ECHO PARK (THE 70S SESSIONS)

Tommy Peltier's Echo Park, compiled of
unheard tapes from the early/mid 1970s,
brings us into contact with a long-extinct

creature'equal parts slinky hipster, uni-
versal soldier of the heart and snuggly

loverman'the light-rockin'''' tinseltown
troubadour, the likes of which hasn''''t been

served around Hollywood since 1979! Tom-
my''''s somewhere in the tuneful tradition of

Rupert Holmes, Stephen Bishop, Andrew

Gold, David Batteau and of course, Cap-
tain Fantastic and the Thin White Duke.

His soulful songs and high-pitched vocals
(he was once called 'Tom Rapp on helium")

are paired with the requisite chopsy, jazz-en-
riched LA players, entrancing the ear with

grooves and performances both tasty and
sweet. Mixed and mastered with great zest
by Jim O''''Rourke (he brought new life to
recordings of a similar vintage for Judee
Sill''''s posthumous Dreams Come True back
in 2005), Echo Park is an encompassing trip
through a whole other time and place.
A trumpet player since childhood, Tommy
felt no need for pop music; he''''d come of age
during the west coast jazz explosion of the
1950s, hearing Gerry Mulligan and Chet
Baker''''s legendary performances at The Haig Club, just a mile west of MacArthur
Park. Inspired by the departures of the Ornette Coleman Quartet, he founded
The Jazz Corps in 1963, gigging all around around town, including a residency
at Hermosa Beach''''s also-legendary Lighthouse. Their sound was captured on a
stellar 1967 Pacific Jazz release featuring Roland Kirk. Jazz was Tommy's game,
but when he injured his side playing lead parts in a big band, he couldn''''t blow for
long without aggravating it. Something had to give.
Fortunately, there was a lot of giving in those days. In '''68, he met aspiring singer/
songwriter Judee Sill. He found her energy amazing, as she played bass in a group
he was sitting in with, and it quickly became clear'he and Judee were in tune! When
Tommy picked up the guitar and started writing songs, she was there with help and
encouragement. As the '70s dawned, Tommy was turning 35, but he was also turning
the page, like so many others, to find something amazing there on the other side.
Amazing music things flow freely up and down the tracklist of Echo Park.
Inspired'not influenced'by Yes, Supertramp, ELO, Queen, Bowie, The Beatles
and others, Tommy developed and honed his new music throughout the '70s. A
handful of the cuts here were recorded between 1970 and '''73, just a mile from Echo
Park Lake, at an unassuming rear house set back in the hills (that Tommy''''s been
a resident of since 1966!). Other tracks were recorded at sessions in Hollywood in
1975 and '''76, at now-obscure studios like Music Grinder and Heritage. Tommy was
tight with a great bunch of guys: guitarist Art Johnson, who worked with far-out
jazzers like John Klemmer, Paul Horn and Tim Weisburg, and was a member of
the progressive jazz collective The Advancement; keyboardist Richard Thompson,
whose studio rounds included The Association, John Hartford and Gabor Szabo;
bassist Wolfgang Melz, who played with peaceful, easy folkies Hedge & Donna,
Mark-Almond and Daniel Moore, plus Charles Lloyd, Szabo, Klemmer, and the
psychedelically wigged Gravity Adjusters Expansion Band. Judee Sill''''s on a couple
songs too, as are former Jazz Corpsmen Lynn Blessing and Bill Plummer. Tommy''''s
first pop band, Jasmine, appear on 'Here Today"'his very first vocal composition,
and the earliest recording here.
Lots of great times and great songs, but no contract.... which turns out to be our
gain, as we release them today! Tommy has continued to play music, releasing
new stuff with Plastic Theatre Art Band in 1996, and a number of releases under
his own name, most recently in 2011. And at the ripe young age of 90(!), he''''s still
playing today! Mixed and mastered