About John Heavens
My Story
My musical journey began at home, inspired by my mother, a jazz singer and pianist, who filled our house with song and piano. I later had time as a tenor in a gospel choir. My time at Trinity College of Music was a transformative period and found my own sound with the guidance of some brilliant faculty, especially my mentor and vocal coach Trudy Kerr. My influences are rooted in the bebop era via legends Charlie Parker, Bill Evans, Chet Baker, Duke Ellington, and Miles Davis, I later drew inspiration from artists such as Donald Fagan, Boz Scaggs, Earth, Wind & Fire, Average White Band and Herbie Hancock. My new album, 'Ninety Minutes From New York to Paris,' weaves these influences together, aiming to bridge the gap between generations of music lovers with a message of optimism about our world today. Our world changes but music never ceases to be a source of inspiration, uplift and joy.
Album Inspiration
I love the lyrical way in which Donald Fagan observes the optimism of post-war times and points towards the International Geophysical Year (IGY) (1957–1958) through his song of the same name (IGY); a ground-breaking global scientific initiative involving 67 countries and fostered international cooperation, culminating in plans to build a sub-Atlantic train line between New York and Paris. Fagan had reservations of such a grand plan which transpired in his lyrics “ninety minutes from New York to Paris and by seventy-six we’ll be a-ok”; a doubtful swipe at the reality of such grand aspirations. Wind the clock forward to today and we have more world uncertainly than ever. Music continues to be a source of uplifting distraction from what we see around us.
