Jonny Tarr
San Diego, CA | Established. Jan 01, 2015 | SELF
Music
Press
'Hailing from Cardiff, Wales, Jonny Tarr is a San Diego transplant who brings a stunningly diverse array of talent to his performance. Simultaneously singing and playing guitar, sax, and keyboards with the help of looping samples, Tarr was a fantastic opener for the evening. Accompanied by a fierce percussionist, he showed an unrivaled musical ability and the enviable skill of seemingly building songs out of thin air'. (Review from OWL AND BEAR San Diego music blog) -
"Well, damn. From the opening note of Jonny Tarr's album, the band unleashes a flood of neon-lit disco funk that carves out a middle ground between Chic and Jamiroquai. He lays on the synth textures pretty heavy, not to mention some amazingly cheesy saxophone in second track ‘Don’t Ever Stop’, but Jonny Tarr owns it. There is no irony in their throwback jams; nor are they simply taking existing ideas and running with them. The songs are actually pretty strong. In the greater scheme, Jonny Tarr isn’t really innovating so much as making something fresh out of sounds that have long since gone stale. But I’ll let the first track on the demo, “Move Yourself” do the talking: “Move Yourself, for the good of your health” -
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
Fresh out of Europe, Jonny Tarr is introducing his monster duo to the soundsystems of the States. A wall of sound, an orchestra of electronic soul, a powerhouse of lyrical stomp, it will electrify your blood. Bringing together all Jonny's many influences and tastes, his original music incorporates his experience as club sax player, major label songwriter, sideman pianist, sampler, beatmaker, lifelong vocalist and loop station manipulator to bring discerning audiences something fresh and connected. Distilled down from an eleven-piece revue band to a streamlined duo that still provides audiences with a complete music experience, always ready for action. Tying the sounds of Stevie Wonder, Bill Withers, Herbie Hancock, Shuggie Otis and Marvin Gaye to a modern, electronic sensibility. All live and direct. All honest. All from the soul. He does it because he can. He does it because he can't not.
Originally from Cardiff, Wales and now a permanent resident of San Diego California, Jonny Tarr is a multi-instrumentalist songwriter with fifteen years' experience as a professional touring musician. He has done everything from blowing horns at the Tokyo Crossover Jazz Festival, to accompanying top balearic DJs in Ibiza, to featuring his originals at the Glastonbury Festival in England.
Cutting his teeth at the age of fifteen in his native city, he went on to teach music in India and then on to study contemporary music at Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for the Performing Arts (LIPA). Ten years' experience playing in and around London and touring Europe followed before completing his life-long dream of moving to California. Since then he has played with Mike Pinto, Michael Tiernan, Tolan Shaw, Monette Marino, Greg Douglass, Paul Cannon and recorded with legendary Beastie Boys produced Mario C.
Jonny brings out the entire bag of tricks for his live performances, playing tenor/alto/soprano saxophones, flute, keyboards, synths, guitars, samplers and loops, as well as boasting powerful Sting/Stevie Wonder influenced vocal.
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