Russ Jones, a Native American-style flutist from Heber City, and composer Douglas Morton, a part-time Parkite, have added a new collection of songs to their collaboration.
“Infinite,” which releases in May on Heart Dance Records, is the second of the duo’s discography that started with 2020’s “Into the Woods.”
“Sinking,” the first single from “Infinite,” is available now on all streaming platforms, and the follow-up song, “Ascending,” is scheduled to be released on Feb. 24.
“We’re so grateful to the record label for getting the music out to people,” Morton said. “Their strategy is to release a song at a time on all streaming platforms, and then ultimately release the whole album.”
“Infinite,” which will be released under the Morton Jones moniker, was recorded in Morton’s studio in San Clemente, California.
“We hung out for a weekend, visited the beach, ate some good food and then jammed,” Morton said. “It’s so effortless to make music with Russ.”
Morton and Jones discovered the ease of making music together after they were introduced by their mutual friend, the late singer-songwriter Leraine Horstmanshoff.
“Leraine was a dear friend who passed on (in 2021), and she was a huge figure in both of our lives,” Morton said. “I had seen Russ playing the flute on Facebook, and thought it sounded good. One night, I walked into a restaurant and there was Leraine and her friend and Russ was also sitting there. I recognized him instantly and said, ‘Hey, you’re that flute guy.’”
Jones felt honored that Morton, who has made a name for himself by composing music and performing throughout venues, including the Living Aquarium in Sandy, knew who he was.
“Leraine had told me about Doug and his work at the aquarium, and said I should jam with him,” Jones said.
Jones, who only started playing the flute in 2011, decided to put something on Facebook after a couple of years of practice.
“People responded, so I started to self-publish my music,” he said. “So, when Doug walked into the restaurant where Leraine and I were at, it was an honor to be acknowledged.”
Shortly afterward, Morton asked Jones to stop by his Park City home in the Canyons for a jam session.
“Russ came over, and we didn’t really talk much,” Morton said with a laugh. “We just kind of picked a key and started a casual jam. And it was so easy making music. It’s rare when you meet musicians you connect instantly like that.”
Jones, who also makes his own flutes, was honored to jam with Morton.
“I was a little nervous when I got there,” he said. “I brought 15 flutes, and we let it rip.”
The jam lasted a couple of hours, Morton said.
“It was all improvised,” he said. “Nothing was planned out, but I recorded all of it.”
Throughout the session, the two musicians got to know each other better, Jones said.
“We found out that we drank the same water growing up,” he said. “Doug lived maybe five miles from where I grew up in Cupertino, California, but we never crossed paths.”
As the months went by, Morton would take out the recordings and create some mixes.
“When I record things, I judge the work on passing the test of time,” he said. “Sometimes you record something that you think sounds great, and then you go back and listen and find it’s not that great. But the music we did kept getting better to my ears, head and heart.”
Those recordings eventually became Morton Jones’ debut album, “Into the Woods,” which won an award on the One World Radio network in Europe.
“We named the album that because the music was all inspired by Park City and the mountains,” Morton said. “People have told us they use the music for meditation, yoga and mindfulness, because it’s soothing.”
After the success of “Into the Woods,” Morton and Jones decided to get together to make “Infinite.”
“I took 20 flutes with me to San Clemente, and we made 23 pieces of music during those sessions,” Jones said.
In addition to playing music together during that time, Morton recorded Jones playing solo.
“I’m sure we’re going to do something with those,” Morton said.
In the meantime, the two have performed together in other places around the state, including the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium.
“We set up and improvise in front of the jellyfish and shark tanks and interacte with the guests,” Morton said. “Hopefully we’ll be doing some gigs in Utah again.”
In addition, Morton and Jones’ music has been used by Melanie Webb, founder of Sol Fitness Adventures and the luxury wellness retreat label and app, WebbWell.
“Her mission is to help people,” Morton said. “I ran into her and she told me about her app. We donated a bunch of music from our first album so she could use it for the app, because like her, our motivation is to help people. People are still dealing with all the things that have happened these past three years, and we want to use our music to help them.”