By Gary Powell

In the fall of 2008 I was holding a workshop; “Pop Vocal Performance Techniques for the Theatrical Singer” at DeSales University in the beautiful Lehigh Valley of Pennsylvania. This was my second trip to DeSales invited by theatrical director, educator and longtime friend Dennis Razze who directed me in the role of Jesus in JC Superstar in 1980. We’ve been best buds ever since.

The Broadway show as a genre has adopted many new vocal styles over the decades broadening the palette of sounds demanded of “Broadway” singers. Hence the workshop. My work in the recording studio since 1978 forced me to become fluent in every vocal style from barbershop quartets to hip-hop. These skills are what brought me to DeSales to present this vocal workshop.

While at DeSales, professor Patrick Mulcahy invited me to speak to his theater class. After class a handsome student, with an appealing scruffiness and iPhone in hand, asked if I would listen to his songs. After some cajoling and deal-making by JP with a student in the audio booth of the theater’s black box, I listened about 30 seconds of JP Dunphy’s singing, whipped out my Bose headphones and suggested we retire to the lobby to hear more and for me to listen more critically. Obviously, this young singer had some game.

JP’s songs were mostly covers, but often more appealing from a vocal standpoint than were the originals. I had a couple of hours to kill, so JP graciously adopted me and helped me remember what it was like to be in college. We drove about town in his tricked-out Cooper Mini, which he continues to modify himself; all the while both our iPods were trading-off songs and blaring out the windows. JP picked up the pledged chocolate chip cookies for his fellow student and “black box” audio tech and returning us to his dorm room/recording studio. JP’s songs were recorded in this very typical box-like college dorm room with bunk beds; not much audio gear, but loads of talent. Most of the time it’s the other way around.

Ever since meeting JP I had wanted him to come to Austin and spend a week with me, but it took a couple of years for me to button up my previous contracts and to move my studio more toward talent development. We finally booked the travel plans and the recording sessions and our song “Get Away” is the first result. There will be many more offerings coming from JP Dunphy; some from me and some directly from him and others. My goal is to empower our most talented musicians and songwriters to take on the responsibilities of developing their music and performing careers themselves. In this, I am happy to me a mentor, sometimes producer and friend.

My best wishes to you, JP, and for your success.

You can follow JP Dunphy on both Facebook and Twitter.

“JP Dunphy, Get Away” Now Available for Worldwide Download from These Stores:

by Gary Powell

Jazz pianist and long-time friend Jeff Hellmer came to the studio in 2008 with the purpose of creating a solo piano recording of seldom-heard Christmas songs. Jeff was graciously helping me build a catalog of holiday music for Miramuse, which at the time was a business-to-business solution for helping companies learn how to best utilize music to enhance their brand or deepen their relationships with customers and even employees.

I had researched ancient hymns and carols in the mid-1980’s for Ensemble 109 at the University of Texas and had written several vocal arrangements for several of these beautiful pieces of music; most of them lost to antiquity. Jeff freely improvised from these original hymn arrangements delivering a freshly re-harmonized interpretation of these ancient carols. Jeff also added a classic in “Oh Christmas Tree” and and one of my own tunes which I wrote as he waited, “Enchanted Star.”

The gift Jeff Hellmer brings to us is a relationship to music that belies that relationship’s underlying complexity while deepening our own. Jeff’s musicianship invites us to engage his music in an atmosphere free of self-agrandizement. What’s that sound like? The sound is alive, safe and disarmingly intelligent! – Gary Powell

Now this recording is available for download from iTunes, Amazon and Rhapsody for the rest of the world to hear. Thank you Jeff for making my Yamaha C7 sound better that I could ever do myself. Also, thank you to master piano technician, Brian Henselman, for keeping this piano in top shape.

“Jeff Hellmer, Christmas Jazz” – Now Available for Worldwide Download from These Stores:

Miramuse is happy to finally announce the release of the instructional guitar DVD, “Philippe Bertaud: On the Music of Heitor Villa-Lobos.” After shooting this three-camera video production in Gary Powell’s studio, the release had been stalled in the ever-deepening abyss of securing the synchronization rights for the usage of Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos’ music. The process of securing the rights took thirty months of research, complete with many dead-ends, confusion, and the kind of bureaucratic communication of which only a snail could be proud.

This is the first release for Miramuse to be distributed worldwide by Carl Fischer Music in New York. My special thanks to lifelong friend and musician, Rae Moses and to Chris Scialfa for his steadfast support, and of course, the charming Frenchman, Philippe Bertaud, for his undeniable patience.

by Gary Powell

My lifelong friend and movie producer, Cynthia Coury of Poppy Productions, offered me the opportunity to write a song for her movie, “You’re So Cupid!”. She suggested that Malese Jow, who plays the role of Megan, sing the song. Good choice. Malese had early success in her life in front of the camera and is known world-wide for her role as Geena Fabiano in the hit Nickelodeon show “Unfabulous” and more recently as Anna in the popular TV series “The Vampire Diaires” seen on CWTV. I’m happy to welcome Malese to the collection of talented singers who work in my studio.

For the first time, Miramuse is offering an “Instrumental Version – No Lead Vocal” for those singers who wish to sing the song themselves. Miramuse is a cooperative recording label only for the releases of producer and owner Gary Powell and his clients.

“The Perfect Love” – Now Available for Worldwide Download from These Stores: