Jim Keller is an American musician, producer, manager, publisher, and composer whose work in the music business spans more than 40 years.
Keller first got attention years ago when, as part of San Francisco group Tommy Tutone, he co-wrote and performed “867-5309” (“Jenny Jenny”), a classic power pop tune that made 80’s radio so listenable.
After migrating to New York, he jumped the fence, running Philip Glass’s publishing company and taking over management of Glass’s career as director of Dunvagen Music.
In 2005, Keller returned to recording and performing and with a voice aged by time, whiskey and promises, he’s got the sound of someone who could have been Tom Petty’s therapist.
A cult figure in the music business, Keller’s gigs at New York’s Lakeside Lounge and The Rockwood Music Hall are legendary. If the best players in town weren’t on stage with him, they were in the audience, singing along, playing along, making the sort of noise that would get you locked up in a lesser town.
His latest project came about when he and Mitchell Froom met up in LA, and after multiple meals and cups of bad coffee at the Snug Harbor on Wilshire Boulevard, with hours wasted talking about every album made before 1972, decided to work on some music together. They spent a few months sending songs back and forth — and Keller made two or three trips west from Brooklyn — before settling on a project idea. They’d record three albums, with the same band, same narrative character, and in the same sonic landscape. They agreed they needed David Hidalgo and Bob Glaub in the band, with Mitchell handling keyboards and Keller on acoustic guitar. With them in place, Mitchell brought in drummer Michael Urbano from San Francisco.
The album trilogy, dubbed Tres Caminos, began with the recording of first album By No Means in Michell’s home studio. With David Boucher co-producing they recorded 10 tracks in five days, all live, very simple. One pandemic later it was time to get the band back together for the second album in the trilogy. The same crew met up in January 2023 and recorded Daylight. This time they met at Valentine Studio in the Valley, an ancient studio built in the early 60’s with a vibe (and gear) unchanged since then. Again, they played live, five days, and this time recorded 12 tracks.
The resulting Daylight is a continuation of their concept, with a dozen new songs. Simple and straightforward.
