Album Notes

It happened on a bus that Yoko sent.

With a voice that combines seduction with a haunting jazz edge, her music weaves story with an other-worldly vocal dance, drawing the listener deep into each well-crafted piece.
At the age of 15, Julia Easterlin found herself on the “John Lennon Tour Bus”, a traveling studio that is the brainstorm of Yoko Ono and the John Lennon Foundation. After a day of working as both the lyricist and lead singer of the newly combined group, Julia was ushered to the side when her mother arrived. “Mortgage your house” was the advice the recording engineers gave to Julia’s mother. “We do this every day of our lives all over America and we’ve never said this to anyone else, but do whatever you can do to get her out there”.
Julia’s first “out there” step was a summer away at The Berklee College of Music in Boston. “We wanted to see if she was as good as the guys on the bus thought she was,” said Julia’s parents, “ So we decided to throw her into a larger pot and see what happened”. Julia won both the Summer Singer/Songwriter Competition and was the only vocalist to receive a full scholarship to return to Berklee the following summer. While studying jazz at Berklee, she was advised to audition for the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensemble. It’s a national audition process that selects 8 of the nation’s most talented vocalists to perform in L.A. for GRAMMY week. Again the door opened wide and Julia garnered the position of lead soprano for the group.
When she arrived in L.A. she was met with wide approval. “We’ve only messed up once in this audition process”, said a GRAMMY rep. “Years ago, we turned down Nora Jones for your position.” Julia’s two-week GRAMMY stint included performing with such jazz greats as Oscar Peterson, Barry Harris, Hank Jones, and Kirk Whalum. There was even an impromptu performance with Kurt Elling. “Oh, that was my favorite!” said Julia. “I mean, all of the guys, Mr. Peterson and Mr. Harris and Mr. Whalum, they’re all such amazing musicians and such nice people…and they’re all hilarious. Sometimes rehearsal was like running amuck with a bunch of amazing old timers. But performing with Kurt Elling was so completely wonderful. He’s a legend in the jazz vocal world, so that was really a fantasy moment for me. It would have been kind of like an acting student who’s a huge Tom Hanks fan getting to star in a movie with him. Pretty faint-worthy.”
About her overall experience in L.A. Julia feels it was one of the richest learning experiences of her life. Performing non-stop and thinking music round the clock was just the kind of experience Julia needed to set her life’s dream and her goals in stone.
Although jazz is Julia’s love, her first passion is songwriting. Her voice has been described as capturing the heartfelt sound of Sarah McLachlin and the lyrical surprise of John Mayer. “People often ask me, ‘Where do you come up with this stuff?’” says Julia. “I’m a firm believer that you can’t really write about something you haven’t experienced. Write about what you know, about your personal truths. That way you get it, and your audience gets it. Everybody understands truth, and understanding is really important.”
At seventeen, Julia brings to the table a comprehension of music well beyond her years. Her ability to craft a song coupled with her wide audience appeal has been a testament to the encouragement she received just two years ago….on a bus that Yoko Ono sent.