Christmas in New York…

This Holiday season the quartet and I will be spending a fair bit of time in New York. Apart from my regular night at the 55 Bar, I’ll also be at North Square, Jazz Nights, Kitano and for the first time I’ll be at the Blue Note on the 16th.

I hope you can catch us playing at one of these great venues! Here’s the schedule:

Sunday, Dec. 2 – 12:30 and 2 p.m.
Paul Jost Trio – Paul, Jim Ridl and Dean Johnson
NORTH SQUARE
103 Waverly Place @ Macdougal St, New York
Reservations: 212 254-1200elow

Sunday, Dec. 9th – 4 p.m.
Paul Jost Quartet – Paul, Jim Ridl, Dean Johnson and Tim Horner
JAZZ NIGHTS
53 Clarke Ct, Princeton, NJ 08540
Reservations by email to: mary@wisnovsky.net or mjjr@princeton.edu.

Sunday, Dec. 16th – 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
Paul Jost Quartet – Paul, Jim Ridl, Dean Johnson and Tim Horner
BLUE NOTE JAZZ CLUB
131 W. 3rd St New York
212-475-8592

Wednesday, Dec. 19th – 8 and 10 p.m.
Paul Jost Quartet – Paul, Jim Ridl, Dean Johnson and Tim Horner
JAZZ AT KITANO
66 Park Ave (E.38 St), New York
Reservations: 212 885-7119

Wednesday, December 26 – 7 to 8 p.m.
Paul Jost Quartet – Paul, Jim Ridl, Dean Johnson and Tim Horner
55 BAR
55 Christopher St, New York

Wednesday, December 26 – 8 to 9 p.m.
Paul Jost Quartet – Paul, Jim Ridl, Dean Johnson and Tim Horner
55 BAR
55 Christopher St, New York

TJP Reviewed on JazzdaGama.com

What a great way to kick off the new year. Raul da Gama published a review of the latest TJP Album “Peace and Love” on his website JazzdaGama.com – Here is an excerpt. Click the link below to read the full review on Raul’s website.

“In the cultures of Africa, Europe, China, India, and the Americas, the greatest storytellers have been either the poets of the spoken word, or the poets of song. Either way their poetry of feeling has forever defined their work during their time and, eventually for generations to come. The vocalastics of Paul Jost fall into that latter category. Although his is a short history, in just three albums he has already made his mark among the elite of his art. His extraordinary 2017 album Peace and Love with TJP (The Jost Project) finds him skittering and gliding through gloriously re-harmonised repertoire (by himself and long-time cohort and vibraphonist, Tony Miceli), and his voice, as priceless as the rarest of raw-silk, sounds more magnificent than it ever did in Can’t Find My Way Home (Dot Time, 2013) and Breaking Through (Dot Time, 2014)…..”

TJP Wins Best Jazz in Philly

TJP – THE JOST PROJECT WINS BEST IN JAZZ IN PHILADELPHIA IN THE PHL LIVE CENTER STAGE AWARDS

I’m honored to let you know that TJP won BEST IN JAZZ IN PHILADELPHIA in the PHL LIVE CENTER STAGE Awards presented by Philadelphia City Councilman David Oh. The Fourth Annual PHL LIVE Awards show took place December 14, 2017 at The Trocadero in Philadelphia. Tony Miceli (vibes) and I accepted the award for the band. Kevin MacConnell (bass) was not able to attend. It was presented by two of the judges, WRTI’s Jeff Duperon and The Clef Club’s Lovell Hines. Tony offered a humble “Thank you,” and I shared how surprised and grateful we were, appreciating all the talented performers in our category.

The event concluded a multi-phase, city-wide music competition where local artists in music were given the opportunity to win prizes including $1,000 to each winner in the 11 genres recognized, recording time and more. Created by Councilman Oh, he said in a recent Metro newspaper article, “When I was running for office apart of what I talked about was the importance of the creative innovative economy. With Philly’s history as a music city and the fact that music is an equal opportunity employer, if we could provide the opportunity for people to make it, we want to help them.” He appreciates the great support he received from the local music industry leaders.

Judges in each of the 11 categories picked their favorite acts to advance to the live performance phase of the competition. Categories included R&B, World, Classical, DJ/EDM, Country/Folk, Hip Hop, Jazz, Gospel and Rock. The jazz competition took place at the Clef Club on November 8, 2017. For more information, visit: phllive.org.

TJP is devoted to reaching new audiences for jazz with innovative arrangements of music by such artists as The Beatles, Simon & Garfunkel, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Blind Faith and many others.

Our new CD is called “Peace and Love” with drummer Doug Hirlinger and special guest saxophonist Joel Frahm. It includes such songs as “America” by Simon & Garfunkel, “Put a Little Love in Your Heart”, “Get Together”, “America the Beautiful” and many others. A chorus of children from Philadelphia Performing Arts, a String Theory Charter School join them on “Get Together.” Our CD “Can’t Find My Way Home” (Dot Time Records) is played on Sirius XM radio and has audiences enjoying our unexpected interpretations of this music. In Jazz in Europe, Johan van Deeg wrote, “The Jost Project is without a doubt one of the most creative bands I have ever heard,” and Grace Blake, Artist Relations Manager of Iridium, said “They totally blew me away!”

TV Feature on WHYY

Thanks so much to WHYY-TV (PBS) and Karen Smyles, the producer of “Friday Arts”, for this incredible feature. If you missed it, you can view it here on the WHYY website.

Producer: Karen Smyles
Paul Jost is an eclectic artist with great skill as a drummer, vocalist, arranger and composer in genres that range from jazz to country and more. Over the years, his musical talents extended to guitar and harmonica, but it’s his voice that truly makes him a standout. His vocals are so soulful that music journalist Buster Maxwell wrote … “he nearly single-handedly reclaims the male voice as a valid and critically important jazz instrument.” Peter McLaren in Jazz in Europe wrote Paul is … “is a force to be reckoned with and an artist that deserves to be seen on all great festival stages worldwide”.

Michael Barbiero, producer/engineer/songwriter, who has worked on projects for such legends as John Lennon, Whitney Houston and Metallica, thinks that Paul Jost brings vocal styling to a new level. “Once in a great while an artist comes along whose talent and vision allow all that we knew to be viewed through a new facet. Paul is such an artist.” Read the full article here…

TJP Interview published on Jazz In Europe

I want to thank Nigel J. Farmer at Jazz In Europe for publishing this interview with Tony, Kevin and me. I’m also thrilled to see that it’s been read over 10k times. Here’s an excerpt from the interview, to read the full Interview click here.

TJP, spreading Peace and Love

A few years ago I was presented with a CD by Philadelphia based band The Jost Project. The CD titled “Can’t Find My Way Home” included jazz interpretations of rock/pop classics including Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” Aerosmith’s “Walk This Way” and Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir”. I was immediately struck by the creativity of the arrangements and the quality of the performances, in fact I realised I was purely listening to the music without once mentally referring back to the original.

The seeds for the formation of the band were planted with vibraphonist Tony Miceli’s 2005 recording “Hippie Jazz”. Not long after the vocalist Paul Jost was added to the line-up and the Jost Project was a fact.

Earlier this year the band shortened their name from “The Jost Project” to the initials TJP and returned to the studio to record their 2^nd album.  On the eve of the release of the new CD “Peace and Love” I had the opportunity to speak with the band to discuss their approach to re-arranging this repertoire, reaching new audiences and what’s to come.

Read The full Interview here.

TJP Kicks off Peace Day Philly.

TJP will kick off Peace Day Philly on Sunday, September 17 at 3 p.m. at the Philadelphia Ethical Society, 1906 Rittenhouse Square. This free concert is the Preview Party for our new CD that includes such songs as “Get Together”, “Wonderful World”, “Put a Little Love in Your Heart” and “America the Beautiful.” In these tumultuous times, we hope the messages in the album will resonate, bringing back reminders of the hippie generation when dialogue and constructive action for peace and love took place everywhere.

Peace Day Philly, the local initiative for the United Nations International Day of Peace observed annually on September 21, takes place across the Philadelphia region for one week, from September 17 through September 23. In its seventh year, there is a wide range of peace-related programs on personal, local and global peace topics. Peace Day Philly founder Lisa Parker is looking forward to this year’s plans. She said, “Diverse, positive peacebuilding activities can create the conditions for greater understanding, respect, unity and peace. We are pleased about the many collaborations formed for this year, and the more than 30 organizations that are involved. We invite individuals, organizations, government officials and communities to engage in this effort through a meaningful peace-related activity in their home, school or community, or through attending a Peace Day Philly event.”

This year’s global Peace Day theme, set by the United Nations, is: “Together for Peace: Respect, Safety and Dignity for All.” The United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said, “Our duty as a human family is to replace fear with kindness.” Peace Day Philly has produced a 2017 video around the global #jointogether campaign set to the song medley “Waters of March/Get Together” that we recoded with the youth chorus from Philadelphia Performing Arts, a String Theory Charter School and also appears on the album.

For more about Peace Day Philly, go to www.peacedayphilly.org. Peace Day Philly invites everyone to use #peaceday and #phillypeace on social media throughout the week of Peace Day Philly, and to share a response to the question: “How will you #jointogether to make your community and city a more peaceful place?”

Live Recording at The Bitter End, “Born To Run” Re-Imagined

PAUL JOST
LIVE RECORDING AT THE BITTER END
“BORN TO RUN” reimagined – PAUL JOST’S JAZZ INTERPRETATION OF THIS SPRINGSTEEN CLASSIC
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 18 – 7 P.M.

New York, NY (September 14, 2016) – When Bruce Springsteen debuted Born to Run live in 1975, it was at The Bottom Line in Greenwich Village, around the corner from The Bitter End. And, now on Tuesday, October 18 at 7 p.m., vocalist/arranger Paul Jost is performing his jazz interpretation of Born to Run with a Live Recording at The Bitter End, 147 Bleecker Street, NY. Tickets are $15 in advance, $18 at the door and can be ordered on http://www.ticketfly.com/event/1323097 . For information about The Bitter End, call 212-673-7030 or visit www.thebitterend.com.

Jost, a New Jersey native like Springsteen, was commissioned to do this work by Michael Kline, Producer of Exit Zero Jazz Festival in Cape May, NJ, and headlined the Festival on May 29, 2015. He has assembled an outstanding band made up of jazz artists and friends that include Jim Ridl – piano, Tony Miceli – vibraphone, John Swana – E.V.I. (electronic valve instrument), Chico Huff – bass and Donald Edwards – drums. He shared arranging responsibilities with good friend and legendary musician Barry Miles. Kline said, “Paul was amazing. The concert belongs on performance stages everywhere.”

“Born to Run Reimagined” has been performed this year in several venues and, coincidentally, Charlie Calello, the original conductor and string arranger of Born to Run, was in the audience in a Philadelphia concert. He said, “Paul is brilliant. He’s the real deal. I’m a really tough critic and he knocks me out.” He added, “Barry Miles’ arrangement of Jungleland is better than mine.”

Two time Grammy winner Marc Swersky (Joe Cocker, Natalie Cole) has become a great fan of Paul Jost, and he arranged for the Live Recording at The Bitter End. Swersky says, “Paul is an amazing talent. I think what he’s done with Born to Run is incredible and his interpretation of the music is very unique.”

The innovative Paul Jost is known on the international jazz scene and is a regular in New York at 55 Bar where he performs the last Wednesday of each month. Jost has extended his stage credits to Ireland, South Korea and Germany where he was showcased at Jazzahead, the international jazz conference and expo. Uli Beckerhoff, the artistic director of JazzAhead, said of Jost, “He’s a vocal monster.”

Jost is a prolific arranger and composer. He has written over 40 CD’s for music libraries. He wrote the highly acclaimed song “Book Faded Brown,” that has been recorded by The Band, Carl Perkins and Rick Danko and is included in his latest recording Breaking Through (Dot Time Records.)

Originally a drummer, over the years Jost’s musical talents extended to guitar and harmonica, but it’s his voice that truly makes him a standout. His vocals are so soulful that music journalist Buster Maxwell wrote, “He nearly single-handedly reclaims the male voice as a valid and critically important jazz instrument.” Peter McLaren in Jazz in Europe reviewed Jost’s recording Breaking Through and said, “Paul Jost has shown that he is a force to be reckoned with and an artist that deserves to be seen on all great festival stages worldwide.”

Established in 1961, The Bitter End is the oldest rock and roll club in New York City. The classic red brick stage backdrop and intimate vibe make this historic venue almost as iconic as its headliners. For over 50 years, audiences have been blown away by legendary artists like Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Lady Gaga, Jackson Browne, Neil Diamond, Woody Allen, Jon Stewart, Randy Newman, Billy Crystal, Tommy James, Norah Jones, Donny Hathaway, Curtis Mayfield, and thousands more.

For more information, visit pauljostmusic.com.

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Broadway World: South Jersey Jazz Society to Present Paul Jost’s SPRINGSTEEN REIMAGINED, Today

On Friday, September 18th, the South Jersey Jazz Society presents Paul Jost’s “Springsteen Reimagined” concert at Sandi Pointe Coastal Bistro, 908 Shore Road, in Somers Point, NJ. Tickets are $20/$15 for SJJS members. For tickets, visitwww.southjerseyjazz.org or call 609-927-6677.

 

As part of a celebration of the 40th Anniversary of Bruce Springsteen‘s epic Born to Run album, Jost has assembled an incredible band made up of jazz artists and friends that includeJim Ridl – piano, Tony Miceli – vibraphonist, John Swana – E.V.I., Chico Huff – bass and Anwar Marshall – drums. He shared arranging responsibilities with good friend and legendary musician Barry Miles.

A New Jersey story in itself, Paul Jost, a native of the Garden State who resides in Vineland, was asked to reimagine in a jazz context the music of Born to Run, the legendary album of NJ native son Bruce Springsteen. Jost was commissioned by Michael Kline, producer of the Exit Zero International Jazz Festival in Cape May. Kline said, “When we began to think about the Springsteen project with its obvious connections to New Jersey, and how best to make clear the not so obvious connection Born to Run has to the jazz world, we began to think about an artist who could take the ideas and make it work for a festival audience. It took us about a half of a second before we selected Paul Jost.” Jost headlined the concert on May 29, 2015 at the Cape May Convention Hall and Kline was thrilled and said, “You nailed it! The band nailed it! You belong on performing arts stages everywhere. It was amazing.”

South Jersey Jazz Society’s Artistic Director, Joe Donofrio, was there and anxious to present it to his Committee. He said, “We have always been proud of Paul, a longtime member of the Society, but hearing what he did, knowing the risks, gave depth to this project, a stroke of genius, we couldn’t wait to present Paul and his Band.”

The Springsteen concert has been an exciting venture for Jost. He feels very appreciative of this opportunity and said, “I’m honored to have been tapped by Michael Kline, as the person to re-imagine the music of such an iconic artist from my native state. I love the images Springsteen paints with his lyrics and they serve as the inspiration for our reinvention of the music.” Included in the concert are such songs from the album as — “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” “Thunder Road”, “Night”, “Jungleland”, of course, “Born to Run” and many others.

The innovative Paul Jost, who is now a regular at 55 Bar, the internationally renowned jazz club in New York, and is becoming known on the international jazz scene, is a prolific arranger and composer. One of his songs, the highly acclaimed “Book Faded Brown,” has been recorded by The Band, Carl Perkins and Rick Danko and is included in his latest recording Breaking Through (Dot Time Records.) He has written over 40 CD’s for various music libraries and his music is heard daily throughout the U.S.

Jost has extended his stage credits to Europe and South Korea. This year he has performed at JazzAhead! in Bremen, Germany and at several festivals in South Korea with The Jost Project with vibraphonist Tony Miceli and bassist Kevin MacConnell. Just after his SJJS performance, he’s off to Ireland for the Limerick Jazz Festival.

 

Originally a drummer, over the years Jost’s musical talents extended to guitar and harmonica, but it’s his voice that truly makes him a standout. His vocals are so soulful that music critic Buster Maxwell wrote, “He nearly single-handedly reclaims the male voice as a valid and critically important jazz instrument.” Peter McLaren in Jazz in Europe wrote about his new album and said, With “Breaking Through”, Paul Jost has shown that he is a force to be reckoned with and an artist that deserves to be seen on all great festival stages worldwide.” Music Journalist Esther Berlanga-Ryan said, “Paul Jost is the very essence of Vocal Jazz today. Breaking Through is an album filled with beauty and perfection.”

 

For more information on Paul Jost, visit pauljostmusic.com. For more information about the South Jersey Jazz Society, visit SouthJerseyJazz.org.

 

‘Book Faded Brown,’ The Band

Thanks to Jay Lustig for this article published on the NJArts.net website. The article focuses on a composition I wrote that was recorded by ‘The Band” and is the first cut on their “Jubilation” album. I want to personally thank Jay for this. It’s appreciated highly – Paul

‘Book Faded Brown,’ The Band By: Jay Lustig

The first track on the last album recorded by the great roots-rock group The Band, 1998’s Jubilation, is written by Paul Jost of Vineland, who I recently wrote about for NJArts.net. It’s one of the strongest tracks from the three albums The Band recorded after regrouping in 1983 without original guitarist and songwriter Robbie Robertson. Rick Danko sings with great warmth and sensitivity, and Garth Hudson takes a very pretty accordion solo. And the lyrics, about finding strength from tradition and nature, reflect themes that run through all of The Band’s work. Check it out below.

Rock pioneer Carl Perkins also recorded the song on his 1992 Friends, Family & Legends album.

Jost has written of the song: “It’s been suggested that the book in ‘Book Faded Brown’ is meant to be the bible (which it can be), but a heavy hand of religion wasn’t my intent. The ‘book’ is a private trove of values, common sense, and a shared sense of morality that is kept intact by the family. In spite of the push and pull to let go of the book, they remain steadfast in their beliefs and unashamed by the weight and strength of their faith. They are certain of what’s right without need of definition, knowing that the correct course and only irrefutable ‘right,’ is bound by love. The ‘book’ has been tattered, worn around the edges and faded brown over the years, but is no less vibrant or alive in their family.”

The Weight, a group that plays Band music and features two musicians who were in the group at the time of Jubilation and played on “Book Faded Brown” — guitarist Jim Weider and drummer Randy Ciarlante — performs at the Levoy Theatre in Millville on Saturday. And Jost, who recorded the song himself on his 2014 album Breaking Through, will be at the 55 Bar in New York on June 27.

New Jersey celebrated its 350th birthday last year. And in the 350 Jersey Songs series, we are marking the occasion by posting 350 songs — one a day, for almost a year — that have something to do with the state, its musical history, or both. We started in September 2014, and will keep going until late in the summer.

If you would like to suggest any songs to be included, please let me know in the comments section underneath the video. And if you want to see the entire list, either alphabetically or in the order the songs were selected, click here.

WXPN: Paul Jost will put a jazz spin on Bruce Springsteen for the Exit 0 Festival

Under normal circumstances, a jazz festival might not seem like the most appropriate occasion to celebrate the 40th anniversary of a Bruce Springsteen album. But the Exit 0 Jazz Festival happens in New Jersey, and in New Jersey Bruce Springsteen is right for every occasion. And the album in question is Born To Run, which essentially qualifies as an extra gospel in the state.

So on May 29, South Jersey-based vocalist Paul Jost will perform his jazz reimagining of Born To Run in Cape May Convention Hall as the headlining event of the first night of this year’s Exit 0 Festival. Jersey or not, in Jost’s hands the music of the Boss’ most iconic album will actually sound like jazz. Jost, a veteran arranger who has worked in a variety of contexts – as a music director in Atlantic City casinos, as a musician for commercial jingles, and as a composer for major music libraries – has decades of experience under his belt molding music to fit any number of situations.

“As a journeyman arranger, you can be given a lot of different tasks,” Jost says. “Every few months I’d be asked for dramatic orchestral music or country or techno. Whatever it was, I loved diving into different things, exploring, and finding out what this stuff is about, which has been part of my whole make-up as a musician.”

A more personal side of that make-up was on display last week at City Hall, where The Jōst Project performed as part of the afternoon “Jazz in the Gallery” series. The quartet, actually the brainchild of vibraphonist Tony Miceli but named – over his objections – for the singer, draws a large part of its repertoire from the classic rock songbook. On that Wednesday lunch hour, a moving vocalese rendition of jazz guitar great Jim Hall’s “Waltz New” was followed by a bossa-fied version of the Beatles’ “And I Love Her” and a blues-rooted rendition of Ashford and Simpson’s “I Don’t Need No Doctor,” featuring call-and-response backing vocals from the audience. The set also included a tender read of the folk classic “Shenandoah” and a rhythmically intricate “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.” (Below, watch them cover Donovan at World Cafe Live last year.)

While Jost counts himself a fan of Springsteen’s music, he doesn’t consider himself a devotee. He worked with his friend, arranger and composer Barry Miles, to create new arrangements for a stellar band featuring Miceli, pianist Jim Ridl, John Swana on EVI and trombone, bassist Chico Huff, and drummer Anwar Marshall. With neither guitar nor saxophone in the band, Springsteen’s chugging riffs will necessarily be transformed, and when Jost sings “Then the big man joined the band” on “Tenth Avenue Freeze-Out,” there won’t be a Clarence Clemons-style sax line in response.

“I’m not an authority on Bruce, but I really love his lyrics and I’m a Jersey boy,” Jost says. “Bruce has done so much for music, he’s a great songwriter and a great humanitarian and I love the energy he puts out. I think we’ve honored his music. I try to take a different slant or viewpoint on the lyrics or present the story in a slightly different way than you might have already heard. But you’ll know what the songs are – they’re not so abstract that you won’t recognize them.”

The idea for the Born To Run performance came instead from festival director Michael Kline. Speaking before last year’s spring festival about founding Exit 0 in place of the defunct Cape May Jazz Festival, Kline explained, “Cape May is different than the other shore towns. It doesn’t roll up its sidewalks after Labor Day. It really is a year-round town and has much more to offer than just the beach. So I was excited about putting my own stamp on the festival and doing it in a different way.”

That includes concepts like Jost’s Born To Run show, but also explains the heavy presence of New Orleans jazz artists on the festival bill. While he was born in Reading and grew up spending summers in Cape May, Kline lived and worked in New Orleans from 1992 to 2005. This year’s line-up includes the Rebirth Brass Band and Big Easy royalty in the person of Dr. John, who headlines on Saturday night.

Other festival highlights include saxophonist Melissa Aldana’s Crash Trio, trumpeter Sean Jones, singer Charenee Wade’s tribute to Gil Scott-Heron, vibraphonist Joe Locke, and organist Brian Charette. 11-year-old piano prodigy Joey Alexander, recently featured in the New York Times, will open for Jost on Friday. For tickets and more information, visit the Exit 0 website.