Today’s holiday song brings a tear to my eye. Actually, many tears.
I first heard Johnny “Bowtie” Barstow about 20 years ago, and while I’ve heard his recordings many, many times since then, I still cannot make heads or tails of them. As explained on AllAboutJazz.com, keyboardist Larry Goldings happened to hear Barstow at an open mic night and decided this was a voice that must be recorded and shared with the world.
You may thank – or curse – Goldings for his service, but he’s right about one thing: there is nobody that carries a tune like Barstow. Where he carries it, and for how long… those questions are unanswerable.
Most of the “Bowtie” Barstow canon consists of Christmas songs, and so here’s his inimitable take on “Silent Night.” Just… I don’t know. I’m probably sorry.
