John Fairhart first appeared on these pages earlier this year. Regular readers will remember his trio of singles profiled here in July. Those tracks introduced a veteran musician and songwriter from Houston, Texas with a taste for adult contemporary pop, jazz, and downtempo electronic grooves.
Although he has released music as a solo artist, John Fairhart usually works behind the scenes. A lifelong musician and composer, he collaborates with musicians around the world to record his music. Under the umbrella of his company Fairhart Music, he has produced everything from electro-pop singles to instrumental film scores.
“A Sweet Love” is the brand new single from John Fairhart, released worldwide via all major streaming services on August 26, 2023. The track is a collaboration with Greek vocalist Manthy. A regular contributor to Fairhart productions, the singer is also featured on previous singles “No Time Or Space” and “Show Me Something”. On the new track she is joined by composer/pianist Stefan Olofsson and saxophonist Hugo Lee. Electric piano seventh chords ride a mellow bass and drum funk as the singer delivers her dreamy smooth-jazz love song.
Check out “A Sweet Love” below. You can also hear the song on the Deep Dive : Jazz & Classical playlist, or listen on your favorite streaming service. We had the chance to chat with John Fairhart about his new music. Check out his answers to our 8 questions below. And follow the links at the end of this article to connect with the artist.
8 Questions with John Fairhart
Where are you from?
I am from Houston, Texas.
How long have you been making music?
John Fairhart established Fairhart Music Productions in September 2022.
Who are the musicians involved in your project?
My music productions company works with world-class session musicians from around the world, notably Swedish pianist and composer Stefan Oloffson, Polish Trumpeter Patryk Rynkiewicz, Ukrainian violinist Irina Markevich, Australian sax player Hugo Lee, Greek vocalist Manthy Goula and Colombian vocalist Rosli Murillo, among others.
Who are your biggest musical influences?
Growing-up in the late 60’s and 70’s, during the explosion of rock n roll, I was mostly influenced by the Motown sound with great artists like Marvin Gaye, Al Green, Stevie Wonder, etc., to name a few. Although I enjoyed most of the rock n roll of that era, I was primarily into Pop, R&B, Motown as well as the funk sound of Earth Wind and Fire. I listened to a lot of Steely Dan, Hall and Oates, Barry White, and Isaac Hayes, Later, I gravitated to smooth jazz such as Spiro Gyra, John Klemmer, Chuck Mangione as well as Boney James, Brian Culbertson, and Jonathan Fritzen.
What is your greatest non-musical influence?
I began having spiritual experiences in middle school, which influenced my desire to search for a path to enlightenment. I became a Christian in college and read everything I could find to help me understand what was happening to me. It wasn’t until I began to practice meditation that I was able to gain access to and to trust the inner guidance. Once I became established within my inner intuition, I realized that following intuition is surrendering to divine guidance. Life became a delight, even in difficult and challenging times, the inner guidance was always calm and peaceful.
What inspired you to create this project?
“Inspired” is the right term to describe my decision to form a music production company. I have no music training, nor do I play any musical instruments. But I was fascinated with the music business with my background as an attorney and my love for music, it made sense that I would want to get into the music business.
What surprised me was my interest in songwriting because I had never attempted to write a song. I examined how songs are created. Either a tune is composed, or music is added to a poem or lyrics. Since I am not a musician, naturally, I tried writing lyrics, which lead me to wanting to produce my songs. To write lyrics requires “inspiration” and I discovered that I enjoyed the process of writing songs, which naturally led me to wanting to produce my songs and then, to produce other’s music, as well.
What are your plans for the future (musically)?
My music production company will continue to produce original music for my two YouTube channels. Currently, we produce a lo-fi smooth jazz beats channel at @FM – Fairhart Music as well as a lo-fi hip hop beats channel at @Night Beats Live. In addition, we will continue to produce smooth jazz albums as well as pop songs and smooth jazz singles.
Is there anything else you would like to say?
Working with composers, musicians, sound engineers, graphic artists for album cover art, etc. is an incredible experience and pure delight.