MANCHESTER, NH – There was never a question for piano man Jim Brickman about how he would spend his life. Music was his calling, and has been his muse for as long as he can recall.
“I’m a firm believer that people like me who have a passion, so much of a drive and passion for one particular thing, don’t ask themselves should I do this or that; it’s not even a question,” says Brickman. “That’s why when I ask kids what they want to be when they grow up, and they say either a musician or a pilot – or something else, I usually say ‘Then you don’t want to do what I do.’ I’ve never asked myself that question. There has never been an ‘or’ for me. Music just is.”
On Feb. 27 Brickman returns to the Palace Theatre for what he promises will be an intimate and authentic evening of pure music.
“One of the things that has been top-of-mind for me, and I can’t put my finger on it, but I’m really looking forward to this show. I’ve gotten to the point where I’ve been really comfortable on stage,” says Brickman. “What is so great about solo shows like this one is that I can do what I want, because I know I’m performing for people who have chosen to be there, not just because their friends said, ‘You should go.’ It’s not an audition. For this show, for me, it’s about relationships built over time with those who want that intimate experience. There have been times when I have felt I needed to edit myself, but especially for a New Hampshire audience, I know I can be authentic; I know that’s what they expect.”
Brickman has produced musical gold and platinum, six times, and is best known for his solo piano compositions that range from pop to country. He’s collaborated with the best in the business, including Lady Antebellum, Martina McBride, Donny Osmond, Johnny Mathis, Olivia Newton-John, and Kenny Rogers – that last one, a hard-won collaboration based on Brickman’s persistence.
“You know, there’s a lot of fear in this business, from record label side, which I understand because of the state of the industry, so if there’s someone I want to work with, I do everything I can to work with them,” says Brickman, setting up the story of how he eventually got Rogers to record the holiday ballad, “That Silent Night.”
“So I decided last year I wanted to work with Kenny Rogers, and I’m not sure why – I do like his voice, but I wasn’t a rabid fan like I am with, say, Carly Simon. Anyway, Kenny was playing in Cleveland at a casino, and I decided I was just going to go up to the stage door, even if he didn’t know who I was, and ask. And if he said no, at least I’d know it was him saying no, and not his manager or record label,” says Brickman.
As it turned out, Brickman was told he could wait for Rogers with Rogers’ musicians.
“I’m like, ‘Yes!’ the musicians always know who I am,” says Brickman.
As anticipated, Rogers didn’t know right away who Brickman was, until his band reminded him of Brickman’s many hits, including “The Gift” as recorded by Martina McBride.
“Even then, I’m not sure he knew who I was, but I persisted until he said, ‘Sure, send me some songs.’ I did, and he didn’t like any of them. And that’s OK. That happens. But it got to the point where I had one weekend left to send him something I knew he’d like, so I tried to channel what I thought he would relate to. I sent him ‘That Silent Night,’ and he loved it, and he recorded it,” Brickman says.
He earned his way to the top by starting at the shallow end of the musical pool, composing jingles to sell products.
“I was really good at my own hooks, you know, short hooks that were memorable, but short, because even as a kid, I was enamored with TV jingles. As a teen, I wasn’t connected to my feelings, the way someone like Taylor Swift is. I wasn’t evolved emotionally, so it was easy to write literally and conceptually about a product,” says Brickman, a skill which he now credits for his way with the broad appeal of pop music.
Even then, Brickman was in the right place at the right time of his career, as many of the singers hired to bring his jingles to life were future superstars.
“I had people giving me money to work with fantastic singers on jingles, like Michael Bolton, Marc Cohn, Whitney Houston, Cindy Lauper. Back then, they were just jingle singers, but they were all of that caliber, and I learned so much,” Brickman says.
“The New York singing community was so incredibly kind to me. When I look back now, it’s so bizarre that there I was, a kid of 20 or 21, living in Cleveland, and I’d get calls from people in New York asking to hire me and wondering if I needed to do vocals first, or melody, or stack, or what?” he says.
“It didn’t matter to me then if I was composing jingles or songwriting. I didn’t have this feeling like, ‘When is it going to happen for me that I’ll be discovered, or famous.’ I was following my passion. That is the path where it all begins, and for me, that is what brought me to where I am today,” Brickman says.
Where he is today, at 54, is poised to keep pushing the limits of his music, through composition and collaboration. Taking a break from the nuts and bolts of it, to bring his music to Manchester for an intimate solo concert, is both liberating and inspirational, he says.
“Where I am right now is a strange mix, when ego runs into insecurity. I believe in myself enough to be on a stage, knowing that I have something to share. And at the same time, I’m also still scared somewhere inside me that people won’t like it. Honestly, I don’t think that way as much anymore, although it’s still there,” says Brickman.
“You know, if people stopped coming to hear me perform, I can’t do anything about that; I can’t control it. But this is just what I have to do. Like anything that happens in life – like when we ask ourselves, ‘When did the kids grow up? When did that happen?’ This is the same for me. I have been successful in my life, and blessed. From here on, I just strive to be better at everything, and write better, and keep learning and keep being curious,” Brickman says. “Whether there’s an audience, or not, this is who I am, this is what I do, and it’s what I’ve always loved.”
Tickets for the Feb. 27 Jim Brickman show at the Palace Theatre, 80 Hanover St., Manchester, NH, are $45.50, $55.50, $75.50 (includes meet and greet before the show.) Click here for tickets or call the box office for best available seats, 603-668-5588.
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