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\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Jack Spann<\/b> is a multitalented singer and songwriter. \u00a0His first solo release comes out on April 19, 2016. \u00a0It is about time that the world hears his stuff and perhaps that was the genesis of the CD title: \u00a0<\/span>Time, Time, Time, Time, Time.<\/b> \u00a0Our friend and Milwaukee music scene pipeline <\/span>Gary Tanin <\/b>at <\/span>Daystorm Music<\/b> sent us an advanced copy and it has been an ear-opening experience. \u00a0Spann played piano, keyboards, guitar, and bass on the ten tracks that bear both his writing and vocal imprint. \u00a0Tanin mentioned that Jack \u201cwas a referral by my friend <\/span>Tony Visconti <\/b>(<\/span>David Bowie\u2019s<\/b> producer) who suggested we work together,\u201d which got my attention. \u00a0Gary\u2019s assertion that \u201cWorking with him has been a highlight of my production career and I would like to share in the excitement\u201d sealed the deal for me. \u00a0If working with Jack Spann is a Gary Tanin career highlight, then I couldn\u2019t get the mailer open fast enough.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Jack Spann<\/b> works in New York City, but his musical roots are a bit farther west at <\/span>Webster University <\/b>in St.Louis where took classes and gigged as Jon Rosen. \u00a0When he left Webster U., he was involved in numerous musical projects around St. Louis, most notably an early version of <\/span>Vitamin A. \u00a0<\/b>His move to NY left his name behind but not his talent and once there he began to craft a new musical career. \u00a0As <\/span>Thomas Crone (STLmag.com) <\/b>put it, \u201cAs someone able to play across a wide range of styles, he\u2019s been able to craft a unique and fascinating career as <\/span>Jack Spann<\/b>, still maintaining his desire to play originals, while serving as an accomplished sideman, studio player, and live accompanist.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Time, Time, Time, Time, Time <\/b>opens with <\/span>If I\u2019m Ever in Love. \u00a0<\/i><\/b>The rolling piano and melodic delivery puts Spann on the piano bench firmly between <\/span>Billy Joel<\/b> and <\/span>Elton John<\/b>. \u00a0The dramatic organ fills are reminiscent of the interchange one hears between <\/span>Procol Harum\u2019s Gary Brooker <\/b>and<\/span> Matthew Fischer. \u00a0<\/b>Spann\u2019s arrangements sound very orchestral because of this piano – organ interplay. <\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/b>Track two <\/span>(Songman)<\/i><\/b> \u00a0is both jaunty and jazzy. \u00a0Lyrically, Spann tells his stories as well as Joel.<\/span><\/p>\n The way the album transitions from <\/span>Songman<\/i><\/b> to the next track <\/span>Beautiful Day<\/i><\/b> reminds me of the way Joel\u2019s <\/span>52nd Street<\/b> album strung tunes together that sounded different but kept the story and the feel of the music moving along. \u00a0After three tracks, I found myself bobbing my head along with the beat, absorbing the music as much as listening to it.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/i>Time<\/i><\/b> opens with a darker, brooding chord that rumbles along behind a much different vocal style. \u00a0If <\/span>Donovan <\/b>had written songs on piano rather than guitar, he would have created music much like this track. \u00a0The soundscapes that Tanin and Spann create make you listen. \u00a0The rumbling chords hold down the fort while the piano punctuates the vocal line that weaves in and out of the verses and chorus. \u00a0<\/span>Fear and Loyalty<\/i><\/b> again rides the piano – organ duet with great effect. \u00a0Introspective lyrics such as \u201c<\/span>Is it fear, or loyalty, that keeps you in this place \/ If it is fear, or loyalty, only you can say\u201d<\/span><\/i> are delivered in a very moving way. \u00a0Spann\u2019s changing inflections on the word \u2018fear\u2019 are interesting because each variation draws a different emotion from that one word.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Disappearing Girl<\/i><\/b> is fun. \u00a0I didn\u2019t see a drummer in the credits but whether these were \u2018real\u2019 or \u2018programmed\u2019 drums, they add a lot of snap to this particular song. \u00a0The drums are a subtle inclusion on quite a few tracks but here they really pop forward. \u00a0<\/span>My Dinosaur<\/i><\/b> takes the \u2018fun\u2019 of the previous track and stretches it into \u2018silly\u2019. \u00a0The vocals match the lyrics perfectly. \u00a0The pomposity of some of the piano interludes contrast nicely with the lightness of the lyrics and vocal delivery.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Games <\/i><\/b>(with guest vocals by <\/span>Molly Mastrangelo<\/b> who also appeared on <\/span>My Dinosaur<\/i><\/b>) reminds me of a <\/span>Tom Petty – Stevie Nicks<\/b> collaboration. \u00a0They sing around each other as much as they harmonize together. \u00a0The whole album is littered with very hummable tunes and this one really stuck with me.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The album wraps up with <\/span>Everybody\u2019s Stained <\/i><\/b>and <\/span>The Breakdown.<\/i><\/b> \u00a0The mood goes from \u2018gloomy\u2019 in <\/span>Stained<\/i><\/b> to \u2018bouncy\u2019 in <\/span>Breakdown<\/i><\/b> yet the observations on the human condition in both tunes are in a similar vein. \u00a0Still, the \u2018gloomy samba\u2019 of <\/span>Stained<\/span><\/i> and the \u2018happy-shiny bop\u2019 of <\/span>Breakdown<\/span><\/i> left me strangely elevated despite the lyrics \u2018crappy stuff happens\u2019 sentiments. \u00a0Gary Tanin also gets a nod for additional keyboards on all songs on this album except <\/span>Breakdown.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Time, Time, Time, Time, Time<\/i><\/b> will be available on digital and Cd formats on April 19 on <\/span>Big Boo Music<\/b>. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The top piece video shows Jack Spann performing Fear or Loyalty from<\/i>\u00a0his new CD.<\/p>\n And now the rest of the story that only recently surfaced about Jack Spann {March 31, 2016}:<\/strong><\/p>\n “Around the music community of New York, his home since 1999, he’s known as Jack Spann. In St. Louis, many more will remember him as Jon Rosen, a Webster University grad who gigged in all kinds of band-and-solo contexts throughout the 1980s and 1990s. In both places, he’s known as a keyboardist of unusual range and skill, able to play on pretty much any project offered.<\/p>\n His talents have landed him a variety of gigs over the years, but he wasn’t able to discuss one of them until recently. Even now, he’s contractually (and, to some degree, ethically) unable to tell the entire story of a three-days-and-change gig in 2014. The short version: Spann played with David Bowie during the run-up to the rock legend’s final album, the magnificent Blackstar.<\/p>\n “A mutual friend introduced me to Tony Visconti, maybe April or May of 2014,” Spann says, citing Bowie’s frequent producer and arranger. “He’d gone to my site, I guess, and then called me one day, out of the blue.” ‘We need a piano player who can play jazz, can play rock, but not jazz-rock. We don’t want Chick Corea.’ He and Bowie had been listening to a lot of Stan Kenton, the white Thelonious Monk. I called him back and went into the studio the next morning.”<\/p>\n There, Spann recalls, “This guy walked up to me at 9:55 a.m. ‘Hello, Jack, I’m David. We’re going to have a great time.’ ‘Oh, hi David.’ Really, it’s hard to describe how nice he was to me. He was really, really genuinely interested in how and what I was playing. Overall, he was just a delight to work with.” – Thomas Crone – STLMag.com<\/p>\n Meeting David Bowie and working on song demos for Blackstar led Jack Spann to working with producer Gary Tanin (Sam Llanas, Daryl Stuermer, Roger Powell) and the making of Jack’s first full length studio album “Time, Time, Time, Time, Time.”<\/p>\n Excerpted from :<\/p>\n\n\n
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