Adams’ varied past is the result of Adams’ musical father and artistic mom. “Dad introduced us to Louis Armstrong, Besse Smith. Mama would paint, pour a glass of wine, and let me float around the house while listening to Beethoven and Liszt. Since then, I have loved romantic composers. I have always loved big band jazz, and I am proud to say that Mike Wallace, my cousin, was a trombonist with Stan Kenton for many decades. Slowly, other influences such as Pete Seeger and The Beatles, Zappa Cage, Terry Riley, and Cage began to take root. Adams eventually enrolled at Southern Illinois University as a student in Ethnomusicology, where he was interested in building exotic and ethnic musical instruments. Although receiving commissions from luminaries such as Stevie Wonder, The Pointer Sisters and Daryl Hall was a great reward, Adams said that making music was his first love. He just had to overcome his shyness. He began to compose commercials for companies such as Subaru, Motorola and John Deer. Paul Adams is a master of melody and mood, whose arrangements are varied in scope. He avoids the monotony of many artists in his sonic school. – Coral Springs Forum. His critically acclaimed debut album Various Waves was the next natural step. Many fans and critics loved Various’s blend of Jazz, New Age and Folk. Musical Starstreams placed it in the TOP FIVE new releases for 1990. This is the most commercially syndicated instrumental radio station in America. It was also regularly played on syndicated shows like ECHO’s, which can be heard on more than 150 National Public Radio stations. Wonder Dancing On Global Bop was born out of his desire to combine the influences from Gamalon, Indian and African musics that he had studied at school. It is a blend of elements that includes Flamenco, Jazz and a little bit of Bluegrass. Adams says that John Deliberto, a radio host on ECHO’s, was a key part of the show’s success. His constant airplay and kind review in Tower Records PULSE magazine helped tremendously. The next was A View From The Plain, an acoustic landscape. This CD is my tribute to the Prairie and a nod towards people like John Fahey, Leo Kottke, and David Grissman. I wanted to create a thematic album using the drop thumb guitar style that was so important to me. It had to be gentle and sweet, but also have a touch of humor and energy. Adams’ friend Dave Hoffman went on a world tour as Ray Charles’ Trumpet/Flugelhorn soloist. He left behind a bag of DAT tapes, and gave Paul permission to record an album. I added some percussion, guitar, harmonica and keyboard pads to everything. ). “Dave hates to rename tunes so I gave the majority of the songs titles and called the album From Energy to Stillness. This is a reflection of Daves personality as well as the album. He made some changes to my songs after he returned from tour. This was a very informal and cool way to create an album. This CD is proving to be very popular! I am so proud and jealous. “A large part is the creative process growth and risk. It’s my strongest instrument so I knew that I had to use it. However, it was another duel against the “shy”s. The next step was his album, In The Land Where You Come From. “Because I am primarily an instrumentalist, I wanted the vocals to be in sync with the instrumentation. I wanted the album to be swinging and incorporate my poetry in a musical/mystical context. Harmonies with my voice were the best choice. This is how I Wanna Dance, and Breathe was born. It was also a great privilege to have the talents of some amazing musicians like Dave Hoffman, Kit Watkins, Doug Knecht and Mark Smith. Carol Wright, New Age Voice Magazine, writes that the album’s temperature is cool and shakes hands with poetry. He is captivating to watch, I have seen him perform! Adams is also a mental health professional. Adams has had a persistent question about moving to Nashville or LA, but he claims he is able to learn more from his clients than he can repay. It’s difficult to see the PRIME ISSUES of life on the faces and faces of those who are suffering. This gives you a sense both of challenge, and perspective. These individuals’ courage would be a source of inspiration for many of the bright-eyed movers and shakers in the REAL WORLD. The students are our helpers.” He plans to publish a book of poetry and a short story about Butterland, based on the songs from In The Land Where You Come From. “… It’s a elfishly multi-saturated area with rolling hills and furry plump Butterlanders. They’ve learned that smartness is not the end of the human equation. Adams has published feature articles on philosophical, artistic, and musical subjects. He also writes a regular music column for The NAPRA Trade Review magazine. “I enjoy writing about the artistic experience, especially in areas such as perception. Music is an extremely bizarre art form. It is closely linked to commerce, just like film (Adams’ cousin Bruce Evans was nominated for an academy award for his screenwriting in Stand By Me). There is a lot of musical craft, but very little art. He goes on to say that, “much of the perception of one piece of art being superior to another is based on the music industries various elements of measurement” (sales figures, adrenalin/sexual/controversy response, etc etc). It is crucial to be able to predict and control in business. Validation should not be the only tool. My mother gave me the gift of independent thought and evaluation, sometimes to my dismay! My mother was an amazing English Literature teacher in college. She encouraged us to assess prose on its merits and allowed us to make our own interpretations. It was that independence of appreciation for a variety of art that inspired me to make albums that span many genres. from http://www.musicdiscoveries.com
