Jason Farnham: Paparazzi

..."'Special Times" is a lovely, gentle, slow-moving piano album that will melt your worries away with the start of each piece."

Originally released in 2005, this was Jason's first official CD release. The new 2011 album has been completely remastered and contains a new track: "The Enchantment", as well as a cinematic mix of "Summer in Athens, OH". Track 11 "A New Beginning" has also been reworked, now as a straight piano solo. The CD sleeve design is also brand new, with fresh Springlike colors and family-themed imagery. The album has a similar feel to the instrumental piano music of the 1990s Wyndham Hill label, but with more classical nuances. Additionally, each piece on the album was composed using a cinematic approach, reminiscent of a film score, rather than all the tracks simply blending together as 'background music'. As a result, each track is its own entity, with a unique theme independent from the next.

"Jason's new instrumental piano CD, 'Special Times' is soul-soothing music...It's the kind of soothing album to put on after a hectic day at work, or while attempting to wake up over morning coffee."
-Dan Kane, Entertainment Editor, The Canton Repository, Canton, Ohio

"Jason has the ability to constantly reinvent himself and create an entirely new sound that's refreshing and engaging. His enigmatic presence makes him an original in this day and age of copy-cats and one-hit wonders. Thanks to his well written pieces and inimitable stage presence, Jason is a breath of fresh air in a smog infested LA and for this, we can all have a big sigh of relief knowing Jason Farnham is an artist who respects and maintains his artistic integrity, continuing to push boundaries and find a voice that is unique and a feverish delight to the ears of music enthusiasts everywhere."
-Deron Wade - IJAMR.COM Online Music Magazine 

This is by far Farnham’s most powerful and best. Emotionally charged, honest, and moving, it is a new concept on the baby or pregnancy album. While most focus on slow-moving “yogalike” music, Farnham’s “Baby” album captures the very essence of the stages of pregnancy by treating each phase as a separate piece of music. Farnham has the unique gift of making all his CDs sound like compilation albums, creating the illusion that each piece was composed by a different artist, and “Baby” is no exception. Each piece is completely independent of the next, yet somehow all the tracks seem to flow into each other seamlessly. The melodies swirl and dance just like the rich blue tones in the abstract paintings on the cover and tray art, painted by Farnham’s friend and Hollywood actor, Jennica Schwartzman. Oh, and by the way, you don't have to be pregnant to enjoy this album; we have two copies- it now occupies the number one slot in my car's 5-disc CD changer, and my wife enjoys it for her intense yoga workouts :-)

My favorite and personally what I believe to be Farnham’s best work to date, from any of his albums, is “In Labor (It’s Time)”. It is simply piano, cello, and sparse electric landscape Daniel Lanois-ish guitar, this piece truly allows you to see the labor happening, as if it were written for the scene to be depicted in a film. The piano is serious, plunking out only three repeating chords, while the cello and guitar ebb and flow around it. Sometimes the greatest masterpieces are the most basic, and this would apply here. There is a part in the piece toward the end where a clear connection has been made between the mother and soon to be born baby, reminiscent of the latter half of “Blood of Eden” by Peter Gabriel. This short piece then drops off at the end and moves into “The Birth”, a gorgeous vocal-only harmony. Symbolic of a newborn baby, naked to the world, the choir is equally bare, without any additional instrumentation. 

One of the great nuances of this album I noticed is the presence of depth within the pieces. On multiple tracks you can actually hear the subtleties of piano pedals being pressed, baritone guitar strings sliding and cellos buzzing, and it’s a refreshing change from most of the overproduced, over-polished albums of today. It has a genuinely human kind of feel, and what better way to present an album called “baby”.

-John Beisdale 
Piano Today 

"Contemporary pianist Jason Farnham's Christmas is an exciting, well-executed instrumental album that features Farnham's piano, but includes other instrumentation and a synth/programming element reminiscent of Mannheim Steamroller. There are quite a few piano offerings for the holidays; this one is more intensely modern than most.

Farnham's arrangements are special. Old friends like Angels We Have Heard on High sparkle with new life. For me, the album's final third absolutely wails! Farnham produces some inspired cross-genre hybrids, beginning with Calyps-O Christmas Tree, a syncopated crowd-pleaser that melds jazz, classical, and calypso into a deliciously spicy stew. His creativity similarly explodes on the outstanding We Wish You a Merry Christmas Charlie Brown Style, which boasts a hot bass line and great improvisational piano chops. We Three Kings Tango will have you dancing all over the room, and I Got the Jingle Bells Blues is guaranteed to put a grin on your face. I also particularly enjoyed the deep-throated bass on God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Farnham's piano/keyboard gently floats over the top when it picks up the melody line.

Farnham adds a few originals to the mix. Of the three, my favorite is Christmas in L.A., which pushes a cool urban percussion foundation, topped with a high-flying, sweetly joyous piano/keyboard. His closing "bonus track" (Love Around the World) is an interesting multi-cultural, multi-lingual melange with vocals that urge the universal message of global peace.

Fans of Mannheim Steamroller and rich piano instrumentals with an electronic kick will find much to love here. Jason Farnham is a first-class entertainer, and his Christmas is a spirited gift for the holiday season. Enjoy!"

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2009)

"Serene" should garner Jason Farnham some well-deserved attention and place him firmly on the instrumental music map...Recommended! ...The compositions on "Serene" are performed on piano and synthesizer, with some more orchestrated than others, and provide the listener with an hour of delightful listening pleasure... The eleven tracks bring together a nice variety of styles.  "Be Thou My Vision" has appeared on quite a few piano CDs the past few years, and Farnham's arrangement is quite different from any I've heard. Its deep bass rhythm and having each verse become a variation on the theme are both effective and stirring!

"Farnham's 'Winter in L.A.' truly sounds like the first snowfall of the year coming down, and because it's in a major key, it also has that Los Angeles sunny quality to it."

"We were just totally lucky to have Jason grace us with his talent and presence."

"Whenever I need to book a great act for one of my events, I always book Jason first."

"Jason really is a talented pianist! Very versatile, from prog. new age to solo almost classical piano."

Jason's sound is like adult contemporary, plus jazzy, and classical all at once, with some subtle UK trip-hop beats and an artful piano lead. I immediately pictured a happy sunny day when his song came up, this IS feel-good music. If Yanni got caught in a tornado with Dido and Moby's electronic percussion, it would blend together to form the sounds of Jason Farnham.

-Indigo of STO
http://www.stoband.net http://www.myspace.com/survivingtheodyssey

Jason's infectious pop song "Morning Coffee" from his pop/rock album "Barriers" was added to American Airlines in-flight listening for the month of January 2009.

Jason's song "Rock Star", from his pop/rock album "Barriers", was placed in the upcoming feature film, "American High School."

"Jason has the ability to constantly reinvent himself and create an entirely new sound that's refreshing and engaging. His enigmatic presence makes him an original in this day and age of copy-cats and one-hit wonders. Thanks to his well written songs and inimitable stage presence, Jason is a breath of fresh air in a smog infested LA and for this, we can all have a big sigh of relief knowing Jason Farnham is an artist who respects and maintains his artistic integrity, continuing to push boundaries and find a voice that is unique and a feverish delight to the ears of music enthusiasts everywhere."

"Songs from this L.A.-based artist are well-crafted, deftly produced and, thanks to Farnham’s nasally vocal delivery, convey a hopeful optimism. “Spin”is the out-and-out winner here; a radio-friendly song with a big hook that’s perfectly teed up and whacked over the fence. “First Man On Mars” alternates Farnham’s vocal with “mission control” patter about the red planet. Fans of Brendan Benson and Death Cab could go for this artist, whose sound is imbued with electro-pop elements. "

Published every other Thursday since 1977, Music Connection magazine is a bi-weekly music trade publication catering to the music industry, its loyal fans, and support services. From its unique vantage point, Music Connection magazine has, for more than two decades, set its sights on every aspect of the music business, from decision-making in corporate towers to performing in local clubs. Whether discussing raw survival or the factors contributing to breakthrough success, Music Connection examines and defines the realities of music making. Founded on the principle of bridging the gap between "the street and the elite," Music Connection has garnered a solid foundation of active readers, and is commonly referred to as "the musicians bible." This leading music trade magazine caters to the seasoned veteran as well as the fledgling musician, and to the top executive as well as those trying to break into the business. Its broad appeal encompasses the songwriter, producer, studio manager, agent, attorney, publicist, label executive and, of course, the professional and semi-pro musician. Music Connection magazine is distributed through a network of newsstands, bookstores, 7-Elevens, AM-PMs, record stores, and musical instrument stores, the readership is over 75,000. Seventy percent of the readership is in Southern California, five percent in Northern California, and the remaining twenty percent throughout every major city in the United States and several foreign countries.

JASON FARNHAM:
'MORNING COFFEE' FROM THE ALBUM 'BARRIERS'

"The intro is what drew me in to this song. The easy going harmony and rhythm is what kept me in. The other thing that I enjoyed was the sprinkles of the distorted vocals too. The other thing that piqued my interest was the spanish voices. I still haven’t figured out the reasoning behind that but hey, I liked it."

JASON FARNHAM – ‘BARRIERS’

"At his best (e.g. 'The Magician's Life'), Canton's Jason Farnham plays the kind of gorgeous pop that explodes onto radio fully formed."

"...'Morning Coffee', like all the songs, bubbles over an unplugged foundation, with enough electronic flourishes to keep the mix hopping, even when the lyrics drift back to the New Age realm, as on 'First Man on Mars'.

JASON FARNHAM –‘FIRST MAN ON MARS’ (FROM ‘BARRIERS’)

"...That's what you'd expect from a song about a celestial planet! Very expert musicality; I'd like to hear more from the artist."

HOMEGROWN

"It's funny, one of the most engaging CD's I've heard from a local musician in a while sounds like an import from the U.K."

"Jason Farnham's music may sound like it comes from the U.K., but it's from right here..."

SOUL-SOOTHING MUSIC FILLS MUSICIAN’S NEW CD

Jason's new instrumental piano CD, 'Special Times' is "soul-soothing music...it's the kind of soothing album to put on after a hectic day at work, or while attempting to wake up over morning coffee."

"...The 30 year old musician is nothing if not diverse."

SPECIAL TIMES FOR FARNHAM

"...Jason's instrumental piano music is soothing to listen to after a long hard day's work..."