TOMMY PELTIER 8211 Echo Park (The 708217s Sessions) 8211 LP 8211 Vinyl MAR 27

LP – Standard Edition Black Vinyl. Tommy Peltier\’s Echo Park, compiled of unheard tapes from the early/mid-1970s, brings us into contact with a long-extinct creature equal parts slinky hipster, universal soldier of the heart and snuggly loverman the light-rockin tinseltown troubadour, the likes of which hasnt been served around Hollywood since 1979! Tommys somewhere in the tuneful tradition of Rupert Holmes, Stephen Bishop, Andrew Gold, David Batteau and of course, Captain Fantastic and the Thin White Duke. His soulful songs and high-pitched vocals (he was once called Tom Rapp on helium) are paired with the requisite chopsy, jazz-enriched LA players, entrancing the ear with grooves and performances both tasty and sweet. Mixed and mastered with great zest by Jim ORourke (he brought new life to recordings of a similar vintage for Judee Sills posthumous Dreams Come True back in 2005), Echo Park is an encompassing trip through a whole other time and place. A trumpet player since childhood, Tommy felt no need for pop music; hed come of age during the west coast jazz explosion of the 1950s, hearing Gerry Mulligan and Chet Bakers legendary performances at The Haig Club, just a mile west of MacArthur Park. Inspired by the departures of the Ornette Coleman Quartet, he founded The Jazz Corps in 1963, gigging all around around town, including a residency at Hermosa Beachs also-legendary Lighthouse. Their sound was captured on a stellar 1967 Pacific Jazz release featuring Roland Kirk. Jazz was his game, but when Tommy injured his side playing lead parts in a big band, he couldnt blow for long without aggravating it. Something had to give. Fortunately, there was a lot of giving in those days. In 68, he met aspiring singer/songwriter Judee Sill. He found her energy amazing, as she played bass in a group he was sitting in with, and it quickly became clear he and Judee were in tune! When Tommy picked up the guitar and started writing songs, she was there with help and encouragement. As the \’70s dawned, Tommy was turning 35, but he was also turning the page, like so many others, to find something amazing there on the other side. Amazing music things flow freely up and down the tracklist of Echo Park. Inspired not influenced by Yes, Supertramp, ELO, Queen, Bowie, The Beatles and others, Tommy developed and honed his new music throughout the \’70s. A handful of the cuts here were recorded between 1970 and 73, just a mile from Echo Park Lake, at an unassuming rear house set back in the hills (that Tommys been a resident of since 1966!). Other tracks were recorded at sessions in Hollywood in 1975 and 76, at now-obscure studios like Music Grinder and Heritage. Tommy was tight with a great bunch of guys: guitarist Art Johnson, who worked with far-out jazzers like John Klemmer, Paul Horn and Tim Weisburg, and was a member of the progressive jazz collective The Advancement; keyboardist Richard Thompson, whose studio rounds included The Association, John Hartford and Gbor Szab; bassist Wolfgang Melz, who played with peaceful, easy folkies Hedge & Donna, Mark-Almond and Daniel Moore, plus Charles Lloyd, Szab, Klemmer, and the psychedelically wigged Gravity Adjusters Expansion Band. Judee Sills on a couple songs too, as are former Jazz Corpsmen Lynn Blessing and Bill Plummer. Tommys first pop band, Jasmine, appear on Here Today his very first vocal composition, and the earliest recording here. Lots of great times and great songs, but no contract…. which turns out to be our gain, as we release them today! Tommy has continued to play music, releasing new stuff with Plastic Theatre Art Band in 1996, and a number of releases under his own name, most recently in 2011. And at the ripe young age of 90(!), hes still playing today! Mixed and mastered by Jim O\’Rourke, Echo Park is a high-flying journey through the past. Tracklist: 1. Oneness2. Judee Girl3. National Stardom4. Flight of the Dancer5. Time After Time6. Blue Rose7. 10,000 Greyhounds8. A Heartbeat Away9. Yellow Beach Umbrella10. Here Today11. Smile All the While