{"id":88426,"date":"2023-02-06T07:00:02","date_gmt":"2023-02-06T12:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/?p=88426"},"modified":"2023-02-06T11:42:24","modified_gmt":"2023-02-06T16:42:24","slug":"houston-music-educator-pianist-melvin-johnson-journeys-to-new-heights-through-family-wisdom-in-debut-little-red-wagon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.send2press.com\/wire\/houston-music-educator-pianist-melvin-johnson-journeys-to-new-heights-through-family-wisdom-in-debut-little-red-wagon\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston Music Educator-Pianist Melvin Johnson Journeys to New Heights Through Family Wisdom in Debut ‘Little Red Wagon’"},"content":{"rendered":"

HOUSTON, Texas, Feb. 6, 2023 (SEND2PRESS NEWSWIRE) — On February 17, 2023, Houston, Texas pianist\/composer Melvin Johnson will offer a gift to the world with his debut album, \u201cLittle Red Wagon,\u201d overflowing with musical narratives on family love and the life lessons they provide. Johnson, who once thought of himself as only a live performer, found a unique hunger for recording and production during COVID lockdown.<\/p>\n

\"Pianist
Image Caption: Pianist\/composer Melvin Johnson.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mixed with exposure in multiple genres and styles, his education and training as a classical pianist forged a fluid and diverse composer and producer whose time has finally come! \u201cLittle Red Wagon\u201d is an invitation into the narratives that have created who Melvin is today, immersing you through sound and story — overflowing with origins profound and far-reaching.<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Red Wagon\u201d opens with \u201cTo Pop: The Explanation,\u201d an homage to his adopted father Robert Lloyd Parker.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to open verbalizing something to bring the listener into my story. One year I went to an all-state competition, played with phenomenal musicians, and made first chair. I called to tell \u2018Pop\u2019 but, unusually, he did not answer. He\u2019d died in the hospital. This track is me having a final conversation with him,\u201d says Johnson.<\/p>\n

Recorded with several hand-picked musicians from Houston, including members of his band The Electro-Akoustic, Little Red Wagon is filled top to bottom with autobiographically inspired life gems. The welcoming shifting tempos of \u201cPerspective\u201d are Melvin\u2019s reflection on the Bible scripture, 1 Corinthians 13:11 that begins, \u201cWhen I was a child, I spoke as a child\u2026\u201d There\u2019s a sizzling danceable number titled \u201cBlack Bacon Funk.\u201d The hypnotic waltz \u201cBeyond the Glass\u201d was inspired by a summer excursion Melvin and his wife Tamara took their son Gavin on to local amusement park. Most powerful of all is \u201cExtension,\u201d inspired by a moment of panic, when Melvin realized that he had not fully processed the weight of a situation that he experienced as a child, at the hands of his stepfather.<\/p>\n

\"LITTLE
Image Caption: \u201cLittle Red Wagon\u201d by Melvin Johnson.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cPERSPECTIVE\u201d LIVE CONCERT PERFORMANCE \u2013 PIANIST MELVIN JOHNSON<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cLITTLE RED WAGON\u201d RECORDING (DROPBOX) — bit.ly\/3XpwTYs<\/a><\/p>\n

Reflecting on all he has created here, Melvin Johnson concludes, \u201cThese first fully arranged instrumentals do not belong in any genre box, be it Jazz, Classical, Choral, Gospel, etc. If anything, what I hear in my heart and spirit is music for film \u2013 for mature musical audiences. ‘Little Red Wagon’ is a road map to the next six collections of original music I\u2019m recording in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLittle Red Wagon\u201d available on all digital platforms February 17, 2023.<\/p>\n

TRACK LISTING:<\/strong><\/p>\n

LISTEN\/music snippets:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/on.soundcloud.com\/6uWEF<\/a><\/p>\n