New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Today, the New York-based singer, songwriter and acclaimed pianist Jon Regen released his new album Higher Ground via Ropeadope Records. The album, produced by Jamiroquai's Matt Johnson, is now available via all major retailers.
Today, the album was named "Album of the Week" by The Oakland Press. Glide Magazine's Jim Hynes proclaimed, "This one has it all - solid songs, great playing, some provocative lyrics, and Regen's eminently listenable vocals too."
Last week,
Jamie Cullum premiered the song "East Side Blues" on his BBC
Radio 2 show The Jazz Show with
Jamie Cullum and said, "Not only is he a great musician and songwriter, but he's a real, true supporter of other musicians… he does that whilst making pretty sick music himself!"
Billboard premiered Regen's single "Who Cares If Everybody Else Knows" that includes musical performances by Nick Rhodes of
Duran Duran and Davey Faragher of
Elvis Costello and The Imposters, saying "Higher Ground covers a great deal of ground on its 11 tracks, including nods to Regen's hero Bruce Hornsby, to
Steely Dan and to his taste for synthy new wave."
Forbes premiered the album's title track "Higher Ground," which features a cameo from Regen's son Gabriel. The single was also praised by Jazziz and
Parade who praised the "enthusiastic, optimistic track" with "smooth as silk vocals and a jazzy groove."
Higher Ground follows Regen's 2015 release Stop Time that received acclaim from AllMusic, The Associated Press, NPR Music, Paste Magazine, The Wall Street Journal and more. The 11 tracks that comprise the new album were mixed by famed engineer Michael Brauer and mastered by 2019 Album of the Year Grammy Award-winner Greg Calbi (Kacey Musgraves). Other acclaimed guests on Higher Ground include bassists Larry Klein (Joni Mitchell), Davey Faragher (Elvis Costello & The Imposters) and Tim Lefebvre (David Bowie, Tedeschi
Trucks Band), and drummers Keith Carlock (Steely Dan) and Jerry Marotta (Peter Gabriel). The entire album was recorded remotely, across different cities, oceans and countries.
Upcoming Tour Dates:
11/4: REIGEN LIVE, Vienna, Austria
11/5: NU SPIRIT Bratislava, Slovakia
11/7: INGOLSTÄDTER JAZZTAGE, Ingolstadt, Germany
11/8: CONVENTUR ATRIUM, Börgerende-Rethwisch, Germany
1/16/20: PIZZA EXPRESS JAZZ CLUB, London UK
1/24/20: SCULLERS JAZZ CLUB,
Boston MA
2/22/20: JAZZRADIO'S ORANGE ROOM, Berlin, Germany
Higher Ground Tracklist:
1) Wide Awake
2) Hole In My Heart
3) Jupiter Calling
4) Higher Ground
5) Who Cares If Everybody Else Knows
6) East Side Blues
7) New Sensation
8) Every Night
9) Before
10) The Last to Go
11) Goodnight, New York