Jon Pousette-Dart
Gig Seeker Pro

Jon Pousette-Dart

Band Americana Adult Contemporary

Calendar

This band has not uploaded any videos
This band has not uploaded any videos

Music

The best kept secret in music

Press


"Album Reviews"

Put Down Your Gun
Produced by Jon Pousette-Dart and Paul Carr

Veteran songwriter Jon Pousette-Dart boasts a resume that includes releasing four albums on Capitol Records between 1976 and 1980, backing Lesley Gore and the Young Rascals on the old "Hullabaloo" TV series, and performing shows with the likes of James Taylor, Little Feat, and Billy Joel. Like many songwriters of his generation, however, Pousette-Dart grew increasingly disenchanted with the machinations of the music industry in the early '80s, and subsequently took a decade-long respite. Remarkably, however, when Pousette-Dart resurrected his band in 1991 and performed at the Copley Music Series in Boston, 10,000 people showed up to hear him.
Put Down Your Gun, Pousette-Dart's recently released solo CD, shows just why the New York

City-based singer-songwriter can still draw a crowd. A mix of shimmery folk-pop and drop-dead beautiful ballads, the collection of largely acoustic-based songs mines a musical vein that's stylistically similar to Christopher Cross (to whom Pousette-Dart bears a vocal resemblance) and the aforementioned James Taylor. Pitching in at various times are accomplished pals Darrell Scott (on pedal steel), John Troy (bass), and Dave Costa (keyboards). Emitting a '70s vibe, Pousette-Dart's compositions brim with optimism, introspection, and subtle grace. Little Big Deal Music
161 West 76th St. • New York, NY 10023 • 212-580-7367 jpd52@bellatlantic.net • www.pousette-dart.com
- Performing Songwriter


Discography

pousette-dart band ( capitol)
pousette-dart band "amnesia" (capitol)
pousette-dart band "3" (capitol)
pousette-dart band "never enough" (capitol)
pousette-dart "the best of" (arm)
john hall "power" (columbia)
bankie banx "terrestrial spirits" (urban)
bankie banx “stuck in the paradise” ( zemi)
pousette-dart “put down your gun” (little big deal)
jon pousette-dart “ sample this “ ( little big deal )
saida fiikri “one world” (little big deal )
jon pousette-dart “heart & soul” ( little big deal )

Photos

Feeling a bit camera shy

Bio

Jon Pousette-Dart captained the Pousette-Dart Band through four albums for Capitol Records between 1976 and 1980, a run that acquainted a generation with his formidable gifts as a singer, songwriter, arranger, guitarist and all-around musical adventurer. During this time, the Pousette-Dart Band became one of the busiest touring groups in the U. S., working with such acts as the Byrds, Bonnie Raitt, Little Feat, James Taylor, Yes, the J. Geils Band, Eddie Money, Peter Frampton, Journey and Billy Joel.

“When things got scary—as the seventies petered out and the eighties skulked in,” Pousette-Dart muses, “while folks were trying to figure out how they ever got stuck in the position of having to choose between Donna Summer and Johnny Rotten, the original Pousette-Dart Band did what any halfway moral, responsible band would do—we took a break.” Pousette-Dart, himself, however, kept on trucking.

This year—2004—Pousette-Dart will continue his solo and band performances around the country with dates in Europe as well.. In addition to performing, he continues working hard on the Estate of Richard Pousette-Dart which promotes the works of his late father, the eminent abstract expressionist Richard Pousette-Dart. Jon has worked with his family developing shows for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of Art, The Indianapolis Museum of Fine Art, the Knoedler Gallery in New York and the Museums of Fine Arts in Houston and Boca Raton, Florida, as well as ACA Munich, Germany, the Schirne Kunsthalle in Frankfurt, Germany, and future shows in Europe including an upcoming one man exhibition in Venice, Italy. New publications of the paintings, notebooks and his photography, are all in the works.

Born in Suffern, New York, Pousette-Dart began playing the guitar when he was seven. At 13, he joined a band called “Tony & The Tigers” that included two of comedian Soupy Sales’ sons. During the breaking-in period, he performed with the group on such high-profile network shows as Hullabaloo and To Tell The Truth. They also played in concerts with the elder Sales.

In 1973, he formed the Pousette-Dart Band with John Troy, his college mate from the University of Pacific, and a new recruit, John Curtis. Initially, the band played college gigs. But in 1975, legendary promotion man Al Coury signed the group to Capitol. By this time, Pousette-Dart was being managed by music mogul Don Law. The first album, Pousette-Dart Band, was released in 1976, followed by Amnesia (1977), Pousette-Dart Band 3 (1979) and Never Enough (1980). Although the band worked the pop music arena, three of its Capitol album were cut in Nashville under award-winning producer Norbert Putnam.

After the band closed up shop in 1981, Pousette-Dart moved back to New York, where he established himself during the following decade as a top writer, slide guitarist and singer for recording sessions and advertising jingles. The Pousette-Dart Band reunited in 1991 for a series of dates. Jon was invited to Nashville at this time, by A&R man John Condon of Asylum Records. Pousette-Dart teamed with some of Nashville’s top songwriters, among them Gary Burr, Darrell Scott, Al Anderson, Kostas, Fred Knobloch, Jaime Kyle, Tom Kimmel and Jennifer Kimball. 1n 1997, he recorded the solo album Ready To Fly. He subsequently retitled the collection Put Down Your Gun to support the Anti-Handgun Coalition.

Pousette-Dart extended is musical reach through 1998 to 1999 by producing 5 episodes for the History Channel, titled “Gunfighters of the West”, and garnered forces with blues diva Toni Lynn Washington, who went on to record his songs on her latest release produced by Duke Robillard. His own album, Sample This, released in 2000, contained solo tracks, as well as ones he had recorded with Kostas, Lowell George and John Bohlinger. He has just completed a new CD for Moroccan singing sensation Saida Fikkri, and will appear with her in Morocco in the near future. He also appears on Jesse Winchester’s upcoming DVD, singing with Valerie Carter, and an all-star band featuring, John Sebastion, Jim Horn, Victor Krauss, and many others.

Jon will be continuing touring throughout the United States, and Europe, solo, with Vince Melamed, and the original band on selected dates. He has complete his new CD, “Heart and Soul” , which features drummer extraordinaire Billy Ward. Stay tuned to Jon’s site for announcement of the new release and future dates.