Being as I follow the Canadian music business rather closely, I often get CDs in the mail for reviewing purposes or to feature on the website at www.finemusic.ca. So it is my blog post this time out looks at a new release by a Canadian jazz singer-songwriter making quite a name for himself these days.
I can't say I was familiar with the name Micah Barnes before the CD New York Stories arrived in the mail last month. I have no idea why, but better late than never, I always say.
Micah released the first single from his new CD in April of last year, entitled New York Story, and it quickly rose on the charts, resulting in Barnes being named by the Toronto Indie Music Awards as Best Jazz Act of 2014. A couple of music videos have since been released on YouTube and are garnering plenty of attention in their own right.
The new CD pays homage to the City That Never Sleeps, where the story goes Micah was romancing his partner who was working on Broadway at the time. They shared an apartment in Harlem on the site of the legendary Savoy Ballroom, in fact.
If you hear the influences of the likes of Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim and others in the CD, it is no accident. Micah rented the same piano studio used by those and many other songwriters over the years to begin work on this musical project.
So who is this Micah Barnes, anyway? Music and the arts come naturally to him, as his grandmother was a Russian pianist and his father a classical composer in his own right. In fact, Milton Barnes has quite a connection to Niagara, having written a composition about Niagara Falls years ago and having an association with our own Niagara Symphony Orchestra as well. His mother was an author and in fact head writer for the acclaimed CBC TV show Mr. Dressup.
Micah joined The Nylons in 1989, then launching his solo career in Los Angeles several years later. He worked in the United States for quite some time, before returning to Canada to join Molly Johnson's Canadian tour, opening the show and singing harmony vocals. In 2014, he launched Stand By Me: The Music of the Brill Building, a show featuring Micah and musical friends, including fellow Nylons alumnus Billy Newton Davis.
May 3rd of this year saw Micah launch his new recording at the Glenn Gould Studio in downtown Toronto, in concert with special guest Jackie Richardson.
The CD has an intimate feel not unlike a performance in a small bistro somewhere, with Micah and his musicians presenting the original material in clean, nicely-ornamented arrangements. Micah's voice reminds me a little of another New York singing icon, Harry Connick Jr. in the voice quality and delivery.
That's certainly not a bad thing, but Micah will have to look beyond his New York inspiration for the first disc in order to broaden his musical horizons and audience base if he is to grow in popularity in the future. He shows great talent as a songwriter on the first disc, penning such original tunes as I Came Back, Starting Tomorrow and of course the title track.
This summer, Micah and his band will hit the road, touring two different shows across Ontario. To support the new disc, Micah and friends will perform songs from the new CD as well as other New York favourites at the Jazz Bistro on Victoria Street in downtown Toronto throughout the month of June. For reservations, call 1-416-363-5299 or email reservations@jazzbistro.ca.
On June 27, Micah will join Jackie Richardson and The Russ Little Quartet for a Toronto Jazz Festival performance at the Home Smith Bar in The Old Mill. Tickets can be ordered through www.ticketpro.ca.
Micah will also perform a little closer to Niagara on July 10th when he takes the stage at the Burlington Performing Arts Centre before heading to the Midland Cultural Centre from July 22nd to 25th. Tickets can be ordered through the box offices for those respective venues.
Meantime, Micah will present the Stand By Me show in Huntsville at the Algonquin Theatre on July 16th and as part of the Stratford Summer Music schedule in Stratford on August 29th. Again, contact both of those locations for tickets and more information.
If you like what you hear online or at the show and want a copy of the CD for yourself, you can go to his website at www.micahbarnes.com or order it through A Web of Fine Music by going to www.finemusic.ca. You can also email me directly at music@vaxxine.com.
Enjoy a musical journey to New York City without even leaving the comfort of your living room!
June 10th, 2015.
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