‘John Alcorn delivers a compelling and distinct jazz album with enchanting vocals, uplifting piano and graceful bass strings; each song richly worthy of mention.’
Click here to see the Whole Note review!
Recorded here, with our Jazz In The Kitchen artists, we are proud to present to you, Flying Without Wings.
Vocalist John Alcorn and cornetist Warren Vaché, with Mark Eisenman (piano), Reg Schwager (guitar) and Steve Wallace (bass) perform songs by American songwriters, including Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and George Gershwin.
- John Alcorn, Vocal
- Warren Vaché, Cornet
- Mark Eisenman, Piano
- Reg Schwager, Guitar
- Steve Wallace, Bass
Sample Listening
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#1 Just One Of Those Things
Just One Of Those Things - John Alcorn and Warren Vache
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#2 The Song Is Ended
The Song Is Ended - John Alcorn and Warren Vache
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#3 It’s Like Reaching For The Moon
Its Like Reaching For The Moon - John Alcorn and Warren Vache
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#4 Just In Time
Just In Time - John Alcorn and Warren Vache
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#5 Love Walked In
Love Walked In - John Alcorn and Warren Vache
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#6 Let’s Face The Music And Dance
Lets Face The Music And Dance - John Alcorn and Warren Vache
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#7 You’re My Thrill
Youre My Thrill - John Alcorn and Warren Vache
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#8 Say It Isn’t So
Say It Isnt So - John Alcorn and Warren Vache
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#9 But Not For Me
But Not For Me - John Alcorn and Warren Vache
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#10 From This Moment On
From This Moment On - John Alcorn and Warren Vache
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#11 Lazy
Lazy - John Alcorn and Warren Vache
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#12 I Wish I Knew
I Wish I Knew - John Alcorn and Warren Vache
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During the summer of 2012, John Alcorn had a weekly gig with Reg Schwager and Steve Wallace at a small club in Toronto called “The Flying Beaver Pubaret”. Each week, John featured a different songwriter. How wonderful it was to be immersed in Cole Porter or Irving Berlin for two full sets, complete with interesting stories about the songs and the writers’ lives.
I couldn’t resist the opportunity to try to capture the musicality that John, Reg and Steve were creating. We set up three evenings for the recording sessions and added two of our friends: Mark Eisenman on piano, and New York cornetist Warren Vaché.
John has a way of pulling you into every word and note. He encourages you to appreciate what the songwriters crafted. He never gets in the way.
Reg and Mark weave around one other, intuitively sharing rhythmic and comping roles. The music is never too busy. It has just the right amount of swing, drive, or tenderness.
Steve never lets you down. He is the foundation for anything that he does. When in doubt, shut up and listen to Steve.
Warren magically complements everything that John, Reg, Mark, Steve and the songwriters present to him. He knows exactly when to add a line or a short phrase, and his solos and fills reveal his intellect, wit, charm and taste.
So … why call the CD “Flying Without Wings”? It’s a line from “It’s Like Reaching For the Moon”. It touches on the very spirit of jazz. The recording sessions were all very loose, unplanned, very in the moment. In Steve Wallace’s words, “There was some levitation going on, which I’ve always thought was the general idea in jazz, but not an easy thing to do. The music we recorded really got off the ground.” Flying Without Wings, indeed.
We dedicate this collection to our dear friend Diane Alcorn, John’s lovely mother. The jazz world of Toronto misses her deeply.
John Loach, October 2015
John Alcorn is a talented and versatile fellow. As well as being an excellent jazz singer, he keeps busy as a composer, actor, lyricist, arranger, music director, vocal coach, bandleader, accompanist, and studio musician. John’s wide experience and sensitivity reveals itself in his presentation of melody and lyric. www.johnalcorn.com
New Jersey cornetist Warren Vaché delights audiences around the world. He has performed with the best – Bill Charlap, Scott Hamilton, and Rosemary Clooney, to name but a few – and has released countless albums under the Concord, Nigel Heyer, and Arbors labels. Warren is known for his beautiful swinging style and his gorgeously lyrical improvisations. He is pictured here with Patti Loach who is one of his biggest fans.
www.warrenvache.com
Mark Eisenman has performed in many different venues with numerous world famous jazz artists including Art Farmer, Barney Kessel, Ed Bickert, Rob McConnell, Sam Noto, and Pat LaBarbera. Mark is in demand as a vocal accompanist, and has lead his own trio and quintet for many years, releasing two CDs ‘Apparition’ and ‘The Chant’.
www.jazzpiano.ca
Reg Schwager has toured extensively across Canada and worldwide with George Shearing, Diana Krall, Peter Appleyard, Rob McConnell, Emilie-Claire Barlow, and many others. He appears on over one hundred and fifty recordings with such artists as Junior Mance, Gary Burton, George Shearing and Mel Tormé. Reg is a prolific composer as well.
www.regschwager.com
Steve Wallace has travelled the world, backing some of music’s most famous names including Clark Terry, Harry ‘Sweets’ Edison, Eddie ‘Lockjaw’ Davis, George Coleman, Zoot Sims, and Pepper Adams. A native of Toronto, Steve was bassist for Rob McConnell‘s ‘Boss Brass’ for many years. You’ll also enjoy Steve’s wonderful writing about jazz and baseball on his blog.
www.wallacebass.com
John Loach grew up playing trumpet, but chose to follow his father’s footsteps with a career in Mechanical Engineering. After retiring from their manufacturing business, John and his wife Patti returned to music. Patti is an accomplished accompanist (www.pattiloach.com). John loves playing jazz, and recording the wonderful performers in Toronto. Patti and John host the popular Jazz In The Kitchen series which features both Mark and Steve. www.loachengineering.com
Recorded by John Loach, October 2012
Mixed and mastered by John Loach and John Alcorn
Photography (and food, encouragement and love) by Patti Loach
Produced by Loach Engineering Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada
- Just One Of Those Things 5:22 (Cole Porter, Warner Bros. Music, ASCAP)
- The Song Is Ended 4:37 (Irving Berlin, Irving Berlin Music Company, ASCAP)
- It’s Like Reaching For The Moon 4:37 (Gerald Marqusee / Al Sherman / Al Lewis, Chappell & Co., ASCAP)
- Just In Time 4:25 (Jule Styne / Betty Comden / Adolph Green, Stratford Music Corporation, ASCAP)
- Love Walked In 4:55 (George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin, Gershwin Pub Corp, ASCAP)
- Let’s Face The Music And Dance 3:32 (Irving Berlin, Irving Berlin Music Company, ASCAP)
- You’re My Thrill 4:16 (Sidney Clare / Jay Gorney, WB Music Corp., ASCAP)
- Say It Isn’t So 3:43 (Irving Berlin, Irving Berlin Music Company, ASCAP)
- But Not For Me 4:48 (George Gershwin / Ira Gershwin, New World Music Corporation, ASCAP)
- From This Moment On 4:32 (Cole Porter, Chappell & Co., ASCAP)
- Lazy 4:29 (Irving Berlin, Irving Berlin Music Company, ASCAP)
- I Wish I Knew 6:00 (Gordon Mack / Harry Warren, Bregman Vocco & Conn Inc, Four Jays Music Publishing Co, ASCAP)