Christmas songs
Brickman returns to the Alabama promising holiday tunes and more
Friday, December 17, 2004
ALEC HARVEY
News staff writer
Jim Brickman has been playing the piano since he was 4. He's been recording on
the Windham Hill label for a decade, and he's one of the country's best-selling
adult contemporary artists.
But until a trip to Birmingham in 1997, he didn't have a grand piano.
"I have a deal with Yamaha, and when I came to Birmingham in 1996, French
Forbes brought it in and I played it," he says. "The next year, when I
came back, and it happened to be on the same date. I looked inside, and I had
signed the piano the year before on the same date. I thought it was good luck,
and I thought, `I am going to buy this piano.'"
The seven-foot grand piano now sits in his living room. He'll play another one
when he comes to the Alabama Theatre Sunday for "Jim Brickman +
Friends," a holiday show featuring Jeff Timmons (a founding member of 98
Degrees), Kristy Starling and Anne Cochran.
"I always like doing a Christmas tour, because I think my music really
lends itself to the Christmas season," the 43-year-old Brickman says.
"It's a perfect fit with what I do. I love playing holiday music. I think
it's really joyful."
Holiday tunes:
Sunday's shows (there are two of them) will feature Brickman's unique takes on
holiday favorites, as well as the hits he's had through the years.
"We do `Valentine,' and `The Gift' and `Love of My Life' and `Destiny' and
all the songs that have become popular on the radio," Brickman says.
"The Christmas stuff is woven through. When you're a composer and you have
your own style, if you apply that style to music like hymns and carols, it can
be a really cool interpretation of songs."
The last time Brickman came to Birmingham with his holiday show, he brought
Donny Osmond with him. This year and last, he's featured Timmons as his special
guest. Along with Christian artist Kristy Starling and Anne Cochran, a Brickman
favorite, the pianist thinks he's found the perfect combination.
"They're four great performers who sing great harmonies," Brickman
says. "They're all incredible singers, and they're all very giving
performers. Part of that is that there's no diva behavior. There's nobody going,
'Wait, that's my solo.' It's unlike anything I've ever seen, actually."
Timmons says that's what drew him back to the tour for another season.
Laughing all the way:
"All we do is laugh," he says. "We laugh on stage, we laugh off
stage. I've never had as much fun on a tour."
The tour follows a brief 98 Degrees reunion. The band - which featured Timmons,
brothers Nick and Drew Lachey and Justin Jeffre - got together to sing a number
on a Christmas special featuring Nick Lachey and his wife, Jessica Simpson.
"We hadn't seen each other, all of us together in the same room, since we
got off tour in 2001," Timmons says. "Nick called and asked if we
could sing a song a cappella. Everything sounded great."
The 98 Degrees breakup wasn't a nasty one, just guys growing apart, Timmons
says. He's headed toward the production end of the business while Nick, well,
uh, has become something of a celebrity for his MTV reality series,
"Newlyweds," with Jessica.
"I've only seen one episode," Timmons says. "It was too weird for
me to watch. I've seen it already. I know them both. I lived with them both.
I've seen it. It was just too weird."
What isn't weird for Timmons is the rigorous tour he's on with Brickman. The
group plays 35 concerts in 30 days. "We really don't have any days
off," says Timmons, 31, whose wife is in California with their daughter,
Alyssa, 5, and 3-year-old Jeffrey.
Timmons hasn't been to Birmingham with Brickman, who counts the cities among his
favorites.
"From the first time I did the Rob and Shannon morning show on Magic 96,
there was a welcoming feeling from Birmingham and Huntsville that was
rare," Brickman says. "There was a real connection, and a real
appreciation for what I was trying to do. That's not easy for a guy who plays
non-definable piano music with occasional performances by singers."
Brickman sees all ages at his shows, a result of the family-friendly atmosphere
he cultivates.
"There are multi-generations at the show, and people know it will be
something appropriate and comfortable," he says. "It's also in a nice
place like the Alabama Theatre where they know it's going to be an overall
pleasant experience."
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