FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact: Miller Wright / Dan Fortune at (212) 977-7800
“Johnny takes a boogaloo down Broadway in this impressive re-imagining of the classics. I never thought show tunes could sound so fresh, new and invigorating!” – Paul Shaffer, Late Night with David Letterman
PS CLASSICS
PRESENTS THE FIRST-EVER SOLO CD FROM
JOHN MILLER
“STAGE DOOR JOHNNY”
A WITTY AND UNCONVENTIONAL TAKE ON THE BROADWAY SONGBOOK FROM NEW YORK’S TOP MUSIC COORDINATOR AND BASSIST
IN STORES AND ONLINE SEPTEMBER 30
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 30. 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 contemporary classics 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.”
In his liner notes for the CD, Tony winning composer and lyricist Maury Yeston says: “Miller is one of the busiest freelance bass players in New York who has played and recorded with an unbelievable cast of characters. Here is an extremely shortened list of them – many of whom, no doubt, have helped shaped his personal playing and singing style along the way: P. Diddy, Leonard Cohen, Michael Jackson, Smashing Pumpkins, Frank Sinatra, Madonna, Art Garfunkel, Aerosmith, Bette Midler, Bob Dylan, Celine Dion, B.B. King, Eric Clapton, Carly Simon, Tony Bennett, Luther Vandross, Diana Ross, Pete Seeger, Tommy Flannigan and the New York Philharmonic. That spanning of musical worlds and styles defines Miller. He is fluent in every musical vernacular.”
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), 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 acclaimed cast albums include the recent Broadway productions of Xanadu, 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.
