JAZZ ROOTS: Johnny Mathis began his career as a jazz singer. Allan Harris is a jazz singer who is well aware of this fact. He's even found something to admire about Mathis' first album, which had a definite jazz flavor. I've been sampling this young man's work, and as a singer, he's no slouch. He's got his head together in the music business as well; this singer self-publishes his work and sells it on his own website, www.allanharris.com. (That's the kind of thing I've wished Mathis would do for a long time.) I'm overjoyed that a younger singer is unashamed to note Johnny Mathis as a strong influence and has the voice to prove it. Stylistically and vocally, he's a whole lot closer to Nat "King" Cole than Mathis (just listen to this rendition of "But Beautiful"), but nevertheless, in this interview for WKHR radio, he has no trouble giving Mathis his props for influencing him by his ability to finesse a song.
All the people who influenced Johnny Mathis were in fact jazz singers themselves...from Billy Eckstine, to Sarah Vaughan, to Ella Fitzgerald, to his beloved Lena. Maybe with better material, and a less prejudiced view of jazz singers from his management, perhaps Mathis could have entertained a crossover career in both jazz and pop. After all, if he and/or his management were so concerned with wealth, it doesn't appear to me that his friends and influences did all that badly financially, so maybe that wasn't the real reason why jazz wasn't explored more fully by Mathis in his youth. Unless he tells the story as to why himself, one will never really know.
And in any case, there's no reason not to return to his roots at this stage of his career. What's he got to lose? Ten years ago Mathis explored the music of one of his heroes, Duke Ellington, and ended up with a critically-acclaimed album, one which, by the way, was responsible for the cancellation of a project with a distinctly Brazilian flavor. Latin jazz, as popular as it is this day and age, could be right up Mathis' alley. If not, there are a LOT of great male and female jazz vocalists out there now who I'm sure would jump at the chance to collaborate with him. It really is a shame. If it weren't for, as Mr. Harris so rightly puts it, the unfortunate pigeonholing of Johnny Mathis into a different genre, who knows the kind of variety we could be hearing at the concerts and on CD by now. Romantic singer, my ass. What a waste.
Speaking of Brazil, I recently (last Thursday) heard from my friend and colleague south of the Equator, Lindaura Del Carlo, president of the Johnny Mathis Fan Club in Brazil, and publisher of the Mathis Matters newsletter. She writes:
Last Saturday June 9, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m. at Scalla FM we had another program with Johnny Mathis´ music. They will be repeating the same at next Sunday, June 17, same time. This program has different songs from the last one. Please, keep in mind that is Brasilia hour, that means 1 or 2 hours in advance to New York.The program is called "DESTAQUE". I hope that you'll enjoy the music...
Oh well, so it's a day late and a dollar short.
ON WITH THE SHOW: Tickets are on sale for the shows at the Silver Legacy Casino in Reno, Nevada. Prices are $50, $44, and $30; call (800) 687-8733 for details or use the online form.
Mathis returns to the Westbury Music Fair on July 20th & 21st. Tickets are on sale NOW online via Ticketmaster for these new dates.
Tickets are on sale for the shows in Hyannis, Massachusetts, at the Cape Cod Melody Tent on Saturday, August 4 and Sunday, August 5. New Englanders can still buy tickets for the North Shore Music Theatre concert in Beverly, Massachusetts, north and east of Boston near Salem, on Wednesday, August 15 and Thursday, August 16.
Tickets for the concert in Saratoga, California (a suburb of San Jose) on Thursday, August 30th are on sale now. Since it's on a Thursday night, it's probably not a good gig for out-of-towners unless one no longer works for a living. There is a ticket limit (6) and prices are from $65-$100.
Two casino shows are set for October: Foxwoods Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut (next to North Stonington, off Route 95, again don't ask where that is) on October 5th and 6th, and at the Las Vegas Hilton in Las Vegas, Nevada on October 19th and 20th. Tickets may not be available yet, call for details.
MORE NEW CONCERTS FOR 2002! In addition to the Thursday, Feb. 7th concert in waterlogged Houston, Texas at Jones Hall, POLLSTAR shows a new dates for Savannah, GA on February 9th at the Johnny Mercer Theatre, and Charlotte, North Carolina (watch out, Fab) at the Ovens Auditorium on May 4th. Obviously tickets are not on sale yet, but I think the fact that he has started booking next year's shows and is still very much in demand is FANTASTIC!
Sorry, still no Canadian or other foreign dates that I can see. I'm not sure what's behind this apparent need to be well paid--out of character for someone who didn't used to care about money, but I think he's gotten the idea that the overseas gigs aren't going to be worth his while. I think I'd find some way to let Mathis know this is not the case, and that you'd like to hear him sing, too.
In the meantime, to those who have lived in the United States without having seen Johnny Mathis in concert, what's up with that? There is ample opportunity, so you don't have any excuse in the world. Mathis is one of a kind, and while he remains at the top of his class he's getting older, so if a date with Mathis isn't important enough, and you'd rather be home watching a TV sitcom, well, ultimately it's your loss.
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