Jan Randall

Artist Information

Biography

Biography
Jan weaves wit blues jazz and wit into an unforgetable experience-He is a master story teller, and an accomplished song writer and musical talent. Currently he is touring to promote his new CD "Good Fair World" which is now available for purchase at iTunes and online at cdbaby.com/cd/janrandall.

CREDITS
-was music director for Second City where he collaborated with Catherine O'Hara, Bruce Pirrie, Robyn Duke, and many other comedy improvisors that came through while he was there.
-he has worked with international legends Bo Diddley, Otis Rush, Sha Na Na, Gary US Bonds and many more
-he has performed with well known Canadian artists Gaye DeLorme, Rusty Reed, Dave Babcock, Jeremiah McDade, and Amos Garrett
-as music director of the Banff World TV Festival has worked with people like Bob Newhart, John Cleese, and Dame Edna.

VENUES
-the Yellow Door (Montreal), Second City Theatre (Toronto and Santa Monica), Sketchfest (Seattle), the Saskatoon Folk Club, the Ironwood Grill (Calgary), the Minstrel Cafe (Kelowna), the Brown Derby (Tampa), the Regina Folk Festival, the Sasquatch Folk Festival, the Works Festival, and many Edmonton venues including the Edmonton Folk Club, the Edmonton Folk Festival, the Hovel, the Edmonton Singer/Songwriter Festival, the Blue Chair, the Citadel Theatre, the Winspeare Center, and the Haven Social Club.

OTHER CREDITS
To date, Jan Randall has scored over 700 television shows in Canada for the likes of the Discovery Channel, NFB, and CBC for programs including David Suzuki's "Nature of Things." Recognition for the quality of his original soundtracks include the Alberta Motion Picture Industry Association’s award for best music in 1998 for the NFB documentary "Lost Over Burma" which was narrated by Christopher Plummer. In 2001 he was both Musical Director and Composer for the World Championships in Athletics opening and closing ceremonies which was broadcast live to over four billion people.

Jan Randall has also composed three ice ballets for the National Ice Theatre of Canada-Midsummer Night’s Ice Dream was produced as a television special and subsequently arranged for concert as an orchestral suite.

Jan’ has a degree in music composition, studied jazz and big band arranging at North Texas State University, and received a scholarship to attend the Banff School of Fine Arts.

A long time resident of Canada, he has dual US/Canadian citizenship. He is cousins with Arlo Guthrie.

Instrumentation

Jan Randall - piano and vocals.

Discography

Good Fair World (CD)

Official Website

http://www.janrandall.com

Links

• Twitter
• Facebook
• Jan Randall's Website
• MySpace

Audio

• Wait in Line
  Listen  
• Good Fair World (Title Track)
  Listen  
• My Brother (from Good Fair World)
  Listen  
• In Between Day (from Good Fair World)
  Listen  
• Destiny (from Good Fair World)
  Listen  
• Lost in a Dream
  Listen  
• Fatso (from Good Fair World)
  Listen  

Lyrics

• Wait in Line
• My Brother
• In Between Day
• Destiny
• Lost in a Dream

Video

Photo Gallery

Press

• Piano Man Key to Club's Show [+ Show ]
  

  Wednesday, 14 January 2009 The Lethbridge Folk Club started off 2009 with a couple good, if spars...Wednesday, 14 January 2009
  
  The Lethbridge Folk Club started off 2009 with a couple good, if sparsely attended shows.
  A handful of people enjoyed Friday night’s open mic, which featured several local performers including Dusty Dee, whose new CD should be out shortly.
  Approximately 30 people took in the club’s first performance of 2009, which consisted of Edmonton pianist/songwriter Jan Randall and local singer-songwriter Andrew Scott. Scott entertained the crowd with a wicked sense of humour, odd stories and his own country-style music. The Lethbridge Folk Club started off 2009 with a couple good, if sparsely attended shows.
  A handful of people enjoyed Friday night’s open mic, which featured several local performers including Dusty Dee, whose new CD should be out shortly.
  Approximately 30 people took in the club’s first performance of 2009, which consisted of Edmonton pianist/songwriter Jan Randall and local singer-songwriter Andrew Scott. Scott entertained the crowd with a wicked sense of humour, odd stories and his own country-style music.
  Randall played a variety of music from his debut CD “Good Fair World,” with music ranging from the styles of Fats Waller, Dr. John, Loony Tunes and Gershwin — and that was just in one instrumental called “Fatso.” He cracked jokes and told stories about brushes with fame and answered questions about his time with Second City Theatre, not to mention the ghosts of CKUA where he used to host a weekend radio show before deciding to focus on touring on his new CD. His kid-like “aw, shucks” grin, which made him look 30 years younger than his 56 years, and pleasant piano playing really appealed to the crowd who were listening to every word. I was impressed with the many different styles he could play, including a lot of jazz, some folk and even some blues.
  “I’ve been playing piano for 53 years, since I was three,” Randall said before his show. He has worked in comedy clubs and with a variety of bands, but has been concentrating on a lot of television score work including an episode of “The Nature of Things” which was aired last week.
  “A lot of different projects came to an end. So the timing was right,” he said of finally deciding to record his debut CD.
  “I’m really pleased with it. People of all ages and personas seem to like it. There is a lot of variety,” he said of the CD, which was released in October. He is already working on his second CD, which will be recorded in summer with a full band behind him. The current CD features just Randall on piano and vocals. He was driving to Austin, Tex. immediately following his Lethbridge show and plans to play Philadelphia and Los Angeles, as well as Western Canada, where he has been focusing on touring so far.

• Great tunes- Really Different [+ Show ]
  

  "Heard Jan Randall play piano and sing. Great tunes- really different. Want to hear more from this g..."Heard Jan Randall play piano and sing. Great tunes- really different. Want to hear more from this guy."
  
  -Review by Becky Bardola

• "smooth vocals and masterful piano work" [+ Show ]
  

  "Memorable original tunes with strong and interesting ideas- Jan Randall provides smooth vocals and ..."Memorable original tunes with strong and interesting ideas- Jan Randall provides smooth vocals and masterful piano work that are at times incredibly exciting, sometimes deeply moving, and always engaging."
  
  Andy Donnelly-CKUA
  (on air, July 2008)

• "amazingly versatile" [+ Show ]
  

  Songwriters expose souls at The Matchbox "Randall showed he’s an amazingly versatile quick-study,...Songwriters expose souls at The Matchbox
  
  "Randall showed he’s an amazingly versatile quick-study, accompanying Donnelly on his Celtic songs, as well as bluesy folk artist Rault.
  
  But his own music was mostly light-hearted and jazzy.
  
  Randall told the audience of 50 that he wrote Good, Fair World “with no surprises at all.”
  
  Sure enough, the crowd anticipated the lyrics and sang along to this cheerful tune about “the lovely side of being naive.”
  
  Randall got slightly more serious in a song he wrote about his brother who joined the U.S. Navy. “My family seems to be a metaphor for the world,” he said.
  
  And sure enough, Randall’s repeated refrain of “When’s my brother coming home?” sounded as if he was awaiting rescue from the cavalry.
  
  Before long, the pianist was back with another playful tune, In-Between Day, about the antsy kind of weather we get in Alberta, when the sun doesn’t want to poke out of the clouds for too long.
  
  Randall created tense keyboard sounds, giving the song the right nervous edge."
  
  By Lana Michelin - Red Deer Advocate
  Published: November 27, 2008
  

• "not to be missed"
  

  "Jan Randall is a veteran performer who is not to be missed!"

• "...brilliant!"
  

  Jan Randall is brilliant! "and the crowd was spellbound" -Anne Alexander

• "....impressive" [+ Show ]
  

  -"Jan Randall's impressive original score "-"most memorable of the nine shows I saw" -Rosa Jacks...-"Jan Randall's impressive original score
  "-"most memorable of the nine shows I saw"
  
  -Rosa Jackson
  

• "....very catchy ..." [+ Show ]
  

  "My favorite here, has to be..."Fatso" Love that Fats! While "wallering" on the floor to my Fatso, I..."My favorite here, has to be..."Fatso" Love that Fats! While "wallering" on the floor to my Fatso, I was wishing I could play 1/4 this good.
  
  "15 Minutes" : Another great morsel. Has a Zappa meets Steely Dan after watching an Andy Warhol documentary" kinda feel to it. Very catchy hook. Cannot stop singing it in my head though, ...Thanks.!"
  
  Oct 23, 2006
  Online Review from "Sing Songs and Plant Seeds"
  

Setlist

ALL ORIGINAL MATERIAL

SET ONE (55 minutes)
Comin' Home
Destiny
In Between Day
Zihuatenejo
Wait In Line
Everything is Clear
Good Fair World
Ghostly Lullaby
My Brother

SET TWO (55 minutes)
Pass On By
15 Minutes
Paradise Lost
Nameless Blues
One Way St.
Big Questions
Uncle Clarence’s Piano
Very Sorry
I'll Be Seein' You

Basic Requirements

Calendar