA Jazz Scene, praised Rock in his album review with “Rock’s swinging style and large voice recall Tony Bennett, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole of the 1950’s without closely copying any of them.”

Attentively produced by Suzi Reynolds and the music arranged by stalwart pianist Uli Geissendoerfer, “All I Need is The Girl” additionally features Las Vegas A-listers Steve Flora on bass and Ryan Rose on drums – all in crisp service of Rock. The singer embodies the ardent protagonist of the song as if he were custom tailored for love’s blissful success. The sound mix by Brian Chirlo and the warm final mastering by Alan Silverman render the listener to feel as if they are 5th row center smack dab in the saloon!

Tradition, style and romance meet at the audio crossroads of Ageless & Timeless boulevards on Matters of The Heart, the 10-song sophomore recording of baritone crooner Elijah Rock who is also the album’s executive producer. And it is well worth the wait. Herein, Rock continues his impassioned excavations of love’s seductive soundtrack and even contributes a couple of sparkling originals to the brew. “My goal with this project, as always, is to pay homage to and further the legacy of American Classical Jazz heritage,” Rock states. “To make this vital music more meaningful and universal to audiences young…and young at heart.” The success of Rock’s first solo album, Gershwin For My Soul released in 2016, produced by jazz pianist/arranger and Blackbyrd alum Kevin Toney, set a strong foundation for this rising star.

Cleveland-born Elijah Rock is a former boy soprano classically trained in Bel Canto (beautiful singing in Italian) and now a profound baritone vocalist. His passion for true songcraft and all-around entertaining (he is also a world-class tap dancer) launched a career flight that now includes hosting his Las Vegas-based digital entertainment program “The Elijah Rock Variety Show,” lighting up the screen on television’s “Masters of Sex” and authoring the men’s handbook “The Fine Art of Romance.”

“IT TAKES A CERTAIN KIND OF ARTIST THESE DAYS TO CARRY ON THE TORCH PASSED ON FROM THE LIKES OF NAT “KING” COLE, FREDDIE COLE, BILLY ECKSTINE AND JOE WILLIAMS.” -JAZZ WEEKLY

Winner of the NAACP Theater Award for Best Male Equity performer in “Breath and Imagination: The Story of Roland Hayes" triple threat Rock has received glowing acclaim for his stage performances that include his Ovation Award Nomination for his role as the legendary Cotton Club star Cab Calloway in the musical revue “I Only Have Eyes For You” produced by legendary producer/song-writer(s,) Corky Hale and Mike Stoller. Other Notable roles include The Sheriff in “Desperate Measures” and The Crooner in “Words by Ira Gershwin." The Glendale News raved, “Baritone Rock, with charm to spare, shifts smoothly from crisp jazz phrasings to the operatic…” The Hollywood Progressive proclaimed, “The youthful Rock, who appears in Showtime’s TV series ‘Masters of Sex,’ is establishing himself as one of his generation’s foremost interpreters and performers of The Great American Songbook.”

Rock says “I am grateful to so many singers that continue to inspire me, like Billy Eckstine, Johnny Hartman, Nat King Cole, Freddy Cole, Sammy Davis, Jr., Arthur Prysock and Frank Sinatra to name a few. The music I sing from The Great American Songbook, Broadway, Classical accompanied by my original compositions is what I consider to be timeless because it’s rooted in the foundation of America’s cultural and musical legacy. But it’s also performance art in the universal language of music for all ages, shared with an explicit intention to imagine a world where human beings see each other as equals in all walks of life – an open window into open-mindedness, and a singular, compassionate vision of a united humankind.”