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To put you in the holiday mood, our timing is good this month for some new Christmas music, thanks to Parma composer/ arranger Dennis Jennings. Under his alter ego of Celestial Image, Jennings has a new 15 cut disc dubbed "Celestial Christmas," that various retailers across the country will be playing nearly 100,000 times this season. To get a little more background on the songs, we sent OhioOnline music correspondent Peanuts out on a sleigh ride to find out what else is in Jennings' bag of tricks. |
| OO: |
Are you an Ohio native? |
| DJ: |
"I was born in Cleveland and spent half of my childhood there, then moved to Medina. I graduated from Medina High and Cleveland State University." |
| OO: |
What personal influences did you have growing up? |
| DJ: |
"Music has always been part of my life. There is so much of it in this area and so many types of music, we sometimes don't realize how fortunate we are. Before World War I, my grandfather was a mandolin player in the German beer halls of Cleveland's west side. My mother took me to the Higbee's department store in downtown Cleveland for trumpet lessons when I was eight years old. In the late 1960's, I learned blues harmonica and, in the 1970's, became interested in electronic music. After finishing a course on it at Cleveland State University, I bought a synthesizer from Al Ravenstein of Pere Ubu and it still works." |
| OO: |
So you went in that direction musically? |
| DJ: |
"I saw electronic music as a way of achieving musical goals, being self-reliant. After seeing a show in 1975 at Rochester, New York's Strasenburgh Planetarium, I fell in love with the planetarium medium. I then began creating soundtracks for shows at the Schuele Planetarium in Bay Village. In 1976, I became the electronic music and audio specialist at the Cleveland Space Theater aka the big ball on Lakeside Avenue." |
| OO: |
Name a musician that has affected your writing. |
| DJ: |
"I would have to say the late Nonesuch recording artist Rudolph Bubalo influenced my composition." |
| OO: |
Since he's no longer here, what national artist would you match up with in concert? |
| DJ: |
"I would like to jam with Edgar Froese of Tangerine Dream. As for someone in Ohio, there's a Parma guitarist named Rick Kalister I've begun collaborating with." |
| OO: |
How would you describe your music? |
| DJ: |
"I guess I would call it film or soundtrack music because I am film orientated. WJCU-FM disc jockey Bill Immarino described it as 'layered' and I think that accurately describes what I create." |
| OO: |
Is this your first disc out? |
| DJ: |
"This is the first physical cd I have created. I did three other virtual cd's that were available on the old MP3.com site. I started downloading music to the internet in 1999. It took six years, but I finally created a disc after the music had been used commercially and has been loaded on download services like Itunes and a dozen others. I have tons of music that is available for free on the net." |
| OO: |
Where was Celestial Christmas finally put together? |
| DJ: |
"Diskcopy LLC in Alpha Park on Cleveland's east side. The actual recording was done at my house on my computers, so I was able to take my time." |
| OO: |
Long term plans? |
| DJ: |
"I have started to work with integrating musicians into the compositions and would eventually like to use vocalists. I also enjoy doing film music and hope to expand in that direction." |
| OO: |
Final thoughts? |
| DJ: |
"I have had my music on the web since 1999 and it has been an interesting ride. I like the ability that Itunes and the other digital download services give the listener to buy individual tunes. Digital downloads are also easier for the independent musician to manage because you don't have to deal with inventory and product." |
