April 15, 2017 Artist Image

BE AS YOU ARE

  • Jane

    jane, your making me crazy
    jane, your making me crazy
    you say you love me
    and you tell me
    you hate me
     
    jane, you got me runnin’ after you
    jane, you got me runnin’ after you
    you don’t know baby what you’re
    putting me through
     
    jane, oh jane
    jane, i’m going insane
     
    jane, you treat me like a fool
    jane, you treat me like a fool
    like a child
    like i’m way back in school
     
    jane, you know i’m really lost without you
    jane, you know i’m really lost without you
    tell me baby
    how i’m gonna figure out you

  • Lover

    lover, where have you gone
    lover, where have you gone
    left me here all alone
     
    told me change my old ways
    told me change my old ways
    lover i’m lonely these days
     
    no more
    late nights
    late fights
    stumbling dawns
    this time
    i’ll be
    you’ll see
    not like before, not like before
     
    lover come back to me
    lover  come back to me
    i’ve changed my ways you’ll see

  • Be As You Are

    be as you are
    the little man said
    come me
    lose your head
     
    be as you are
    a place in time
    a moment’s notice
    a world that rhymes
     
    hey, i’m talking to you
    hey, i’m talking to you
     
    be as you are
    as you were left
    tell your story
    a promise kept
     
    be as you are
    no more no less
    he said you’ll know
    what you do best

  • I Believe

    it all lies hidden in plain sight
    it was the way you looked at me tonight
     
    there’s a story that i’ve known for years
    but it’s ever silenced by these fears
     
    i believe
    in you and me
    i can see
    forever and eternity
    talk to me
    take me where i long to be
     
    i hear my words they go unsaid
    leave me such a lonesome quiet dread
     
    i have tried to say it
    with a silence low and long
    maybe now you’ll hear it in this song

  • Aja's Dream

    dreams
    mine are not sweet
    and yet i always go back for more
    living in the moment
    going through now
    as if i were a child
    the deeper the better
    the deeper the better
    in the morning before i fall
    i let the leaves come down on me
    they bury me in what feels like
    a long lost cocoon
    i am safe
    sleeping
    pure
    all you have to do is be
    as if you were a tree
    which is
    what i
    meant to be

    les reves
    Les miennes sont pas doux
    et pourtant je reviens toujours
    vivant dans L’instant
    traversant maintenant
    comme si j’etais un enfant
    plus c’est profound, mieux c’est
    plus c’est profound, mieux c’est
    dans le matin avant je tombe
    je laisse descendre les feuilles  sur moi
    Elles m’enterre dans ce qui me semble
    un cocon oublie’ depuis long temps
    Je suis en securite’
    endormi
    pur
    tous ce qu’on doit faire c’est d’Etre
    comme si on etait un arbre
    ce qui est
    ce que je
    voulais etre

  • You Know What I Mean

    you know what I mean
    sight unseen
     
    take me to a time
    soul revealed
    we are of a mind
    I am healed
     
    i built this house of words
    and live there clear
    you are what I heard
    and now hold dear

Available Now on: Image button
Share on:

Read More About 'Be As You Are'

‘be as you are’
words and music by john ambrosini

thank you to all the musicians who contributed their time and talent to this recording; to lorraine and to catherine moore;
thanks also to mark dann, nancy marciano at systems two, and rich pagano – for having great recording venues
thanks to matt simeone for the inspiration and for the great work on ‘soulmaking’ that set the bar for this recording

copyright 2008

be as you are

– Jane
– Lover
– Be as you are
– I believe
– Toots for doots
– Aja’s dream
– You know what I mean

words and music by john ambrosini

‘aja’s dream’ music by john ambrosini, poem by alexondra john ambrosini

horn arrangements by j.ambro.moore

horn parts for ‘lover’ by j.ambro.moore and devin leonard

bob lipman – french translation on ‘aja’s dream’

The Band
j.ambro.moore – piano, vocals
masahiro yamamoto – soprano and alto saxes
ariel de la portilla – acoustic/electric bass
devin leonard – trumpet, fluglehorn
steve shebar – drums, percussion
kevin  raczka – drums, percussion
davy mooney – guitars
vasu panicker – synthesizer
dominique vincent – spoken word on “aja’s dream”
debbie deane – backing vocals on “you know what I mean,” “jane” and “i believe”
william galison – harmonica
amie amis – french horn on “jane” and “i believe”

Production
produced by john ambrosini and rich lamb

all songs arranged by j.ambro.moore with additional arrangements, vocals, keys, and percussion by rich lamb

recorded and mixed by rich lamb

basic tracks recorded at systems two recording studios, brooklyn ny on oct. 17, 2006

overdubs and edits done at mark dann recording, new calcutta recording, and madisounds nyc

mixed at mark dann recording

mastered by tom durack

john ambrosini
pianist/composer/singer john ambrosini writes, performs, and teaches in the nyc area and has collaborated with a wide variety of jazz and pop musicians.
john’s discography includes ‘storybook’, ‘soul making’, ‘be as you are’, and ‘nine stories’ – these and others can be heard on www.johnambrosini.com & www.cdbaby.com/jmoore. his compositions have been heard on radio and television and his song ‘homeless’ was featured and performed at the kennedy center, washington, d.c., by the harlem school of the arts choir.
like charles ives and alexander borodin – who were known as ‘sunday composers’ – john has a successful 2nd career in commercial real estate and engineering yet has consistently composed music prolifically. this is his seventh recording as a composer and player and his creative output consists of a wide variety of styles: from vocal-based pop and jazz-influenced rock to children’s music and jazz.
while attending the merchant marine academy at ft schuyler where he studied electrical and marine engineering, john travelled into nyc to study piano with fred hersch and joanne bracken. later, he continued his piano technique and interpretation studies with kenny werner and jean michel pilc. his music theory, arranging, and compositional techniques were learned while working with bill holland in massapequa, long island. in 2001 john received his ma in international politics and economic development at fordham university, rose hill campus.
huntington, long island is where john and lorraine call home; and, they share life with their two children alexondra and john and their dogs ‘roodles’, ‘scout’, and ‘laika’.

The Band
j.ambro.moore – piano, vocals
masahiro yamamoto – soprano and alto saxes
ariel de la portilla – acoustic/electric bass
devin leonard – trumpet, fluglehorn
steve shebar – drums, percussion
kevin  raczka – drums, percussion
davy mooney – guitars
vasu panicker – synthesizer
dominique vincent – spoken word on “aja’s dream”
debbie deane – backing vocals on “you know what I mean,” “jane” and “i believe”
william galison – harmonica
amie amis – french horn on “jane” and “i believe”

THE REVIEWS

Until recently, Ambrosini has remained a bit under the radar. With performances like the one at Michiko Studios, this is no doubt coming to an end. The democracy of sound created by this ensemble on this night also elevated each of the players individually—perhaps none more than the leader himself.

MICHAEL BLOCKLong Island Pulse, Block and Blue Reviews

Watching the John Ambrosini Trio at a recent performance at the Faust Harrison Recital Hall in Huntington, it was easy to feel as if I was transported to the island of Manhattan – to the great clubs: Birdland, Iridium, Smalls, the Jazz Standard – with their cramped tables connected by narrow alleys, and some of the best jazz on the planet. The trio, which consisted of Ambrosini on piano, Jim Cammack on bass and Frank Bellucci on drums, brought a strong improvisational bop feel to the standard’s catalogue. The players – who have only been playing together as a trio for a short while - displayed the well-honed telepathy of a long- established group.

Michael BlockLong Island Pulse, Block and Blue Reviews
Do The Stars DreamMeeting Across The RiverFor A Smile A Road HomeHeartprintsBlack CoffeeLike Someone In LoveBye Bye BlackbirdSketches of You - 1st SketchSketches of You - 5th SketchThree Views To A SecretDon't Let It Bring You DownRiver ManTurnaroundSome Day My Prince Will Come