PS CLASSICS is proud to announce the release of "Stage Door Johnny," a very special new recording from music and theater industry veteran John Miller, on September 16. After amassing a multi-decade career as bassist and music coordinator, this new CD is his breakout debut as vocalist, guitarist and producer.
"Stage Door Johnny:
John Miller Takes on Broadway" slyly reinvents a dozen Broadway standards in a variety of genres, from the laidback
James Taylor charm of "Wouldn't It Be Loverly?," to the smooth Latin "Real Live Girl," on which he channels Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto. "Secret Love" from "Calamity Jane," the sole track from a film score, sizzles with a jazz and funk-inspired arrangement. "Oh, What A Beautiful Morning" - accompanied by a lush string orchestra - is further enhanced by crystalline country harmony. For "Fugue for Tinhorns," Miller is joined on vocals by legendary jazz singer/songwriter Bob Dorough and The Manhattan Transfer's Janis Siegel.
As Music Coordinator for nearly one hundred Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals - ranging from long-running smashes like "Les Miserables" and "The Producers"; to rock musicals like "The Who's Tommy," "Titanic" and "City of Angels"; to new shows like "
Jersey Boys" and "
Hairspray" - Miller has helped shape the sound of the Great White Way for the last thirty years.
"I love each of these songs," said Miller. "but I feel as though I didn't actually pick them - they somehow picked themselves. Each one surfaced from deep down in my earliest memories and affections and kept me company with late night, relentlessly seductive guitar grooves."
This collection reminds us just how versatile the genre is, and how well the songs stand up to new arrangements. Miller's skill as a musician - along with his collaborations with so many giants of the industry - make him uniquely qualified to create an album of unconventional song interpretations for those who love, or who don't love, Broadway musicals. "My goal was to love every note," John sums it up. "The surprise is that it seems to put a
smile on everyone's face."
Founded in 2000 by Tommy Krasker and Philip Chaffin, and a four-time Grammy nominee (for its cast albums of Assassins, Nine: The Musical,
Grey Gardens and Company), PS CLASSICS has been profiled in publications such as The New York Times and Variety for its diverse line of solo albums and cast recordings, and its commitment to the past, present and future of the Great American Songbook. Its solo albums range from jazz (
Jessica Molaskey: Sitting in Limbo) to folk (
Rebecca Luker: Leaving Home), from pop (
Jane Olivor: Safe Return) to show music (
Christine Andreas: Here's to the Ladies). Its acclaimed cast albums include the current Broadway production of
Xanadu, as well as the recent productions of Sunday in the Park With George and
A Catered Affair. PS Classics is distributed exclusively by Image Entertainment. For more information, visit
www.psclassics.com.
