Jim Brickman began playing the piano at the tender age of five and following his graduation from Shaker Heights High School, studied composition and performance at the Cleveland Institute of Music. Shortly after in 1980 Brickman made a name for himself writing short commercial jingles for companies including McDonalds and Pontiac through his advertising company The Brickman Arrangement.
In 1994 Brickman recorded and released his debut album “No Words” on Windham Hill Records and which featured the song “Rocket to the Moon”, his first single to reach the Billboard Singles Chart. The songwriter’s follow-up “By Heart” was certified Gold as were his two subsequent 1997 releases “Picture This” and “The Gift”.
“Picture This” was the pianist’s highest charting album peaking at No. 30 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and eventually went platinum. “The Gift” was Brickman's first Christmas album and he later went on to produce and release a handful of Christmas albums including “Peace” (2003), “Christmas Romance” (2006), “Homecoming” (2007), “The Hymns and Carols of Christmas” (2008) and his two Christian inspired albums “Grace” (2005) and “Faith” (2008).
The songwriter continued to release well-received adult contemporary albums towards the end of the 1990s and into the new millennium. These included 1999’s “Destiny”, 2000’s “My Romance”, 2001’s “Simple Things”, 2003’s “Peace” and 2005’s “The Disney Songbook”. The year after in 2006 Brickman departed from his long-time label Wyndham Hill Records and singed to Savoy Jazz through which he released “Escape”, which featured the singles “Hideaway” and “Never Alone”.
Since 2006 Jim Brickman has hosted an annual fan cruise, where he is joined at sea for a week by a selection of fans for a series of activities and concerts. Brickman's most recent releases including “Homecoming” in 2007, “Unspoken” in 2008, “Beautiful World” and “Joy” in 2009, “Love” in 2010 and “The Magic of Christmas” in 2013 have cemented the songwriter’s position as a pioneer and figurehead adult contemporary music, being the most charted adult contemporary artist to date.
Jim Brickman is like pillow talk on a lazy sunday morning, he’s like a pair of linked hands walking along a beach towards the sunset, he’s that fond memory of playing conkers for the first time or when you first saw your partner, and he manages without saying anything at all. When Jim started playing his piano the room hushed, he gave his wide, infectious smile and had the audience swooning in no time. Over the years Jim has earned a considerable fan base and has helped define the genre of adult contemporary music. His has a knack for stylish piano arrangements in his songs, which are a complimentary mix of playful and energetic as well as emotional and suggestive. And he makes it look so easily, it looks like he’s barely playing at all, swaying gently in a contagious way.
The evening with Jim included a number of guests vocalists, strong vocalists, faultless vocalists, like it was taking them no effort at all the produce the sounds coming out of their mouths. They were smooth and elegant and matched the piano so perfectly, the particular nuances in both being drawn out, and the drums in the background in sounded CD quality.