Junior Burke to Preview Selections
from Debut Album at Kerouac Festival on July 1
While You Were Gone Slated for Release on July 15, 2007 Album Produced by Industry Great Jim Tullio
Boulder, Colo. (Monday, June 25)—Naropa University Writing & Poetics Chair Junior Burke will be previewing musical selections from his upcoming album, While You Were Gone, at the university’s Jack Kerouac Festival Gala Extravaganza evening on July 1, 2007, at the Boulder Theater at 8 p.m. The long-awaited debut album was produced by industry great Jim Tullio and features 11 of Burke’s evocative pop gems. Drawing on influences ranging from folk rock and blue-eyed soul to blues, Burke is a consummate singer-songwriter. He fashions seamless melodies infused with lyrics that are piercing, authentic and unforgettable, performing them in an evocative tenor voice that invites the listener to share with him an intimate, intensely personal experience. A songwriter during his entire adult life, Burke has seen his work performed and recorded by a range of top talents, including Bob Dylan, Richie Havens, David Bromberg, Mandy Patinkin, Bonnie Koloc, Freddie Jackson, Utah Phillips, the Boston Pops and the Rochester Philharmonic.
The album is being released on Boulder-based Red Thread Records, a label dedicated to bringing the best of adult contemporary music to the forefront. Red Thread Records takes its name from the Eastern concept of a red thread that connects individuals who are destined to meet, regardless of time, place or circumstance, and whose lives will be forever intertwined from that time forward. Another Eastern tradition refers to the “red thread of passion.” The founders of Red Thread Records believe that music is the medium through which passion for life and its many facets can best be expressed and through which auspicious connections are often made.
In addition to his extensive songwriting background, Burke is a published author, most recently of the highly original work of historical fiction, entitled Something Gorgeous, taking an alternative look at the era that spawned The Great Gatsby. Something Gorgeous was published in 2005 by Farfalla/McMillan & Parrish. In 1999, the prolific Burke also won an Essay Award from New Millennium Writing, one of six writers cited nationally. He is currently Chair of the prestigious Writing & Poetics department of the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics at Naropa University, where he also directs the online Creative Writing program. In addition, Burke teaches fiction, dramatic writing and literary studies. He has most recently been involved in creating a film that pays tribute to Kerouac’s On the Road, called On the Road Now: Writers Respond to Kerouac in the 21st Century. On the Road Now visits many of the book’s original locations, viewing them through a contemporary lens. Burke’s song Teleclone Universe appears in the film. The film will also debut at the Kerouac Festival Gala Extravaganza. Call 303-245-4600 or 303-786-7030 to purchase tickets.
