Thompson served as Assistant Director of Public Relations for Jazz at Lincoln Center for almost a decade. He was brought in to help launch the organization's new facilities in the Time Warner Center at Columbus Circle in 2004. He was also Publicist for Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. During that time, he established himself as a leading publicist in the entertainment field, garnering praise from peers and music professionals alike.
SOCIAL MEDIA/DIGITAL MARKETING
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Miles High Productions (MHP) was created to bridge the gap of companies working directly with music artists and entertainment based projects who are in need of additional marketing support. MHP’s goal is to elevate your product or artist to a higher ground in an expedient timeframe by exposing them to new and existing online audiences. MHP also focuses on taking our campaigns one step further by cross-promoting all traditional methods of marketing with online opportunities for further outreach.
UPCOMING NEWS!!!
I will be featured in the WINTER/DECEMBER 2016 Edition of
#1 JAZZIZ Magazine - The Authoritative Voice in Jazz!
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"GERSHWIN FOR MY SOUL" LP
Few are called and fewer still are able to keenly rekindle the starlight from golden eras gone by. While said eras harbor timeless treasure chests of standards, those songs are often performed as museum pieces by well-meaning torchbearers instead of moving, living things with miles to go before they sleep. Singer/dancer/actor Elijah Rock has the triple threat skills and blood-pumping heart to breathe life into classic music as he proved on stage as ‘Crooner’ in the musical “Words By Ira Gershwin.” Now he has taken that more traditionalist template and, along with producer/arranger/pianist Kevin Toney, prepared a contemporary and decidedly African American twist to the music of George & Ira Gershwin (and a couple of Ira’s other collaborators) with the innovative recording Gershwin For My Soul.
Gershwin For My Soul represents a full circle journey for Cleveland-born baritone Elijah Rock. He began singing at age 13 and stepped up to his first Gershwin songs at 16 in “Porgy & Bess” at the Cleveland Institute of Music. No less than the great Freddy Cole once told him, “Learn a standard a day and you’ll be alright!” Along with the Great American Songbook, show tunes, art songs and other classics that colored him Broadway-bound, Elijah always returned to Gershwin. It was while doing “Words By Ira Gershwin” that he learned how brothers George & Ira were godfather geniuses of Tin Pan Alley in the early 20th century. Reading Michael Feinstein’s book “The Gershwins and Me” sealed the deal.
Carrying this art forward, Elijah Rock dove into this project with relish and the trio of producer/arranger/pianist Kevin Toney, bassist John B. Williams and drummer Greg Paul, plus guitarist Jacques Lesure in the west coast jazz sanctuary of Nolan Shaheed’s studio. The 12-song CD opens with “S’Wonderful,” a tender fitting contemporary take a la Al Jarreau. “Fascinating Rhythm” and “Our Love Is Here To Stay” are drenched in that punchy syncopated manner that most recalls their original era, the latter with some of Toney’s signature piano flourish. “I Can’t Get Started” swings and chugs with a four on the floor groove while the lovely “Long Ago and Far Away” floats on a slow hot wind bossa beat. Elijah milks the rarely heard extended introduction to “How Long Has This Been Goin’ On” before it falls like feathers into the brushed blues of its well known verses.
The second half of Gershwin For My Soul is where more chances are taken. The title track – the sole original penned by Rock and Toney – is a hip churchy blues where Elijah testifies his fascination with all things Gershwin. It’s followed boldly by “Tchaikovsky (And Other Russians),” a Hip Hop Swing interlude perfect post the Tonys-sweeping genre bending musical “Hamilton.” And Elijah brings his tap shoes in for solo and drum-dueling duties on the revival rave-up stomp “I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’.” Most movingly, the focus becomes sheer aural nudity on a trio of ballads Elijah submerges into that showcase the full resonant beauty of his voice and his skills of interpretation from the acting world. They are the relaxed and romantic “Shall We Dance” (solely accompanied by the guitar of John Storie), the parlor song swoon of “Love Walked In” (featuring solo piano introduction and accompaniment by Toney), and the tour de force closer “Isn’t It a Pity,” a bluesy ballad wish of delicious diction and a heart-stopping dip into a cinematic so long.
“Before this experience, I hadn’t really embraced the balladeer aspect of my gift,” Rock reflects. “It was about me being vulnerable enough to know I could do it. It’s been an interesting transformation…everything slowed down. There’s space for introspection and that moment to moment feeling of the lyric. I fell in love with the space between the notes and the simplicity of telling the story.”
Rock – whose resume boasts a decade and a half of acclaimed, across-the-board accomplishments in stage, film and television - found the perfect collaborator in Kevin Toney whose work as a keyboardist, composer, arranger, author, educator and co-founder of the `70s R&B-Jazz group The Blackbyrds provided the optimal springboard for Rock to bounce concepts off. “Kevin Toney is a virtuoso whose experience speaks for itself,” Rock says. “We brought our authentic creative selves to the material and, in that, it became uniquely ours.” Targeting performance arts centers and playhouses as well as traditional music venues, Elijah will bring a unique live presentation of this music with theatrical, staging, choreography and lighting elements that position the show as more than a stand-up vocal concert yet not quite a full-on musical. Directed by Saundra McClain (who helmed his NAACP Award-winning performance in “Breath and Imagination: The Story of Roland Hayes”), Elijah’s vision simply must be experienced to be fully understood and deeply appreciated.
Ultimately, Elijah Rock hopes to cultivate a younger audience for himself and this music with his all around showmanship, singing and paddle-n-roll style of tap dance - lost arts all that have found, in Rock, a tireless cultural savior. “I approach singing from a traditional perspective with a fresh twist,” Rock concludes. “Gershwin For My Soul not only represents America’s classical music, it gives me a platform to address other things about the culture and where we all stand today.”
-A. Scott Galloway
"ROCK IS THE CROONER AND SINGS DELICIOUSLY" - LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS
“RICHLY EXPRESSIVE VOICE AND MAGNETIC STAGE PRESENCE." - BOSTON GLOBE
ALBUM CREDITS:
Executive Producer: Elijah Rock
Produced & Arranged by Kevin Toney for K-Tone Productions
Recorded at Nolan Shaheed Studios | Engineered by Nolan Shaheed | Mixed by Paul Tavenner at Big City Recording Studios Mastered by Gavin Lurssen for Lurssen Mastering, Los Angeles, CA | Photography by Patricia De La Rosa
Art Direction by Elijah Rock | Graphic Design by Christopher Kornmann for Spit + Image | Additional Assistance by (HKIC) Helen Chong
Recent Performances on my MINI Promo Tour
In preparation for the album release, I was able to perform in Sydney, Australia and meet with the #1 talent booking agency in the world- William Morris Endeavor (WME). Needles to say, things are looking up for future peformance opportunities in Australia and the Pacific region. I then headed to Bangkok, Thailand where I showcased at the top jazz venue-The Living Room!
The Basement- Sydney, Australia William Morris Agency- Sydney
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Living Room- Bangkok, Thailand Siam Super Club- Phuket, Thailand
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CELEBRITY ENDORSEMENTS
"It is clear to me that we need more young entertainers like you who are passionate to carry on our tradition. You know how to vocally craft a lyric so each phrase carries depth and meaning. I know Ira would have been impressed had he had the opportunity to experience you LIVE on the stage in Burbank!
- Michael S. Strunsky, (Trustee, The Ira and Leonore Gershwin Trusts)
"The Great American Songbook is alive and well with the SUPREMELY TALENTED Elijah Rock- a triple threat entertainer, breathing new life into our rich tradition."
- Bennie Maupin (Jazz Musician/Composer)
"Elijah Rock is a fine singer!"
- Robert Guillaume (Actor, Singer)
"Every once in a while, an Artist like Elijah Rock emerges and reminds you what great singing and showmanship really looks like."
-Antwone Fisher (Writer, Director, Personality)
"His is an epic voice that can splendidly carry on the legacies of Billy Eckstine, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Hartman, Harry Connick, Jr and other great Jazz crooners."
- Irma P. Hall (Actress)
"An incredibly talented singer and performer, better than almost anyone doing Standards today! "
- Shadoe Stevens (Radio Host/TV Personality)
"It's clear we've found our next Superstar Entertainer in Elijah Rock!"
-Bill Cobbs (Actor)
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