Blog of a Jazz Singer - Marc Courtney Johnson - WEB JOURNAL

Well, I've got an official release date for my CD in February of 2009.

It's take some time but finally here.

Of course you can buy it directly from men at any time between now and then at http://www.DreamyJazz.com/CD2.html.

Thanks and see you soon!

I´ve not said much on my site in over a year, but that´s all about to change. With the new cd will come a new look and feel to my website and a new commitment to delivering current information about jazz and a whole host of things.

The musicians include on my new disk include: The Dan Cray Trio (Dan Cray - piano, Clark Sommers - bass, Greg Wyser-Pratt - drums), Geof Bradfield (sax), Victor Garcia (trumpet) and the Hawk String Quartet - Katherine Hughes(violin), Carol Kalvonjian(violin), Benton Wedge(viola), Jill Kaeding (cellist).

I do have a new CD coming out in the early Fall featuring 4 new original songs, 4 songs from my first CD and another 5 jazz or R& B songs from yesteryear. The selection is as follows:

1. You Don´t Know What Love is
2. Nola´s Song (included from the first cd)
3. I Wish You Love
4. Dream of Sunny Days (the title cut an original song with a string arrangement)
5. Invitation
6. You Make it Better (original from first cd)
7. Old Devil Moon
8. Until I Met You (included from my first cd)
9. Too Much Life (original)
10. House is Not a Home
11. All Because of You (original)
12. To Be Free (re-recorded from my first cd)
13. Brand New Day (click for downloadable track!)

To pre-order go here...!

Just got back from Las Vegas (what a surreal experience that was) and I'm sitting in this quiet dim lit room writing my blog.

2006 on a gigging level was about sending lot's of folk home on an early Sunday morning happy about the direction their lives 're headed, especially happy about the band they chose to perform for their wedding event having had a fantastic time and embarking on a life long voyage of love. We delivered over and over again.

It all culminated in my band (Front of House) giving one of it's best performances of the year in front of a big time audience on a big time stage in one of the most luxurious hotels in one of the most happening places in the world on New Year's Eve (and probably any other time of the year!). There were dancers, fireworks, confetti, and we nailed it!

Though I more often than not found myself most Saturday nights in 3 and 4 star (don't know if Chicago has any 5's left) hotels, all over the city or country clubs in the suburbs performing at these events, I found my heart yearning for a different experience.

Well I've jumped on the bandwagon with everybody else. See me at http://www.mySpace.com/MarcJohnsonJazz.

Check out my blog, come be my friend, you can listen to the two original songs on my first CD and meet a lot of other cats who dig jazz and just about anything else that can be dug.

Just an FYI:

There is an award show that occurs every year hosted by an Organization made up of and that supports indie (independent) music artist called Just Plain Folk.

The award show has become very popular and attracts literally tens of thousands of CD's with hundreds of thousands of songs each year.

I entered the award show and of the 26,000 CD's received representing some 350,000 songs, my CD was nominated in two categories:

Best Vocal Jazz CD: (one of eight to be chosen) and

Best Vocal Jazz Song: For my original song "To Be Free" (one of twenty chosen).

The results of the event will be made known this weekend at the award ceremony in Sana Ana California (those winds are blowing again).

Also I do still have a few CD's available which you can purchase directly from me or on the CDBaby website.

One of the newer stations to pick up my music is ANIMAJAZZ out of Italy!!

Bruno Pollacci is the host and he has this eclectic show where he showcases new jazz singers next to the classics.

Check it out at http://www.animajazz.it

my music is at http://www.animajazz.it/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=416

Easily the most fun I've had since the Jazz Showcase, but man they gotta do something about that sound system in the small room. If I get the chance to do that gig again, I'll bring my own.

Below are a few pics from the gig.

Enjoying Dan's Piano Solo May 7, 2006 on Green Dolphin Street!

Mom and grandmom out on the town!

My cousins Byron, Pat, and Linda coming out in support!

Goods Friends Fred & Magda and their friends out!

We packed the place and rocked (jazzed!!) out!

My first reaction to the power's that be at WBEZ's decision to eliminate their jazz programming was knee-jerk. After I stopped stuttering and stammering and exhausted my epithet ladened rants of How dare they, why those, those ... incompetent, bean-counting ninnys (no really those were the adjectives I used) phrases.

I stepped back for a moment and gave it some thought. Is this any different than the changes that have rocked our individual and collective worlds at an accelerating pace in the last 20 or 30 years. So much has changed: mass consolidation of resources (thanks Ronnie for gutting the anti-trust laws), the Internet (thanks AL :)), all kinds of new musical styles marketed relentlessly to the next generation, etc...

We the musicians/writers and lover of jazz have to reinvent not only the music, but the genre. WBEZ's decision to can jazz is just the latest warning sign that jazz needs an infusion innovation, talent and especially marketing image to compete with all the new forms of music and media.