Higher Planes Promo
by Jimi Tenor

The name’s Jimi Tenor
And I bring you some sounds
On an album
I named “Higher Planes”

I introduce it in rhyme
On this 7” side
‘Cause I’m tired
Of the interview game

Took me two years and plus
To get these tracks done
And I tell you
It was a hell of a job

I made some tracks on my own
In London town
But I thought I could use
Some guitars

And it happened that time
A good friend of mine
Chris Dawkins was
Staying in our guest room

He plays the wah-wah guitar
In the J. Hendrix style
So I thought
He’s the cat for the job

I said “Man, are you free
To come play with me?”
And the licks went down
In no time flat

I said “Daddy, I love you
You’re my brother through & through
And your jams bring
You close to my heart”

And we played some more stuff
‘Cause one just wasn’t enough
And we continued
Till we finished the job

We co-wrote the “Black Hole”
And I tell you I know
He’s a talent
That compliments my art

After jamming with Chris
I called the rest of my band
To come to Sonica studios
Down in London Clapham

The plan that we had
Was to make a big jam
Throw ideas back & forth
As we go

The style was free jazz
But nothing
came out of that
So I decided to make a U-turn

I wrote three scores
With a lot of those horns
That I like to use
So much nowadays

This new stuff had more vibe
On of the was “Cosmic Dive”
Which proudly opens
My long play

Two years before
I composed a big score
So we decided to take it
All the way live

I hired a big band
Called “UMO Finland”
Those cats sure can blow
Blow your mind!

For another big song
Named “Nuclear Fusion”
I used some tricks
Of the trade

I drew them some things
A bit like Lego bricks
Out of which
They improvised their lines

And boy, did they play!
Even they were amazed
They said “Jimi, baby we dig playing with you”
And that’s what I wanted to hear

There’s also this man
That plays bass in my band
His name is
Maurice Fulton

And some of you
Might know about him
He made his name
In the Dee-Jay game

We were sweating through our tour
And I saw him banging away
With his personal
Apple Mac computer

I said “Maurice, make me some beats
I know you could sweeten
Some of the tunes
I’ve been working on”

He said “I will try,
Although the tempos of yours
are quite
on the relaxed side”

But when I heard those beats
My heart skipped some
And I paid him in cash
There and then

I know you must think
That all these ideas of Jimi’s
They don’t come
Out of nowhere

And I’ll be straight with you
I have my heroes too
Minds that I’ve read
And I’ve used

You’ll hear Morricone
Stanley Clarke
Barry White
Lalo Schifrin
Sun Ra
ELP

I’ve tapped in Hawkwind
And Lonnie Liston Smith
Even Sabbath
Have given me thoughts

I think my place
In the music scene
Is at the backwaters
Of Finlandia-land

Minding my own business
Making my work
Taking it easy

No, you don’t see me
In no MTV
Or TOTP

But hell, what do I care!
I’ve got my little thing going
And I’m going far
Beyond the original plan

And I heard people talk
“Jimi is just a techno freak
‘Take me baby’ yeah
That was his tune”

But that was just one song
Made a long time ago
And the only one that
I’ve made in that style

I guess I could fake
A few more of those
But I have to be true
To my soul

I couldn’t be able to hide
The € signs in my eyes
No matter how dark shades
I would sport

The name “Higher Planes”
Came about when I wrote
Those lyrics for
The song of the same name

I was reading some poems
Of the creation of the world
And the way the Greeks thought
It was dealt

At the same time
At the Hospital del Mar
My wife was on the go
To give birth to our child

Which is a creation
Of a universe
In a personal scale
And that’s what this song is about

But there are other layers
In these lyrics of mine
Sometimes so hidden
and so obscure
That even I
don’t know quiTe
what they mean

Whether or not this record
Is my ticket to the Hollywood biz
Is something
We cannot predict

But I’m stating it plain
I want in on the game
Though I won’t
Take the workshop class

The reason why I’m into
The movie thing
Is that I like my productions
To be grand

To get in all those horns
Trumpets & saxophones
Get some strings
And timpanis as well

I guess I’m doing it already

But in an underground style
Asking favors left and right

Well folks, this was Jimi Tenor
And the album is “Higher Planes”

This track appears on a promo only release for 'Higher Planes'