#lee may

SONG OF THE WEEK: “Night Garden” https://johnnyjblairsingeratlarge.bandcamp.com/track/night-garden-3 

I was playing cruise ship gigs and a bass line kept flowing out of me. Every time I played this groove, musicians would start jamming, people would start dancing… It turned into this psychedelic Cuban-jazzified pop song. Latin and Caribbean music is animated and easeful to me, rhythmically and harmonically, making me feel I’m moving with confidence no matter what’s going on in the world. My lyrics were inspired after reading an airline magazine article by Lee May, a journalist from Atlanta who was passionate about gardening. His wonderful words about “plant life that blooms at only night” left an impression. As to the lyrics, Donald Fagen says he chooses words because they suit the shape of his mouth and the lure of a melody—words flow and find their own meaning. That was my approach: Like winding tendrils, words and melody twined into “a song novelette” about a pair of lovers heading south of the border, on the lam because of an unspecified crime.

The music bed was recorded in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Williamsport PA (final mix by Xavier Francis). It features the brilliant drum/trumpet/co-production work of Eric Biondo (a.k.a. Beyondo) + magnificent piano by Mike Garson, a composer-artist in his own right but also known as David Bowie’s longtime keyboardist.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KanYucaQUk

MY SONG/VIDEO OF THE WEEK!

SATURDAY MATINEE MUSIC VIDEO: “Night Garden” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KanYucaQUk I was playing cruise ship gigs around the Caribbean and, while doing sound check one sunny day, this catchy bass line flowed out of me. Every time I played this groove, musicians would start jamming, people would start dancing…then it morphed into this psychedelic Cuban-jazzified pop song. Latin and Caribbean music is animated and easeful to me, rhythmically and harmonically, making me feel I’m moving with confidence no matter what’s going on in the world.

My lyrics were inspired from an airline magazine article by Lee May, a journalist from Atlanta who was passionate about gardening. His wonderful words about plant life that blooms at only night left an impression. As to the lyrics, Donald Fagen says he chooses words because they suit the shape of his mouth and the lure of a melody—words flow and find their own meaning. That was my approach: Like winding tendrils, words and melody twined into “a song novelette” about a pair of lovers heading south of the border, on the lam because of an unspecified crime.

The music bed was recorded in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Williamsport PA (final mix by Xavier Francis). It features the brilliant drum/trumpet/co-production work of Eric Biondo (a.k.a. Beyondo) + magnificent piano by Mike Garson, a composer-artist in his own right but also known as David Bowie’s longtime keyboardist. The video includes art by Nathan Wagoner and images of Peruvian bolero dancer Gabriela Granados.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9KanYucaQUk

BY REQUEST—MY SONG OF THE WEEK: “Night Garden” https://johnnyjblairsingeratlarge.bandcamp.com/track/night-garden-featuring-mike-garson-beyondo I was playing cruise ship gigs and a bass line kept flowing out of me. Every time I played this groove, musicians would start jamming, people would start dancing… It turned into this psychedelic Cuban-jazzified pop song. Latin and Caribbean music is animated and easeful to me, rhythmically and harmonically, making me feel I’m moving with confidence no matter what’s going on in the world. My lyrics were inspired after reading an airline magazine article by Lee May, a journalist from Atlanta who was passionate about gardening. His wonderful words about “plant life that blooms at only night” left an impression. As to the lyrics, Donald Fagen says he chooses words because they suit the shape of his mouth and the lure of a melody—words flow and find their own meaning. That was my approach: Like winding tendrils, words and melody twined into “a song novelette” about a pair of lovers heading south of the border, on the lam because of an unspecified crime.

The music bed was recorded in Brooklyn, Los Angeles, and Williamsport PA (final mix by Xavier Francis). It features the brilliant drum/trumpet/co-production work of Eric Biondo (a.k.a. Beyondo) + magnificent piano by Mike Garson, a composer-artist in his own right but also known as David Bowie’s longtime keyboardist.

https://johnnyjblairsingeratlarge.bandcamp.com/track/night-garden-featuring-mike-garson-beyondo