THE BEAT
Jim Brickman's solo piano-pop
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., July 31, 1997) -- When Jim Brickman first wanted radio stations to play his music, he went about convincing them the old-fashioned way. He got in his car and drove around the country with a trunkload of CDs, stopping at stations and meeting with DJs and music directors.
"I took that crusade very personally and seriously," said Brickman, in a recent phone interview from Buffalo. "I did it by myself at the very beginning, meeting radio station DJs just like Elvis did. That's the way it used to be, and it kind of surprises me that it's not the typical way any more, because you still have a product that you're trying to get people to hear."
What's even more amazing about Brickman's old-fashioned sales plan is it worked. His aptly-titled "Rocket to the Moon" was the first solo instrumental recording to make it onto Billboard's Top 40 pop chart. Subsequent hits, including "Angel Eyes" and "If You Believe," made it into the Adult Contemporary Top 10. And his most recent hit, "Valentine," featuring vocals by country singer Martina McBride, introduced Brickman to a whole new audience.
For the solo pianist, who performs on Friday, Aug. 1, at the National Music Foundation's Berkshire Performing Arts Theatre in Lenox at 8, selling his music as a product was a continuation of his previous career as a commercial jingle writer. Recording and performing his own instrumental pop compositions, Brickman found, was not all that different from what he did before.
"What's similar is that you're writing catchy melodies that you're trying to get people to connect with," said Brickman, who lives in Los Angeles. "One is for a little different purpose -- to sell products -- and my music is more personal, more of an intimate connection."
One difference between Brickman's commercial work -- which has included jingles for clients such as McDonald's ("Food, Folks and Fun"), Pontiac ("We Are Driving Excitement") and AT&T ("We Want You Back") -- and his more artistic endeavors is that he doesn't intend any hard-sell with the latter.
"It's easy enough to listen to [my music] where you're not working so hard as you're listening that your mind wanders," said Brickman. "I like people's minds to wander when they hear my music, because then it's more self-realizing -- not like sleeping, but what you've got going on in your own world. There's not enough times in people's lives like that any more."
While the bulk of Brickman's concert will feature his solo piano work, he will be joined on a handful of numbers by vocalist Anne Cochran. "We grew up in Cleveland together," said Brickman. "We went to high school together. We had a band in high school. There's a wonderful stage- comfort level with us."
Next out of the chute from Brickman is "The Gift," the follow-up to "Picture This" (both Windham Hill). A holiday-themed album, "The Gift" will include guest vocals by Colin Raye, Point of Grace and Kenny Loggins. "That's a huge treat for me," said Brickman of recording with Loggins, "because I'm a big fan of his, and for him to be a fan of mine just blows me away."
If you would like to purchase any of Jim Brickman's CDs on-line, please click on the SoundStone logo to the right. 
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on July 31, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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