John Jones Music

Thinking of my dear friend Ken Basman tonight! Listening to some of the songs we played together as teenagers…

How about Birdland from Weather Report! Wow!

Doesn’t someone have a recording of us from the 70’s?

I can’t believe we’ve lost Ken Basman! God has no mercy. The world is emptier tonight! Three cheers for the life of Ken!

Of all the people I have ever known in my own life, Ken was the first true pillar of humanity, of common sense, of fair play, a believer in social justice, and a lighthouse in the fog of teenage war! The apple does not fall far from the tree! He turned me on to as many books as he did to albums. We longed for a just world. We believed in love.

The son of Muni was a great great man from the beginning. We connected with music, style, and culture! I loved spending all day at the Basman home on Denino Ave., in Hogs Hollow, learning what cool was all about! The house was full of history, art, and philosophy, which were all as important as the sex and drugs and rock and roll that Ken and I were enjoying! And, who can ever look at a Cadillac Eldorado convertible, and not think of Muni? What an awesome man! Ken made Muni proud. I know he did! I was there!

Ken never took on anything without completing it, showing all of us what hard work, and what we musicians call wood-shedding, can do! Ken practiced and listened, and practiced, and listened, and became an equal best musician to anyone I have ever met, by the time he and I were 17.

And we played chess! Hours and hours of it, including chess by mail with Ken’s grandfather in Winnipeg! I remember having three games going, at one time, against a Basman! By high school at A.I.S.P., in Toronto, we were forced to invent Losers Chess, in order to save time for making music!

Over the years, Ken and I put together a bunch of bands. I don’t remember all the names, but orignally we were known as; F**k, The Baffin Island Boogie Band, Beyond Saturns Window, Beyond, Behind, and a few more!

We played music and life together, from junior high, through high school, performing original songs, some written by me, and some by Ken, and we did covers by Stevie Wonder, Weather Report, Alice Cooper, Joni Mitchell, Spirit, Chick Corea, Edgar Winter, Wes Montgomery, the Beatles, Miles Davis, and many others! I know you’re not going to like this, but, we thought Led Zeppelin were a teeny-bopper band! Go figure! My point is, we loved all great music! The word genre was poison to us!

Our many bands included friends and musicians; Daniel van Kranendonk, John Johnson, Dave Worth, Gary Boigon, Jim Honeywell, Bob Little, Cam Hawkins, Reggie Shoji, Gary Justice, and many more great musicians, who are still doing it!

Our last proper gig together was as the house-band at the original Massey family house, which became Julie Fine’s, Bombay Bicycle club, in Toronto. It’s now the Keg n Cleaver. I think Yousuf Karsh took some nice photos of us there. I have had one of them on my piano for many years! I’ll scan it soon! I hope Ken’s family have the originals, so we can all see these historical time slices properly?

Although it is true that there are more reasons for who I am than meets the eye, Ken was always my guardian angel, through some pretty brutal experiences. His ability to stay cool in outrageous situations was legendary! And having a friend who was so far ahead of me musically, and who respected my music, was the greatest gift a young music man can ever have!

I love you Ken Basman. From the bottom of my person! I will never forget you! Love is the answer!

In reading various articles about the current court case involving Jimmy Page and Robert Plant verses the estate of Randy California over the ownership of Stairway to Heaven, I can’t help but laugh at the songs that are being touted as similar by the experts.

Examples given were, Michelle, (which McCartney bought according to my cousin), My Funny Valentine (?), and Chim Chim Cher-ee from Mary Poppins! Egads! Where the hell are the experts?

Does anyone remember SUMMERTIME? I know Page played it regularly growing up in the UK. It was a blues standard in the 60’s, and it used the exact phrase of Stairway to Heaven. Are the Gerschwins having a break from suing, or are they just waiting for this boring intro-battle to expire before pouncing?

If they need a “music expert” for the court case, I am available!

The third release in the series of Songs by John Jones is:
 
Songs of 1992, Volume 1 – Written and recorded in chronological order by me and my machines in 1992 at my home studio on Ifield Road in Kennsington.

These songs were written after we had finished and mastered the first version of the Wedding album for Duran Duran in April 1992. It was the first time I had a real break, and the spare time to work on my own songwriting, which I hadn’t done since leaving Canada in 1985.

The album cover artwork is a pretty bad photo of the studio. Atari 1040 ST, Yamaha acoustic, cigarettes, DAT tapes, Ensoniq VFX, AKAI MG1212, S1000 & DD1000, wine, beer, newspapers, and a bed.

Songs from 1992, Volume 1, is available on CDBaby and iTunes

The Beatle who influenced me most, was a lovely man indeed!

It was really great to bend an elbow last weekend with Steve Orchard, an old friend from our days at AIR Studios on Oxford Street!

Steve was in town working at Hansen Studio, the former A&M, the former Red Skelton, Kling, and of course originally, the Charlie Chaplin studio. I didn’t get a chance to tell him that the footprints are a fake…sorry Steve.

Anyway, what is there not to love about old friends, old times, and new pints?

JJ and Steve Orchard in Los Angeles

Enjoy this really cool interview with Steve Or’chard about his career!

I love the water bottle in front of the bass drum!

Sir George Martin’s book, Making Music, was reprinted in 1987. I wrote a chapter on MIDI for the “Revised Edition”.

Here are some snaps of the book. Do you have a copy?

The second release in the series is:

Songs of 1993, Vol. 2 – Written and recorded  in chronological order by me and my machines, between March 1 and June 11, 1993, in the Hammerwood, East Sussex, U.K., studio that Dee Long and I put together.

The song Someday, has overdubs from Steve Ferrone and Richard Martinez, and was mixed by Stuart Breed, and Executive Produced by Ken Roberts, back in 1997, but never released, for my One Moment in Time album.

Songs from 1993, Volume 2, is available on CDBaby, iTunes, Spotify, etceteras.

It Was A Very Good Year – Frank Sinatra singing, with Gordon Jenkins conducting, while they rehearse and record at Western Recorders on Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles, in the 1960s! Wow!

Frank speaks of the first great “singer”, Bing Crosby. Sinatra says they are both singers, not crooners making “cow-like sounds.”

Sir George Martin in Studio 5, AIR Studios

In addition to having the greatest respect for his life’s work as a musician and record producer, Sir George had a personal impact on me from our first meeting at AIR Studios in London in 1985. At that time, Sir George and the late John Burgess, with the strong endorsement of Dave Harries and Malcolm Atkin, allowed Dee Long and I to be their partners, in building and operating studio 5, the Fairlight/Midi/Production at the original Oxford Street location of AIR. Sir George made himself available to promote our cause, and quickly chose to work with us on the pre-production of his epic Under Milk Wood album project, proving the value of our view of the future, as well as Dee’s mastery of the machines, and the successful creation of what became standard procedure in recording studios ever since.

To have met Sir George Martin’s standard was the greatest achievement of our lives, the benefits of which have never ceased. Thank you George, and John. Rest in peace.
More Sir George Martin