Jim Ramsey
Chattanooga, TN | Established. Jan 01, 2012 | SELF
Music
Press
Chattanooga, Tennessee's long lost musical native son, Jim Ramsey, has embarked on an effort to jump-start his performance career by re-releasing his visionary progressive folk rock album, On the Dying Breath of Wisdom (originally released in 2012), and launching a new website, JimRamseyMusic.com.
Jim, a Southern bard who struggled to market his songs in the 80's and 90's—before putting his efforts on hold to become a mental health counselor—is once again taking to the stage with his signature romantic, Celtic-tinged power ballads which chronicle his coming of age in Southern Appalachia.
Jim will be performing at the next Whole Foods Open Mic Night on December 3rd, and hopes to be included in the next "The Floor is Yours" lineup at the Barking Legs Theater on December 4th. Jim's optimism is buoyed by the recent founding of SoundCorps, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building Chattanooga's music economy, as well asby The Pulse's November 5th issue heralding the city's "music revolution."
A classically-trained brass and woodwind player, Jim was influenced by British folk and progressive rock artists (Al Stewart, Strawbs, Sandy Denny, Yes, Renaissance, Fairport Convention, Alan Parsons Project), and began writing songs in his teens. In the 1980's he taught himself to play guitar and began performing in small venues. Jim recorded his album between the years 1997-2000, but spent the better part of 2007-2011 just trying to survive the Recession, and in 2013 founded an interfaith ministry, Crossvine Church.
While Jim has been absent from the live performance scene for some time, he's back and better than ever with 15 years' worth of new material to share. He is currently seeking regional acoustic solo gigs and preparing to record his second album. - Mi2N
Chattanooga Folk Rock Singer-Songwriter, Jim Ramsey, Revives Career with Re-Release of Album in Wake of City's Music Revolution
Chattanooga, Tennessee-based folk rock singer-songwriter, Jim Ramsey, announces his long-awaited comeback in the wake of Chattanooga's music renaissance with the re-release of his album, "On the Dying Breath of Wisdom," and the unveiling of his new website, JimRamseyMusic.com.
Chattanooga Folk Rock Singer-Songwriter, Jim Ramsey, Revives Career with Re-Release of Album in Wake of City's Music Revolution Chattanooga, TN, November 18, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Chattanooga, Tennessee's long lost musical native son, Jim Ramsey, has embarked on an effort to jump-start his performance career by re-releasing his visionary progressive folk rock album, "On the Dying Breath of Wisdom," and launching a new website, JimRamseyMusic.com (where the full album is available for free streaming and purchase).
Jim, a Southern bard who struggled to market his songs in the 80's and 90' before putting his efforts on hold to become a mental health counselor, is once again taking to the stage with his signature romantic, Celtic-tinged power ballads which chronicle his coming of age in Southern Appalachia.
Jim says his optimism is buoyed by the recent founding of SoundCorps, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building Chattanooga's music economy, as well as by The (Chattanooga) Pulse's November 5th issue heralding the city's "music revolution."
A classically-trained brass and woodwind player, Jim was influenced by British folk and progressive rock artists (Al Stewart, Strawbs, Sandy Denny, Yes, Renaissance, Fairport Convention, Alan Parsons Project), and began writing songs in his teens. In the 1980's he taught himself to play guitar and began performing in small venues. He recorded "On the Dying Breath of Wisdom" between the years 1997-2000, but spent the better part of 2007-2011 just trying to survive the recession, and in 2013 founded an interfaith ministry, Crossvine Church.
While Jim has been absent from the live performance scene for some time, he's back and better than ever with 15 years' worth of new material to share. He will be performing at the next open mic event at Whole Foods Market on December 3rd. Jim is preparing to record his second album and is seeking regional performance venue and festival bookings.
Please email info@jimramseymusic.com for booking information.
http://jimramseymusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jimramseymusic
https://twitter.com/JimRamseyMusic - Bing News
Chattanoogan Jim Ramsey has embarked on an effort to jump-start his performance career by re-releasing his progressive folk rock album, On the Dying Breath of Wisdom (originally released in 2012), and launching a new website, JimRamseyMusic.com.
Review for Jim Ramsey:
Mr. Ramsey, a Southern bard who struggled to market his songs in the 80's and 90's before putting his efforts on hold to become a mental health counselor, is once again taking to the stage with his signature romantic, Celtic-tinged power ballads which chronicle his coming of age in Southern Appalachia.
Mr. Ramsey will be performing at the next Whole Foods Open Mic Night on Dec. 3, and hopes to be included in the next "The Floor is Yours" lineup at the Barking Legs Theater on Dec. 4. His optimism is buoyed by the recent founding of SoundCorps, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building Chattanooga's music economy. - The Chattanoogan.com
Jim Ramsey’s On the Dying Breath of Wisdom is simply lovely music
Contemporary folk.” That’s what they call it, but the only thing contemporary in my estimation are the lyrics. The music is pure retro and pure gold. Jim Ramsey is his name, and his music has been elsewhere described as folk, soft rock, progressive and Celtic.
That last designation gave me some pause. I fancy myself a fellow who knows a little about Celtic music and I didn’t initially hear anything overtly Celtic, but…upon repeated listening I recognized an element of the man’s voice that is definitely on par with today’s contemporary Irish singers.
So it is an apt designation, so long as you aren’t looking for the sort of drinking, fighting and hell-raising Celtic tunes some other, less-reputable local sorts are known to proffer.
Jim’s album, On the Dying Breath of Wisdom, was first released in 2012 and contains ten tracks that exemplify ’70s progressive folk. Some of the characteristics of that genre/era include very high production values (more on that in a moment) lavish “background” arrangements with a simple guitar or piano featured more prominently in the foreground, and straightforward lyrics largely drawn from real-life experiences.
Back in my days as a fledging radio jock, it might have been labeled “adult contemporary,” a designation that often provokes sneers from the sort who prefer music that makes them want to break things.
But the truth is that it’s music that isn’t seeking to be pretentious, preachy or edgy; it just wants to be beautiful, and at that, Jim succeeds easily.
I said I would touch a little more on the production values of this album.The first track, “Concord to Paris,” opens with a blazing synth that, if not a vintage analog model (Sequential Circuits, Moog or Oberheim come to mind), it sure as hell replicates the sound closely enough as makes no difference. That alone was enough to give me a smile.
I have a particular love for analog synths that may be explained further in a future article when I’m a day past deadline and no bands have offered up anything that week.
That being said, as the track grooved, I couldn’t help but think, “Something here is very familiar, I sense a presence I’ve not felt since…” Then I checked the liner notes and there it was: recording engineer Fred Schendel.
Ah, Fred. There is little-to-no-chance that Fred remembers me, but he is the sort of fellow that, having met him, you will never forget. Fred (and Glass Hammer) are nigh legendary in certain musical circles in this town. His touch on a recording is as recognizable as the smell of scotch on Richard Burton’s breath. The most wonderful thing about this is that Fred’s particular talents make him the perfect vehicle for realizing Jim’s vision.
The combination of the two, along with the considerable talents of Joseph and Unita Akins and Ed Holub (with assistance from Steve Babb) has created an album that, as a representative of its genre, is nearly flawless.
I say “nearly” only to operiet ones asinum, which Google Translate tells me is Latin for “cover one’s ass.” If there is a flaw, I can’t find it. It is the best of what it is.
The album is On the Dying Breath of Wisdom, the artist is Jim Ramsey, the lyrics are straight from the heart, and it’s all available online through jimramseymusic.com as well as the usual suspects.
Listen to it. It's worth it.
by Marc Michael
November 18, 2015 - The Pulse
Chattanooga, Tennessee's long lost musical native son, Jim Ramsey, has embarked on an effort to jump-start his performance career by re-releasing his visionary progressive folk rock album, On the Dying Breath of Wisdom, and launching a new website, JimRamseyMusic.com (where the full album is available for free streaming and purchase).
Jim, a Southern bard who struggled to market his songs in the 80's and 90' before putting his efforts on hold to become a mental health counselor, is once again taking to the stage with his signature romantic, Celtic-tinged power ballads which chronicle his coming of age in Southern Appalachia.
Jim says his optimism is buoyed by the recent founding of SoundCorps, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building Chattanooga's music economy, as well as by The Pulse's November 5th issue heralding the city's "music revolution."
A classically-trained brass and woodwind player, Jim was influenced by British folk and progressive rock artists (Al Stewart, Strawbs, Sandy Denny, Yes, Renaissance, Fairport Convention, Alan Parsons Project), and began writing songs in his teens. In the 1980's he taught himself to play guitar and began performing in small venues. He recorded On the Dying Breath of Wisdom between the years 1997-2000, but spent the better part of 2007-2011 just trying to survive the recession, and in 2013 founded an interfaith ministry, Crossvine Church.
While Jim has been absent from the live performance scene for some time, he's back and better than ever with 15 years' worth of new material to share. He will be performing at the next open mic event at Whole Foods Market on December 3rd. Jim is preparing to record his second album and is seeking regional performance venue and festival bookings.
Please email info@jimramseymusic.com for booking information.
http://jimramseymusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jimramseymusic
https://twitter.com/JimRamseyMusic - Music Talkers
wake of Chattanooga's music renaissance with the re-release of his album, "On the Dying Breath of Wisdom," and the unveiling of his new website, JimRamseyMusic.com.
Chattanooga Folk Rock Singer-Songwriter, Jim Ramsey, Revives Career with Re-Release of Album in Wake of City's Music Revolution Chattanooga, TN, November 18, 2015 --(PR.com)-- Chattanooga, Tennessee's long lost musical native son, Jim Ramsey, has embarked on an effort to jump-start his performance career by re-releasing his visionary progressive folk rock album, "On the Dying Breath of Wisdom," and launching a new website, JimRamseyMusic.com (where the full album is available for free streaming and purchase).
Jim, a Southern bard who struggled to market his songs in the 80's and 90' before putting his efforts on hold to become a mental health counselor, is once again taking to the stage with his signature romantic, Celtic-tinged power ballads which chronicle his coming of age in Southern Appalachia.
Jim says his optimism is buoyed by the recent founding of SoundCorps, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building Chattanooga's music economy, as well as by The (Chattanooga) Pulse's November 5th issue heralding the city's "music revolution."
A classically-trained brass and woodwind player, Jim was influenced by British folk and progressive rock artists (Al Stewart, Strawbs, Sandy Denny, Yes, Renaissance, Fairport Convention, Alan Parsons Project), and began writing songs in his teens. In the 1980's he taught himself to play guitar and began performing in small venues. He recorded "On the Dying Breath of Wisdom" between the years 1997-2000, but spent the better part of 2007-2011 just trying to survive the recession, and in 2013 founded an interfaith ministry, Crossvine Church.
While Jim has been absent from the live performance scene for some time, he's back and better than ever with 15 years' worth of new material to share. He will be performing at the next open mic event at Whole Foods Market on December 3rd. Jim is preparing to record his second album and is seeking regional performance venue and festival bookings.
Please email info@jimramseymusic.com for booking information.
http://jimramseymusic.com/
https://www.facebook.com/jimramseymusic
https://twitter.com/JimRamseyMusic - PR.com
Discography
On the Dying Breath of Wisdom (2012)
Photos
Bio
Jim Ramsey is a Chattanooga-based singer-songwriter whose Celtic-tinged folk rock music features introspective lyrics blending British progressive influences (Al Stewart, Strawbs, Sandy Denny, Yes, Renaissance, Chris De Burgh, Alan Parsons Project) with a dash of Scenic City soul. He released his album, On the Dying Breath of Wisdom, in 2012. Jim is currently available for booking as a solo artist for regional gigs, and is open to collaborating with like-minded artists.
Jim was born in New Jersey in 1961 to a career Air Force father and a British mother. He lived in Ohio, England, and Florida before his family settled in Chattanooga when he was 12. He developed an early love of music listening to Top 40 AM radio and his parents' record collection. Jim received formal training in junior high school band, where Jim played French horn, trumpet, and bass clarinet. It was during this time that he wrote his first songs, a passion that was further fueled by his discovery of British progressive rock and then playing electric piano in a garage band.
After graduating from high school in 1979, Jim enlisted in the U.S. Army, where he contributed to the reactivation of the 2nd Chemical Battalion at Fort Hood, Texas. Returning to Chattanooga following his discharge 1982, Jim taught himself to play the guitar and spent the rest of the decade honing his songwriting skills and promoting his music. His songwriting from its inception was intimately entwined with his spiritual search, which led him from Zen Buddhism to Catholicism, culminating in a two-month stay in a Trappist monastery in 1987, where he almost made the decision to become a monk. Instead, however, Jim had a daughter, started playing as a solo acoustic artist in small local venues, and returned to school in 1992, graduating with a Master’s degree in Counseling in 1996 from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
After beginning his counseling career, Jim began working on his album, On the Dying Breath of Wisdom, in 1997, which was completed in May, 2000. The increasing demands of his new career at that time, however, forced Jim to put his music pursuits on hold until 2007 when he was forced out of his field due to the worsening economy.
While Jim continued to write new music, the confluence of these events with the onset of the Great Recession initiated a four-year crisis, during which time he found himself constantly on the verge of homelessness. Having survived that ordeal, Jim returned to UTC in 2011 to pursue further graduate studies in school psychology, and he was finally able to release his album (in digital format) in 2012.
As an ordained minister, Jim was called to start an interfaith ministry, Crossvine Church, in 2013, through which he continued to provide ceremony officiant and pastoral counseling services. While Jim's songs are not religious, per se, because his songwriting emanates directly from his soul and has always been integral to his spirituality, he regards it as "sacred music," and therefore includes it as part of his ministry.
Band Members
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