We're talking to Jack Phillips about his newest release Night & Day
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nzu8AxCL9WowrKKy9SVqho_BfygU69PQo
Q: Jack, how did you develop Night & Day?
A: It was a concept I came up with in 2012. I had written some blues rock material and thought it might be interesting to marry that with original jazz standards. We recorded the original jazz standards that year and released them as a stand-alone album with the blues rock material coming out five years later – this is the compilation album of material from those two albums that I had originally conceived in 2012.
Q: Which tracks are blues, which are jazz?
A: I think Caleb’s electric guitar is a dead giveaway…
Q: Who worked on the cover art?
A: My old friend from grade school Nate Butler came up with that drawing from my idea ofone version of me looking in a mirror and seeing the other version…. He created this years ago and I’ve been saving it for this album.
Q The first track, I Love New York, has received airplay on WMWM Salem 91.7, Radio WigWam, Activate Media,, Only Rock Radio, and more. When did you write the song?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRD423wMoYE&list=OLAK5uy_nzu8AxCL9WowrKKy9SVqho_BfygU69PQo&index=1
A: In 2012 when I conceived this album.
Q: Where was "I Love New York" recorded?
A: All of the songs were recorded at Nola Recording Studio which was located at the top of the Steinway Building on W. 57th Street. I recorded the basic tracks for the blues rock material and then about a month later we recorded all the jazz material there.
Q: Did the nine songs come together over years, or do you write in bursts of creativity?
A: I wrote “The Old Grey Hat” at the same time that I wrote the blues material played live on my previous album “Down In The Jungle Room” so the idea to put them together probably started then, a couple of years before we recorded everything. However the rest of the jazz material from Café Nights In New York was all written, recorded and mastered within about 6 weeks. The instrumental track “Down In the Jungle Room” was a spontaneous tune Caleb and I came up with in the studio – Caleb was so quick that we had extra studio time we didn’t want to waste.
Q: How did you select the tracking, "I've Got Sophistication Too" and "Ragin' Down on Me" - especially having
released the material before. Do you treat the album as if it is a radio show?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vnRnb5aPJs&list=OLAK5uy_nzu8AxCL9WowrKKy9SVqho_BfygU69PQo&index=2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbUTARv1IPQ&list=OLAK5uy_nzu8AxCL9WowrKKy9SVqho_BfygU69PQo&index=3
A: Night & Day is the original concept of putting jazz and blues together in one album. But I ended up separating them into two previously released albums – so this album culls songs from those two albums as I probably would have done originally If I had not expanded the two ideas into full-length albums. Some of the material on Café Nights in New York had music written by Eddy Davis. For this album, I’m only using songs from Café Nights in New York that I wrote the music for. “Ragin’ Down On Me” was a blues rock song – so I’m alternating original jazz and blues rock throughout Night & Day.
Q: What is "The Old Grey Hat" about?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5uNkl_J5md8&list=OLAK5uy_nzu8AxCL9WowrKKy9SVqho_BfygU69PQo&index=4
A: It’s a song I wrote with Woody Allen in mind. He had referenced “the grey hat of compromise” in two of his films. I loved the imagery of that and so I decided to write a song with Woody in mind using that metaphor. The clarinet in the song is for Woody, played by the great Dan Levinson.
Q Does the uptempo "No One's Home" take on melancholy, introspection or neither??
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSz3FdMk0NM&list=OLAK5uy_nzu8AxCL9WowrKKy9SVqho_BfygU69PQo&index=5
A: No it’s just a fun song. It’s about a relationship and the need to sort it out here and now. It’s like “we either continue and build or we put an end to it right here and now”
Q: I like how "No One's Home" takes different musical turns within the context of a rave up, who is the backing singer?
A: Two backing singers – one is Saundra Silliman – her husband Dave played drums on my One Night Only Live in New York album and plays drums on the blues rock tracks on Night & Day. Also singing is Sahirah Johnson who is the voice you hear.
Q "Let's Drink to Us" is a complete change of place, in chameleon fashion, you sound like a totally different artist.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ohrXUdpezF0&list=OLAK5uy_nzu8AxCL9WowrKKy9SVqho_BfygU69PQo&index=6
A: It’s keeping with the original jazz standards style from Café Nights In New York. I wrote the lyric first and then set it to music with the assistance of Conal Fowkes. When I wrote the lyrics to Café Nights in New York, I knew what themes I wanted to sing about so this was one of those themes, a love song for that indispensable someone you’ve been with for a long time.
Q:"Take Them To Manhattan" from Cafe' Nights in New York - truly bringing the Big Apple theme of your music front and center. It is so different from "I Love New York" but, perhaps, the perfect sequel as it shows another side of the city's nightlife.
Was that planned?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pHWN1tIVLQ4&list=OLAK5uy_nzu8AxCL9WowrKKy9SVqho_BfygU69PQo&index=7
A: Café Nights in New York was about…. New York. So one of the themes I wanted to touch on was the fashion of New York. I know people travel from far away to go shopping in New York so it’s about that…. “I Love New York” musically is the intersection between my original jazz standards and my blues rock. Everything else on the Night & Day album is either one or the other.
Q "No More Waitin'" from Down in the Jungle Room is smart pop like modern day John Kongos. Of the blues and jazz tracks, and sounding like a jazzy blues, where does this fit?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At34o9cXKO0&list=OLAK5uy_nzu8AxCL9WowrKKy9SVqho_BfygU69PQo&index=8
A: I think thematically it’s similar to “No One’s Home” in that it’s about the end of a relationship. Where as “Let’s Drink To Us” celebrates a relationship, “No More Waitin’” is celebrates putting it in the rear view mirror.
Q: Down in the Jungle Room rumbles like Jethro Tull going into their experimental mode pop leaning towards progressive. The song is innovative and fun, how did the composition come together ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3u9Y1FiVgvU&list=OLAK5uy_nzu8AxCL9WowrKKy9SVqho_BfygU69PQo&index=9
A: We had extra time in the studio in Burbank where Caleb played the guitars on the blues rock tracks. So I sat down at the studio piano and came up with a riff and Caleb grabbed his guitar and we were off. It just came together in a matter of minutes…
Q: Anything we didn't ask about these nine songs that you would like to express
A: I think that moving to New York has had a powerful effect on my music. My album “To Whom It May Concern” was at the time my best work but like the album before it (Revival Time), it was recorded in Fresno, California before I had moved to New York and had started performing. I think “I Love New York” expresses everything I’ve wanted to say – that I moved here and I love it. I think this compilation Night & Day is in fact my best work to date.
Night & Day track listing
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nzu8AxCL9WowrKKy9SVqho_BfygU69PQo
1) I Love New York
2) I’ve Got Sophistication Too
3) Ragin’ Down On Me
4) The Old Grey Hat
5) No One’s Home
6) Let’s Drink to Us
7) Take Them to Manhattan
8) No More Waitin’
9) Down in the Jungle Room
For Immediate Release
"I Love New York" from Jack Phillips Night & Day album speaks to the citizenry of "the Big Apple" as well as to anyone in the world who has visited and enjoyed the awe of Manhattan. The song goes beyond pandemics and protests and switches the mood from anger and despair to hope, harmony and the place that is home to everyone on the planet"
Enclosed is a 15 second MP3 bumper as well as MP3 of "I Love New York"
"I Love New York" song on You Tube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcP616gNsJw
I Love New York opens WCCA Soundcheck Show
WCCA viewership bigger than most college radio
https://worcester.vod.castus.tv/vod/?video=51665ba1-493c-4cdb-bec9-00e714750075&nav=programs%2FSound%20Check
Airplay on Radio-Wigwam, Lonely Oak Radio, Only Rock Radio, WCCA and more!
With the pandemic being so ruthless, it's time to love New York City again
Check out recent articles on Jack in the Somerville/Medford News Weekly
http://joeviglione.com/?page_id=141 interviews with Jack Phillips and cover artist Keith Henry Brown
Veteran songwriter / singer Jack Phillips releases “I Love New York” online single
Title: I Love New York
Time: 3:52
Author: Jack Phillips
Album: Night & Day
New York, New York (Press Release) Jack Phillips’ “I Love New York,” the first single release from the compilation album Night & Day, is a subtle yet powerful ballad perfect for contemporary listeners in 2020 as it would fit in 1971 on Elton John’s Madman Across the Water or 1972’s Honky Chateau by the same artist. The elegant piano draws you in, Phillips’ compelling voice delivering the new millennium tribute to the city that never sleeps.
Elton John / Hookfoot guitarist Caleb Quaye performed at a show with Jack Phillips at the Duplex in New York City on Nov 5, 2015 as well as on the CD Night & Day, which features the inspiring “I Love New York, " an irresistible melody that begs repeated spins. March 2, 2018 Quaye and Phillips appeared on the Paul Leslie Hour Episode #63 http://www.thepaulleslie.com/the-paul-leslie-hour-episode-63-jack-phillips-caleb-quaye/
BIOGRAPHY
Jack Phillips (born John Phillips) grew up in Fresno in a musical family. His mother and both grandmothers all played the piano very well and supported local symphonic music. In his mid-teens Jack, who had been studying the piano since an early age, began experimenting with composing. Soon he began writing music in earnest and performing in his hometown club and on college campuses.
In 1981 Jack started working with Russ Hildreth at his Fresno recording studio. In the early 1980s he recorded a number of original songs and instrumentals that formed the basis for his first EP First Hand recorded in November 1982. In 1984 and 1985, he performed two major concerts of original music and cover songs at the Occidental College theater, Thorne Hall. He recorded his second EP In The Front Yard in December 1985 and his third EP of instrumental pieces Portrait in the fall of 1986. Later that fall he recorded a single "18 to 25" was played frequently on KFSR college radio, later to be re-recorded under the title “Uncontrolled Fire” – it was popular at the time because it contained the voice of President Ronald Reagan speaking about drug use in America.
In 1988 Jack started work on his first full-length album, the 1999 CD release Revival Time, a performance art rock opera with lyrics by Blake Silverstrom. In 1990, while the album was in production with Russ Hildreth in Fresno, Phillips moved to San Francisco where he entertained people at a downstairs piano bar called The Curtain Call on Union Street.
Following a move to London where he met graphic designer David Costa (Wherefore Art?), his debut album, Revival Time was finally released in 1999 to critical acclaim and was rated “four stars” in the All Music Guide complete with David’s beautiful artwork.
In 2000 Jack started work on a follow-up album, this time with lyricist Jimmy Russell who contributed a lyric to the original EP First Hand, once again using Russ Hildreth in Fresno as the producer. Basic recording was completed by 2001 - but work then took him back to Europe and the project was shelved.
In 2010, Jack, now living in New York, returned to the unfinished album and tasked Russ Hildreth in Fresno with editing and mixing the album. The masterful Bob Ludwig was brought in to master the completed album. The result was the extraordinary To Whom It May Concern. When asked to share his thoughts about the new album and the journey to New York, Jack replied: “This is an album I am proud to present - it represents all of the styles I have developed over the years - my sense of melody rings loudly from the speakers. In 1981, I started working with producer Russ Hildreth and lyricist Jimmy Russell. Nearly 30 years later, I'm still working with the same people. You find what works and you keep good friends.
To celebrate the release of the album, Jack performed the album in its entirety live in front of a New York audience in September 2010. It had been a long while since he had performed on any stage, but the experience made him feel like a kid again. “You never outgrow meaningful music and performing in New York was my goal way back in my college days” he said.
Since 2010, Jack has been very active on the music scene. The year 2012 was an especially busy year with the release of Café Nights In New York, co-written with Conal Fowkes and Eddy Davis. Unlike Revival Time or To Whom It May Concern, both of which took ages to complete, this new album, completely recorded and produced at Nola Studios on West 57th Street was written, recorded and mastered in about 6 weeks.
Jack had the idea of combining a blues album with an album of sophisticated jazz standards. Jack had already written the blues songs he intended to use and had written a song inspired by Woody Allen called “The Old Grey Hat” but he needed to write some jazz tunes and for this he turned to Conal Fowkes. Conal and Jack met in a piano room at Kaufman Music Center where Jack, self-written lyrics in hand would sing a few lines. Conal would suggest chord changes and the next thing they knew, a song was born. Together they wrote several songs and Eddy Davis offered to get involved. Jack and Eddy wrote more songs on the suggestion that it might be better to split the album idea into two albums – so the first of the two albums was released with songs co-written with Conal and with Eddy. One Night Only Live in New York was also released in 2012 documenting the 2010 show at The Metropolitan Room.
By 2013 Jack was back on the stage with a new show that he would perform many times in New York featuring Conal Fowkes on the piano, Klaus Suonsaari on the drums and Debbie Kennedy on the string bass. In 2015 Jack did a show at The Triad featuring a blues band for the first half of the show and a jazz band for the second half. During the first half, Jack performed some never-recorded blues songs which together with the previously written blues songs formed the second of the two albums, the 2017 release Down In The Jungle Room featuring live on stage and in the studio guitarist Caleb Quaye of Elton John fame.
Now in 2020, Jack had the idea that it was time to experiment with his original 2012 concept and marry the two sounds together. He picked the blues studio recordings from Down In The Jungle Room and the tracks in which Jack Phillips wrote or co-wrote the music on Café Nights In New York and had the whole thing remastered by Bill Moss who worked on both sessions. Does it work? Who knows.
The new album is called “Night & Day” and features artwork by his old friend from Fresno Nate Butler. The idea is an old joke Jack had with Eddy Davis who once said, “You’re John by day and Jack by night!” Two versions of Jack, two musical styles, one album.
What’s next? Jack hasn’t written or recorded much in recent days, but inspiration could strike at any minute. He is currently interested in orchestral sounds and had his old instrumental “Touching” from the Portrait EP (1986) recorded by a string section at Abbey Road Studios for a future project. Maybe he will eventually create music suitable for a film score.
Of course, Jack will write more pop rock songs. It’s in his blood and a new pop rock album will probably be in the works soon.
DISCOGRAPHY
First Hand (1982)
In The Front Yard (1985)
Portrait (1986)
Revival Time (1999)
To Whom It May Concern (2010)
Alowishus Para Tomas (2011)
One Night Only – Live in New York (2012)
Café Nights In New York (2012)
Down In The Jungle Room (2017)
Night & Day (2020)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ILoveNewYorkJP
YouTube: http://tinyurl.com/ilovenewyorkyoutube
YouTube link: https://youtu.be/fcP616gNsJw
Apple Music https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/jack-phillips/387309738
Spotify https://open.spotify.com/artist/4tmUzwVoEx5CX53F6S1r0V?si=58X4xuimQsq-vKahFNl58g
