Micah Barnes

Why have the entertainers that worked the strip during the classic Vegas era held our attention all these years? While working on my new album and creating the new concert evening “Micah Barnes At The Sands” I have been thinking about that question a whole bunch.  

 It feels like the answer lies in what Vegas has represented in our collective memories all these years. 

 It’s certainly fun to imagine Vegas crawling with swingers out for a good time, theres an argument to be made that Vegas was where the American personality and culture found its greatest expression! In fact the romance of that bygone era with its atmosphere of sin and smoke and sex seems like the last time we were classy and lowdown at the same time, especially as we look back through the prism of decades of loosened morality, shorter hem lines and a much more casual approach to night life.  Now “dressing up to get down” is a quaint look back at another era. Back then it was an expression of sophistication! 

 For many decades we looked back at that “Mad Men” moment in the 50’s and early 60’s as last gasp of the old guard before a younger generation toppled the establishment and took over the pop cultural landscape.  The teenage revolution that gave us Elvis, The Beatles and The Supremes seemed to suddenly make Frank Sinatra your father’s music, but in fact there was a time when The Rat Packers were the hip new thing!  

 Frankie, Dean and Sammy encapsulated a fascinating moment of masculine cool and non conformity that expressed a new kind of new swagger that poked fun at the rules of the old establishment. But back when Broadway shows and Hollywood movies still gave us our hit songs the heppest cool cats and chicks of the day like Judy Garland, Lena Horn, Nat King Cole, Peggy Lee, Tony Bennett and  Mel Torme played the Vegas showrooms on a regular basis. 

 It’s been an awesome adventure uncovering some of the lesser known songs from these great entertainers and finding my own way to express that exciting moment in time when the biggest names lit up the big showrooms of Las Vegas!

Nothing compares to the thrill and creative energy when an artist is taking new music to the recording studio.  

My band, Micheal Shand, Russ Boswell and Al Cross and I have been developing arrangements for a new batch of songs which we will be testing with live audiences throughout the recording process. Thats what worked so well for me while writing, arranging and recording “New York Stories” and I wanted to follow the same approach with this new batch of tunes. The major difference is that whereas New York Stories was made up of original songs paying tribute to romance and The Big Apple, this new batch is mostly comprised of cover tunes. 

Touring across Canada with NY Stories I’ve had a chance to “road test” a whole lot of the new material. However last spring when I was still struggling to figure out the “spine” of the new recording I had a revelatory moment while thinking about the “stories” these new songs seemed to be telling.  More about that later down the road but suffice to say once the new album had landed in a focused direction making decisions about which songs to try and include started to become easier and thats when I knew it was time to begin the process of readying the music for the studio.  Starting over the summer the band and I got together for arrangement sessions and this fall we’ve begun cutting tracks “live of the floor” at Union Sound Company downtown Toronto. 

We’re also doing a series of Ontario shows to put this new music on it’s feet in front of the public. Check the website for dates and venues!  Its the audiences  who told me which songs belonged on New York Stories and this time around it’s no different! 

Birdland is a famous jazz club in New York City located at 1678 Broadway at 44th Street. Owner Morris Levy rnamed the club Birdland in honor of Charlie “Bird” Parker and it is that club after which this classic Jazz standard of the Bebop era was named.  The legendary venue continues to book the top Jazz acts today, and with it's lushly appointed booths and classic look serves as throw back to a time when nightclubs were  where you found the sophisticated elite of society.

 Jazz Pianist George Shearing, composer of “Lullaby of Birdland,” first played the venue in 1949 the year that it opened.  In 1952 Levy decided to have station WJZ in New York broadcast a disc jockey program from there, and he asked Shearing to record a theme song for the show.  For weeks Shearing tried to come up with something but to no avail. Suddenly one night in the middle of dinner he jumped up, went to the piano and wrote the whole thing in about ten minutes. The pianist explains, “Actually quite a lot of my compositions have come this way--very slow going for a week or so, and the finished piece comes together very rapidly, but as I say to those who criticize this method of working, it’s not that I dash something off in ten minutes, it’s ten minutes plus umpteen years in the business.”

Somewhat later George David Weiss added lyrics to the tune, and Sarah Vaughan recorded it in December, 1954, for Mercury with trumpeter Clifford Brown. It was one of her biggest hits and became a standard in her repertoire. Being one of the first Jazz standards I attempted to learn as a young teenager, Ive always appreciated both the songs Bebop style melody which manages to nicely pay tribute to Charlie Parkers inventive playing style and to the simple poetry of the lyric, which is both imminently singable and emotionally engaging.

 I'm including Sarah Vaughan and Clifford Brown's classic version of "Lullaby Of Birdland" here for those who haven't heard it!

 The title of the beloved swing standard “Stompin’ at the Savoy” refers to the Savoy Ballroom in the Harlem originally taking up the entire block on Lennox between West 140th and 141st Streets where the Savoy Apt. complex now stand. Incredibly that was our NYC address during the writing of "New York Stories" something I didn't realize until running for the milk one morning and spotting the plaque in front of the apartment complex!  Now maybe thats why the swing music kept infiltrating my dreams at night leading to the writing of so many "old school" style tunes on New York Stories!

The plaque reads: "Here once stood the legendary Savoy Ballroom, a hothouse for the development of jazz in the Swing era. Visually dazzling and spacious, the Savoy nightly featured the finest jazz bands in the nation, and its house bands included such famous orchestras as those of Fess Williams, Chick Webb, and Teddy Hill. The great jazz dancers who appeared on its block-long floor ranged from professionals like Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers to everyday Harlemites. During a time of racial segregation and strife, the Savoy was one of the most culturally and racially integrated of institutions, and its fame was international. It was the heartbeat of Harlem’s community and a testament to the indomitable spirit and creative impulse of African-Americans. It was a catalyst for innovation where dancers and musicians blended influences to forge new, wide-spread, and long-lasting traditions in music and dance. Whether they attended or not, all Americans knew the meaning of ”Stompin’ at the Savoy.” 

 The song itself  features a melody written by Chick Webb's saxaphonist Edgar Sampson and a lyric by Andy Razof (best known for his collaborations on Honeysuckle Rose and Ain't Misbehavin' with Fats Waller). "Stompin At The Savoy" was introduced to the public by Chick Webb's band featuring vocalist Ella Fitzgerald who gave the song it's first fame.

Here is my favourite version of the song recorded many years later in a  duet version by Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald! 

I was singing with my band in Canada when The Nylons came calling and I was suddenly in a three week boot camp on my way to becoming an a cappella singer!  

Having sung lead vocal all my career I was not used to holding a harmony note and blending with other singers, let alone doing so without an instrument in site!  On top of that I also needed to pull off choreography at the same time. As I entered that extremely steep learning curve I made the crucial decision to stay relaxed about getting it all perfect and to just do the best job I possibly could in the moment. The other Nylons were tremendously patient and supportive which helped a great deal and put me at ease. By the time I was singing my first concert with the guys, ( like a deer in the headlights remembering my parts just in time to sing them), I had been indoctrinated into that rare special breed of performer, the a cappella singer! 

A cappella singing asks for a strong inner sense of rhythm, a sturdy sense of pitch and a desire to create music in close harmony with others. Not just musical harmony but a kind of spiritual harmony which a cappella singing needs.  

What I learned from my years touring and recording with The Nylons was how to stay relaxed while working in a disciplined and precise art form, how to trust my instincts as we made the hundreds of decisions that affected our career, and how to take care of my Mind, Body and Spirit while in the middle of a gruelling tour schedule. But perhaps the most important thing I got to learn was how to be part of a tight brotherhood of shared musicality and to share that harmonic communication with an audience of deeply committed fans night after night.  I am so deeply thankful that the universe lead me to become a member of The Nylons!

Audiences tell you what they like. You just have to listen. 
Many years ago while living and making music in LA a friend took me to a Frank Black concert at the Troubador a legendary venue on the Sunset Strip and I learned a really valuable lesson. Frank Black (the founder and frontman of the hugely influential band The Pixies), tours new material for a year before stepping into the studio to record.  Working out the kinks in front of his die hard fans allowed him to hit the studio ready to record material that had been already lived in and worked out in front of audiences instead of second guessing brand new arrangements.   

Thats how I approached the making of New York Stories, testing each "chapter" of the story in front of live audiences at the Jazz Bistro in Toronto and at venues across the country before cutting songs live off the floor with the trio. The audiences tell you what they like if you are listening and so of course I was able to shape and reshape the album long before stepping into the studio! It worked so well that I'm planning the same approach on the next recording! 

Performing  the"New York Stories" material across the country I have been working cover songs into the set to help communicate the vast musical history of New York from Uptown Jazz and Broadway to Back Alley Blues and Doo Wop. The songs that have gotten the most response have stayed on the set list and Ive brought those tunes home to my trio in Toronto for us to work out the arrangements in advance of upcoming shows where we will test out the tunes some more! 
 Songs by Tom Waits, Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, Mose Allison and Laura Nyro are all getting their moment to "audition". It's surprising what material is getting the most response, the little known Marvin Gaye tune "The Bells", an old Harold Arlen tune covered by Sammy Davis Jr  from the show "St Louis Woman" called "AnyPlace I Hang My Hat Is Home" and of course "A Sunday Kind Of Love", (an old pop standard that became a Doo Wop hit before Etta James shaped it into an R&B classic)  

The music will be Crowd Sourced in that we're taking our cues from the audiences favourites,  
so come out and make your choices heard!  
The musicians are listening! :)

 Here in Canada Mister Cohen was more than just a singer-songwriter.  North of the border Leonard has been and will remain a deeply respected "man of letters" who managed to became a world renowned songwriter without ever having written a"hit" or gone after a mainstream pop career from the sheer depth of his work.  We have watched him develop from his early days as a "bad boy" poet into an international artist of huge influence and one of Canada's most important cultural voices.  
Indeed his influence here is too large to measure. Generation after generation of Canadian songwriters have had to contend with the majesty and grace of Leonard's language.  The integrity and authenticity of his artistic voice has inspired us to be true to ourselves in a way that feels truly Canadian in spirit. And as spiritual seekers we have been inspired to keep growing and to dive deeper into what makes life truly mysterious and magical.

Leonard might have been trying to seduce us with sorrow some of the time, but he also sought to make us laugh at life, to fill us with wonder and to hear our own folly and hubris as human beings

 Perhaps his greatest accomplishment was Leonard's living of a deeply committed artistic life right up until the day he died at 82, releasing his latest critically acclaimed music just months before his passing.

It took him a lifetime for him to create the legend of Leonard Cohen.  

As his grateful children we will never forget what he taught us. 

Even if it will take our whole lifetime to understand it.

With Gratitude.
Micah Barnes
Toronto 2016

 
Being able to sing in support of a cause or a charity is something that I take very seriously these days. In fact from the very beginning of my career the charity component has been an important focus, but recently with the success of "New York Stories" there have been so many more opportunities to give back, in fact last year the holiday season was my busiest in terms of charity concerts! Yahoo! 

This year has presented an deepening of that commitment and it is with great pride that I announce having taken on the artistic directorship of the LOFT Community Services "Home For The Holidays" annual fundraising concert. LOFT is a charity that I have been involved with for a few years performing for their annual concert along with folks like Molly Johnson, Billy Newtown Davis and Jackie Richardson and I have seen first hand the incredible ways in which they house and support folks in the Toronto area who would otherwise slip  between the cracks of the health care system. From older people with mental disabilities to young folks with addiction issues and all kinds of "at risk" and vulnerable people,  LOFT is dedicated to making sure their programs give people a sense of dignity and respect and a place to call home. For more information about what they do have a peek here http://www.loftcs.org 

This year "Home for the Holidays" will be held on Monday, December 5, 2016 at the beautiful St. James Cathedral in downtown Toronto and I've been lining up some top notch talent including Musical Theatre star Thom Allison http://www.thomallison.com, the delicious Jazz harmonies of The Ault Sisters http://www.aultsisters.com and the incredible Hogtown Brass Quintet http://www.hogtownbrass.com among many more.  We hope you will join us for this beautiful holiday concert to kick off the season and enter the real spirit of giving back!  

Tickets are only $40 for the general public!  Home for the Holidays 26th Annual Christmas Concert Monday, December 5, 2016 St. James Cathedral (downtown Toronto)  Ticket purchase and more info here: http://www.loftcs.org/support-loft/events/christmas-concert-2016

"Songwriter Bob Dylan wins the Nobel prize for Literature"

The thing is that Dylan's powerful determination to find "new ways to tell the old stories" began long before we ever heard of him. First he worked inside the tradition then he began to find his own voice inside of the tradition, then stretch and bend and push on the walls until he had created the kind of freedom that all songwriters who followed were able to work with! 

 In that sense our  Mister Zimmerman is the best template for any artist seeking to find their own voice.     First we imitate, then, if we are serious about finding our own voice we experiment and try and find a way to make the traditions our own.  Then if we truly seek personal expression we dig in to find the way to communicate our most authentic selves through the music.  Thats the gig of being an artist. It doesn't come easy. It doesn't come fast.  Have a read of his masterful autobiography "Chronicles Vol 1" for the whole story. 

I remember sitting down with Bob Dylan's "Greatest Hits" LP when I was just a kid and studying what it was that made him the voice of a generation of counter culture grownups. I hated the scratchy voice that I would later come to dig, (have you heard Dylan's recent recordings of standards? They are a revelation!), but understood that somewhere in his beatnik ramblings there was a kind of patchwork map that was helping lead a generation to their own sense of self hood. 

And as a budding songwriter I remember trying to find a way into Dylan's complex songwriting which explored older forms of folk and blues and a kind of rule breaking literary poetry of the street. It made me want to find a new way of expressing myself through Jazz and Blues using the traditions to communicate my contemporary experience (hence "New York Stories" etc) 

 What is it that makes a young artist determined to find one's own voice to add to the culture?
We may never know but Dylan's Nobel Prize for Literature answers the questions once and for all whether what we do it simply entertainment.

I was playing piano in a teenage rock n roll band  playing T Rex, The Velvet Underground and Iggy Pop when I discovered jazz.  

When I heard Billie Holiday I quit the band and went home to learn every jazz standard I could get my hands on. I was 13 years old. 

Of course it was David Bowie that had made me want to join the rock n roll band in the first place. His big wide crooner voice and the inventive lyrics with the theatrical delivery seemed as close to performance art as could be possible in the context of pop music. I was a smart teen and I was interested in the "revolutionaries" of every tradition. Bowie flew in the face of everything safe, and seemed to be inventing himself as he went along. 
I loved the attitude. I loved the show. I loved the drama.  

In Jazz I responded to the same sense of "making it up as we go along" the same spirit of invention and fearlessness that we found in David Bowie.  So I didn't experience all that much of a leap as I learned to deepen the harmonic landscape and emotional intelligence that was demanded by the standards. 

We're All Bowie's Children

 When I began performing in night clubs (first solo at the piano then with my jazz trio) I found myself combining the old school charm of the standards with a cheeky kind of rock n roll /cabaret originals that owed no small debt to Bowie's oeuvre. The songs and the attitude poked holes at modern society with songs like "Food Has No Future", "Lost In The Computer" Utensils On Rampage".  Audiences seemed to enjoy the challenging mix of genres and my band and I (including brother Daniel)  became the darlings of the New Music set on Queen Street.  

Later his legacy would become more obvious with everyone from Madonna to  Lady GaGa  using changing persona to grab out attention and keep us looking, but In those days we were all Bowie's children, putting on masks and changing persona's as quickly as we did our hair colour.  But what was operative wasn't the costuming, it was the daring to be something "new" that the world had never seen before.  Bowie made the dare…as a jazz artist my aim to to answer that challenge.

We Can Be Heroes Indeed.

Tickets for Sept 9th Rebel Rebel Bowie Tribute Concert at Hughes Room here: Tickets