Hello Everyone!
If you know me real well, I am the dreamer of big dreams. But I am a guy who works hard to realize them.
A dream was presented to Liz Callaway and Amanda McBroom on Jan 30, 2012. It was a spirit-of-the-moment "blurtation" after our Judges concert for the American Traditions Competition for Singers. They said, "We would love to work with you Bentley but you do classical and jazz, we do musical theater and cabaret. What could we do?"
"Well, you know, I have this idea for a project about Alan Menken songs and Jazzical..."
6 months later on June 20, Jazzical Meets Menken was birthed through Kickstarter. A meeting was schedule with Alan Menken later on that summer and 9 days before I met with him I wrote all the music at the Chez Kemp in Darien, and then assembled a who's who list of players, performers, and engineers to realize the dream. In September we broke ground at Pilot Recording Studios with my trio and Liz Callaway.
5 months later, I am practically through with all the recording & editing of 12 songs, doing fundraising, PR marketing, getting the Jazzical team together to send this CD out to the world, and am preparing to mix in March. What an incredible journey, full of highs, mediums, a couple of lows but through it all we all kept working to achieve the dream.
JMM has changed me as a person, artist, and spirit, I think for the better. I have gone back to the source of my life, music, and am discovering all the joy I felt when I first started playing piano at age 7. It is an incredible feeling to be born anew...it is happening even as I write.
You will never know the full extent of gratitude to you for helping me fulfill the dream. I look forward to sharing with each and every one of you what you have done for me. But before that, let me finish the task that was entrusted to me. Finishing the CD.
Less than 30 days to go...I only have to record Brazilian percussion, one piano solo, and one vocal with our new guest singer Christine Pedi from the show "Newsicals" on Broadway who will sing the world premiere of Alan's song "Jazz Lullaby." All this will occur in NY next week.
Next week you will get a sampling of what is to come. I am getting awfully excited now!
Stay tuned everyone as we move to the finish line. Lots to do, lots of planning, but the music is telling me where to go and what to do.
Thank you, I could not have achieved this dream without you.
JOEL
