John

In brief.....born and bred in the north of England.....joined the local brass band at the age of six.....started piano lessons at the age of nine.....won a scholarship to the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester at eleven.....toured the UK, Sweden and America in his teens with the Lancashire Schools Symphony Orchestra on trumpet.....at the same time, started gigging in and around Blackpool on piano and keyboard.....came down to London at the age of eighteen to study at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.....heavily involved in the jazz and pop workshop at Guildhall with musicians that included Mike Lindup (Level 42) and Dominic Miller (Sting) and the band Jawbone evolved.....started working with bands outside Guildhall gaining priceless experience playing a wide variety of styles.....after graduating did everything from teaching piano to playing for ballet and keep fit classes as well as continuing to play with bands, progressing from backing vocals to lead vocalist.....took on residencies as a singer/pianist from piano bars to five star hotels…..met Leee John and in 1988 became musical director and keyboard player for pop/soul band Imagination.....recording sessions, tours and TV appearances followed.....also toured with Sister Sledge and recorded with Des'ree.....in 1990 became resident pianist at Four Seasons Hotel London.....from 1997 recorded and produced several solo albums.....co-wrote, arranged and performed on Leee John's jazz album Feel My Soul in 2004.....in 2007 released Master Of The Mood on CD and download featuring his trio plus a guest appearance by Leee John on the track Shangri La co-written by John and Leee.....in April 2009 became resident pianist and musical director in the Palm Court, The Langham, London.....to be continued!

EASY
Catalogue No. JAWCD6

Easy is the new digital release by UK singer pianist John Watson. The album encapsulates the piano bar style that has made him such a popular performer from New York to Paris. John shifts effortlessly from classic standards such as One For My Baby (And One More For The Road) to more contemporary songs like Tracy Chapman’s Baby Can I Hold You . As the album title suggests, John plays homage to Lionel Richie with his rendition of three Richie songs and the album ends in true late night fashion with one of John's own compositions, Not Too Tired For Love .

Following on from John’s previous releases, the solo piano album Heaven: A Night At Four Seasons and jazz trio album Master of the Mood (which gained a five star rating and the comment "Great Music and Vocals. A pleasure to listen to and my kind of music" on one of the major download sites), Easy is the perfect addition to the collection.

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CD available from: www.johnpianoman.co.uk

HEAVEN: A NIGHT AT FOUR SEASONS
Catalogue No. JAWFS10

Heaven: A Night At Four Seasons is an eclectic mix of songs performed by pianist John Watson who has had a long association with Four Seasons Hotel London. Standards and show songs such as Till There Was You and Love Changes Everything are mixed with more contemporary songs such as Coldplay’s Trouble . The Beatle’s Norwegian Wood is given a jazzy twist and the album ends with the vocal version of one of John’s songs entitled Before You Left .

The album was recorded at Alhambra-Colbert Studios in Rochefort, France. John previously recorded there on Leee John’s jazz album Feel My Soul and decided the combination of the studio’s Fazioli concert grand piano and engineer François Gaucher were perfect for this project.

Download Heaven: A Night At Four Seasons from:

CD available from: www.johnpianoman.co.uk

MASTER OF THE MOOD
Catalogue No. JAWCD11

Master of The Mood is a cool mixture of vocal and instrumental tracks enhanced by the rich sound of Miles Danso on bass and sympathetic groove of Joe ‘JC' Caddy on drums. The album was recorded by Dill Katz on location at The Vortex Jazz Club, London and retains a live feel.

The poignantly autobiographical title track is an original composed by John describing his experiences playing in bars and restaurants and contains an evocative muted trumpet solo by Scott Baylis. The other original is Shangri La co-written with and sung by Leee John. John performed on and co-wrote songs with Leee for his album Feel My Soul and was delighted when Leee agreed to be a guest on his album.

Other tracks include standards such as Cole Porter's witty Let's Do It (Let's Fall In Love) and Johnny Mercer and Jimmy Van Heusen's I Thought About You . More contemporary songs include an instrumental version of Minnie Riperton's Loving You with great interplay between bass and piano. There is also the trio's moving interpretation of the theme from Rodrigo's Concierto De Aranjuez.
Download Master Of The Mood from:

CD available from: www.johnpianoman.co.uk