News

September 13, 2019

ENTERTAINMENTFuller French Releases New Single, “I’ll Leave a Key by the Door”

A certain song can provoke memories of an unforgettable experience. Musician Fuller French creates endearing melodies to enjoy with that special someone…

July 27, 2019

Thrive Global Interview with Fuller French!

Another very important bit of advice is to blaze your own trail. A lot of younger musicians try to sound like their…

July 23, 2019

Authority Magazine Interview!

We had the pleasure to interview Fuller French. Fuller is the Texas born and bred singer, songwriter and pianist known for swooning…

July 02, 2019

Xune Magazine “Champagne Rendezvous” Review!

This ultra-smooth track is dripping with elegant swagger, conveying an easy-listening style sound guarantee to be the perfect addition to all of…

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ABOUT

FULLER FRENCH

Growing up amidst the West Texas oil fields, a young Fuller French used to see the town’s motto on car license plates, “The sky’s the limit in Midland.” And that’s how he’s approaching a remarkable music career some two-plus decades in the making with a debut five-song EP that captures a lifetime of pursuing his muse.

The piano player/writer/composer and arranger wrote some of these songs while still in his teens, recording them with a remarkable group of musicians, including Latin samba jazz pioneer Laurindo Almeida, Elton John bassist Bob Birch, sax player Don Menza (Buddy Rich, Elvin Jones, Maynard Ferguson, Doc Severinsen) and drummer Rick Latham (B.B. King, Rick Derringer, Edgar Winter, Neal Schon,) with contributions from multi-Grammy-winning engineer Al Schmitt, producer Larry Goetz (Jeff Lorber, Robben Ford, The Jazz Crusaders, War) and film composer C.J. Vanston (whose film credits include Christopher Guest’s Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind and For Your Consideration).

MUSIC

CHAMPAGNE RENDEZVOUS

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												<h3>CHAMPAGNE RENDEZVOUS</h3>
												<p><strong>Release Date: May 31, 2019</strong></p>
<p>Fuller French carries the air of Sinatra-esque glamour and confidence that sparkles through his coy glances and elegant piano play. His lyrics drip with the essence of love in a poetic glimpse into that which we all long for. His cool and collected swagger, a byproduct of a life of diverse pursuits within and outside of the music industry, adds to the je ne sais quoi that leaves listeners hanging on for more. Beyond his beginnings in the United States, French’s music is currently played from Singapore, Brazil, France, Russia, Spain and even in the Canary Islands. With his latest release “Champagne Rendezvous” out May 31st, it’s only a matter of time until the whole world is adoring their significant other to the radiant and unforgettable sound of French’s music. In today’s heavily automated world, Fuller French is the mysterious, cultured and far beyond talented risk taker breaking the genre barriers while giving us all the feeling that he may be the most interesting man in the world.</p>
<p><a href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/champagne-rendezvous-ep/1459306137" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4304" src="https://www.fullerfrench.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Available_on_iTunes_Badge_US-UK_110x40_0824.png" alt="" width="110" height="40" /></a></p>

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SOMETHING WONDERFUL

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												<h3>SOMETHING WONDERFUL</h3>
												<p><strong>Release Date: Sept. 15, 2017</strong></p>
<p> </p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/waves-against-the-shore-single/id1255183385" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4304" src="https://www.fullerfrench.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Available_on_iTunes_Badge_US-UK_110x40_0824.png" alt="" width="110" height="40" />  </a><a href="http://smarturl.it/SW_Amazon" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-4309" src="https://www.fullerfrench.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Amazon-Music-Logo-1476279710-640x400-300x188.png" alt="" width="74" height="46" srcset="https://www.fullerfrench.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Amazon-Music-Logo-1476279710-640x400-300x188.png 300w, https://www.fullerfrench.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Amazon-Music-Logo-1476279710-640x400-600x375.png 600w, https://www.fullerfrench.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Amazon-Music-Logo-1476279710-640x400.png 640w" sizes="(max-width: 74px) 100vw, 74px" /></a></p>

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Brazilian Sunrise (feat. Laurindo Almeida) – Single

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												<h3>Brazilian Sunrise (feat. Laurindo Almeida) – Single</h3>
												<p><strong>Release Date:Jul 29, 2016</strong></p>
<p>The earliest version of Brazilian Sunrise was written in 1986 when I was still in college at The University of Texas. When I moved to Los Angeles in 1990, I recorded the basic tracks for the demo along with several others, the rest of which had vocals. Jazz great Don Menza played the alto sax and I knew that I needed a special guitar player for the lead. I had always been a lover of the Bossa Nova and Brazilian music and my bass player Bob Birch recommended that I get Laurindo Almeida to play on the song. I was shocked to learn that Laurindo was in the area – and further shocked to learn that it was actually he along with Bud Shank that had created the Bossa Nova sound with a series of albums in the early 1950’s, a full ten years before the Bossa Nova of Jobim with which I was familiar (The Girl from Ipanema, Desafinado, Corcovado, Quiet Nights, etc.).</p>
<p>Of course, being fresh to LA from Texas, I thought there was no chance he’d play on the track. But, I sent him a note and he called me right back. He liked the song very much and wanted me to come over to work out the part. When I got to his house, we had a nice visit and he showed me around his collection of records and memories, some of which included his five Grammys (he was the only person ever to win a Grammy in both the Jazz and Classical categories). After getting to know him and learning more about his amazing career, I sat at the piano and played my song while he worked out the guitar lines. Looking back, I now recognize that that was one of those moments in life that I should have appreciated a lot more, but at the time we were just two musicians coming up with a part – actually, in reality it was a master teaching a novice something beautiful about music. Laurindo had recorded over a hundred albums in jazz and classical and of course I already had many of them. But, before I left, this very humble and generous man gave me some gifts including a copy of his latest work.</p>
<p>A few days later he came to the studio and we spent the afternoon recording his parts not only on Brazilian Sunrise but a few other songs that may or may not ever get released. As it turns out, about that same time Laurindo played the haunting guitar in the Academy Award winning Unforgiven, but it is entirely possible that Brazilian Sunrise was the last pop/jazz song he recorded. Twenty-five years later this not-so-young-man from Texas realizes how fortunate he was to have been around such greatness.</p>
<p>I was lucky to have a series of incredible players with me on the track and for Bob’s insight that Laurindo was the right man for the job. The recording also included wonderful performances by a talented group of musicians including producer Larry Goetz on rhythm guitar (it also was Larry’s idea to have Bob play the fretless bass), Rick Latham on drums, Efren Toro on percussion and John Thomas on keyboards. When that demo was recorded in the early 1990’s, it was part of a twelve-song set. This was the only instrumental and for a long period of time I just called it The Instrumental. When it was finally released several months ago, I decided on a much more fitting title that was worthy of the beautiful piece that it is. Brazilian Sunrise is a nod to Laurindo’s Brazilian heritage and for the rebirth – or sunrise – of this lost, old musical friend.</p>
<p><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/brazilian-sunrise-feat-laurindo-almeida-si%0Angle/id1132968225" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4304" src="https://www.fullerfrench.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Available_on_iTunes_Badge_US-UK_110x40_0824.png" alt="" width="110" height="40" /></a></p>

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Echoes Single

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												<h3>Echoes Single</h3>
												<p><strong>Release Date: Jan 13, 2017</strong></p>
<p>My friend Katie Leede’s family owned the old Ford estate in Maine. She decided to have her wedding at a quaint little chapel on the grounds there in the early 1990’s and asked me to play The Wedding March at the ceremony. Other than being terrified that I was going to hit some bad notes and send the happy couple off with broken ears, I was thrilled to be a part of it and excited to spend some of the summer in Maine. While I was there I camped out in Mr. Leede’s library listening to his vast collection of records. I discovered some albums by a great piano player from the 1950’s named George Feyer. Every album was entitled Echoes of Spain, or Echoes of France, or Echoes of Childhood, Echoes of This or That, etc., … AND THEY WERE INCREDIBLE!</p>
<p>So, when I returned to Los Angeles, the word ECHOES was in my mind and I was fascinated with the power or music to emotionally connect in ways that other art forms might not – particularly when it came to trying to recapture that elusive and euphoric feeling of a love from long ago. Echoes had become in my mind not only related to sounds but also to feelings that might reverberate over time. I don’t know how I did it, but I came up with the melody and later the lyrics for the song and got together with my rhythm section (Bob Birch, Rick Latham and Efren Toro). I had Jan Stevens secure Peter Kelsey to engineer and Terry Wollman to play rhythm guitar and I laid down what became the first demo for the song.</p>
<p>Thanks to Terry’s beautiful rhythm guitar, the song had a little of the Bossa Nova feel. The lyrics told the story of a long ago love and I started thinking about people that could sing it properly and convey its emotional depth. As I listened to it more and more it became apparent to me that there was something quite special about it. I certainly did not consider myself a vocalist but knew that this song deserved to get out.</p>
<p>The great Walter Annenberg was a friend of mine and I called him to ask how I could get it to Frank Sinatra, knowing that they were friends (Frank’s wedding was at his house). He immediately called Danny Schwartz, Frank’s neighbor at Tamarisk in the desert. Danny called and had me come over to play the song for him… and he loved it! Later that day he gave it to Barbara Sinatra… and she loved it! Barbara put it on Frank’s bedside table but unfortunately he had trouble with his cassette player and never got around to listening to it. Days later his best friend Jilly Rizzo died in a horrific car crash and I’m sure listening to my silly song was the last thing Frank wanted to do.</p>
<p>So, I put that dream out of my mind and continued to think about how to improve it. It needed strings and I knew that one of the most accomplished and innovative string arrangers around was Paul Buckmaster. As it turns out, Paul had worked at Capitol many times and my friend Paula Salvatore put me in touch with him. I took the song over and Paul devised an incredible arrangement that we eventually recorded with a warm string section in Studio B at Capitol.</p>
<p>Many years later, tracks from that original demo (including Dan Higgins’ beautifully whimsical flute) were used when we overdubbed Craig Stull’s tender guitar and deleted my less-than-optimal vocals. Twenty-seven-time Grammy-winner Al Schmitt mixed the song in Capitol Studio A and that is the single that plays worldwide today. Be forewarned, however, it is frighteningly possible that I might rework the lyrics and release a vocal version someday.</p>
<p><a href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/echoes-single/1189395050" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4304" src="https://www.fullerfrench.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Available_on_iTunes_Badge_US-UK_110x40_0824.png" alt="" width="110" height="40" /></a></p>

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Waves Against The Shore

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												<h3>Waves Against The Shore</h3>
												<p><strong>Release Date: <span class="aBn" tabindex="0" data-term="goog_852263878"><span class="aQJ">Aug 11, 2017</span></span></strong></p>
<p>I remember sitting at the piano near the breezeway at The La Jolla Beach and Tennis Club playing an early version of this song in the 1980’s, but the seeds of it were created somewhere back in Texas.  My thought while looking at the waves in the ocean was that while time goes on, there is always something new that comes around – like waves – they are always young and there is a continual rebirth.</p>
<p>I recorded the early demo in Studio B at Capitol with Bob Birch, Rick Latham, Efren Toro, Larry Goetz, John Thomas, Lonnie Jordan and Larry Klimas.  Later CJ Vanston laid some tracks in at Sunset Sound before I mixed the demo – with my ear-piercing vocal – in Studio C with Peter Doell.  This year when it was apparent that it could be a single for this new album, I unearthed those original 24-track tapes and learned that they couldn’t just be transferred – they had to be <i>baked</i> in order to firm up the defective backing that was on AMPEX tapes from the 1990’s.  I called Paula at Capitol and she informed me that that information was accurate and that they had had to do that with the entire Capitol library.  So, I sent those 27-year-old tapes to Capitol and they placed them in a convection oven for 10 hours at 120 degrees to bake them.  The tracks were then ready to be transferred to a hard-drive and I could overdub as needed at that point.</p>
<p>The song had to be edited as well as originally there was a long gospel/rock ending – not really appropriate for the smooth jazz genre it was entering.  CJ Vanston took the drive and we edited out that part before formulating a new intro and an ending with existing material recorded all those years ago.  I then took the tapes to Capitol to edit out the vocal and overdub a nylon guitar for the melody.  Craig Stull had just done the exquisite work on <i>Echoes</i> so I brought him back to do it again on <i>Waves</i>.  Al Schmitt mixed the song with help from Steve Genewick and that is the version that was released August 11.</p>
<p><a href="https://music.apple.com/us/album/waves-against-the-shore-single/1255183385" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-4304" src="https://www.fullerfrench.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Available_on_iTunes_Badge_US-UK_110x40_0824.png" alt="" width="110" height="40" /></a></p>

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