Album Notes

"...Keyboardist Larry Goldings, known for his work with John Scofield and Madeleine Peyroux, as well as his ongoing cooperative trio with Peter Bernstein and Bill Stewart, discovered Bowtie performing at New York's The Angry Squire's open mic night in the early 1990s. Immediately stricken by Bowtie's distinctive approach to the Great American Songbook, he made the decision that Bowtie, an artist sadly overlooked by a visionless music industry, demanded documentation. Over the course of two years, Goldings recorded Bowtie at his home studio, the result being "A Bowtie Christmas and More" - an album of holiday music and timeless standards thats sure to set the hairs on the neck of the most discerning listener at full attention....

...Bending pitch and time in ways rarely heard on record....
Unquestionably the most challenging Christmas album ever recorded, "A 'Bowtie' Christmas and More" raises the bar, forcing the serious listener to question every musical value he or she holds dear.......

....Every now and then an artist emerges whose vision is so unique that it creates an entirely new musical paradigm. Stretching the realm of technique by introducing harmonic or rhythmic contexts far removed from the norm, they’re often unappreciated in their time, but the passage of years can ultimately bring recognition for their genius. Ornette Coleman was one such artist. Now we have singer Johnny “Bowtie” Barstow....."

- John Kelman, allaboutjazz


Here's what fans are saying...

"In art, there are painters with a style so distinctive that one can merely take a look at the corner of the canvas & immediately identify the creator by the style of his brushstroke. Much is the same in music: one note of Miles Davis' muted trumpet and you know right away. Bowtie is such an artist, with a sound and style so distinctive; that phrasing, those notes-it can only be Bowtie".

- Will Lee (electric bassist, singer)

"When I hear Over The Rainbow, I think of Judy Garland. When I hear Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend, I think of Marilyn Monroe. And in the future, when I hear The First Noel, I shall think of Bowtie. He has made it his own - and that goes for anything he sings."
- Richard Rodney Bennett (Composer, Performer)

"Accompanying John Barstow is a unique challenge and one that I welcome."
- Bill Stewart (Drummer, Composer)

"I recorded one session featuring Bowtie backed by The Larry Goldings Trio. All I can say is...this hep cat makes you think you're hearing your favorite old tune for the very first time...crazy, man, crazy."
- James Farber (Recording Engineer)