Harvey Brownstone conducts an in-depth Interview with Jim Wilson, Award Winning Composer, Pianist & Recording Artist, Author of “Tuned-In: Memoirs of a Piano Man”.
Jim Wilson is a multi-award winning composer, pianist, concert and recording artist who has just released a fascinating, entertaining and insightful memoir entitled, “Tuned-In: Memoirs of a Piano Man: Behind the Scenes with Music Legends and Finding the Artist Within”. As a young man, he moved from his home in Texas to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a songwriter, musician and performer. But his ambitions took a major detour when his sideline job as a piano tuner blossomed into a hugely successful career as a piano technician for some of the greatest music artists of our generation, including Burt Bacharach, Elton John, Phil Collins, Quincy Jones, Bruce Springsteen, Carole King, Paul McCartney, Lionel Richie, David Foster, Dan Fogelberg – and believe me, we are just scratching the surface.
Jim Wilson got to know many of his legendary clients very well, and through his book, we get an up-close-and-personal glimpse into their lives off-stage. Following the sudden death of a dear friend, and with the encouragement of music superstar Dan Fogelberg, our guest made the life-altering decision to confront his insecurities and anxieties, emerge from the sidelines and follow his dreams and step into the limelight as a music artist in his own right.
What a career he’s had. He played keyboards, served as music director, and was frequently the opening act on tour for Stephen Bishop for 16 years. He’s recorded 10 piano-featured instrumental albums, 4 of which have hit the Billboard Top 20: “Northern Seascapes”, “Cape of Good Hope”, “Remembrance” and his beautiful tribute album to the late Dan Fogelberg, entitled, “Leader of the Band”.
Jim Wilson has had 2 PBS specials: “Cape of Good Hope and Other Musical Portraits”, and “Jim Wilson: A Place in my Heart, and his music has been streamed close to 80 million times by fans around the world. He was elected to the Board of Governors of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, and he was recently made a “Lifetime Member” of the Recording Academy.
If all of that weren’t enough, in the 80s, he helped develop the world’s first Musical Instrument Digital Interface adapter for acoustic piano, which is a revolutionary technology allowing the piano to interact with computers and synthesizers. He also collaborated with Spectra Sonics on the release of “Keyscape”, a virtual instrument software featuring the largest selection of unique collector keyboards in the world, including his own customized Yamaha C7 piano.
Harvey Brownstone is a retired judge of the Ontario Court of Justice and was the first openly gay judge in Canada. He is also the bestselling author of “Tug of War: A Judge’s Verdict on Separation, Custody Battles and the Bitter Realities of Family Court” and hosted “Family Matters with Justice Harvey Brownstone,” a television talk show on matters involving the family justice system.
After a distinguished legal career, Harvey was appointed a judge at the age of 38 in 1995. He has presided in family and criminal courts. He has been a trailblazer in several ways. He was the first openly gay judge in Canada. He was the first sitting judge in the world to write a national best seller and to host a TV talk show.
Harvey has been a role model and icon in the LGBTQ community. When same-sex marriage was legalized in Canada in 2003, he was the only judge to make himself publicly available to officiate at weddings for lesbian and gay couples travelling to Toronto from all over the world to get married. In 2007, he officiated at the wedding of Edith Windsor and Thea Spyer, the American couple whose marriage triggered the 2013 United States Supreme Court decision overturning the definition of “spouse” in the federal Defense of Marriage Act.
In February 2021, Harvey launched his online talk show “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” on his own YouTube channel. He saw this as an interesting hobby. Within several months, the show attracted hundreds of thousands – and then eventually, millions – of viewers. Because of the overwhelming success of the show, Harvey decided to retire from the judiciary on December 31, 2021 after having presided as a full-time judge for 26 1/2 years. Free from the constraints imposed upon judges regarding the expression of opinions and the endorsement of private enterprise, Harvey now happily devotes his full-time attention to hosting “Harvey Brownstone Interviews” as a regular member of the public – albeit one with a rather illustrious and unique career history.
Watch Jim Wilson on Harvey Brownstone Interviews on Youtube here:
The official website for Harvey Brownstone Interviews may be found at https://www.harveybrownstoneinterviews.com
Get “The Talk Show Blend” – Coffee For The Modern Day Trailblazer! By Harvey Brownstone from Breakfast At Dominique’s available at https://www.HollywoodBlends.com
For more information about Harvey Brownstone, here’s his Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harvey_Brownstone