Perry Malcolm Jarrell
Music is quite literallly in Perry’s DNA, and in his upbringing. His father Mac played piano and his father George played several instruments. George traveled by train throughout Texas in the 1920s-30s to teach music lessons -- he was blind from birth. Perry took up the music mantle when he asked for piano lessons at age 9, and continued his classical training through age 17. Through those years Perry also learned to play by ear, hungry to learn all the new rock ‘n roll born in the 60’s and 70’s. He learned to jam at an early age with his brother-in-law, professional musician Lucky Floyd, who showed him how to play along with music he was writing. (Lucky was lead singer and drummer for the west Texas hit recording and touring band, The Sparkles).
Perry learned his piano-playing chops from listening to rock keyboard icons such as Billy Joel, Nicky Hopkins, Chuck Leavell, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, Jon Lord, and Jimmy Smith, Perry played in various garage bands from grade school through high school and college, self-teaching to play acoustic and bass guitar along the way. While in college in the city where ‘the music was born’ (via Buddy Holly), he met and played with several exceptional musicians, including Donny Green, Bob Tupper, and Murry Woods. Perry, Donny and Bob played in successful college bands (Smack Dab, Shadowfax) and earned a recording session through a battle-of-the-bands contest, producing four original songs Perry helped co-write (those songs were never released to the public, but they are around somewhere).
Perry continued honing his chops while enjoying the family-raising and corporate-engineering life, playing classic rock and having fun with a local cover band called DNA, for about a 12 year run at just about every club and live venue in northwest Houston. He also provided keyboard performances (piano, organ, synth) for all five albums published by Murry Woods’ self-named Texas Blues Rock band out of Austin. One of Perry’s favorite experiences was playing keys for the live 40-year reunion concert of The Sparkles to a sold out crowd in Lubbock, TX -- playing with some of the pioneers of rock ‘n roll, Luck Floyd, Al Perkins, Bobby Smith, Gary P. Nunn, and Steve Weisberg (to name-drop a few). He also played and sang on two demo albums in Austin, TX used to promote original country songs in Nashville, TN.
Lately, Perry lives in the country with his wife of 40 years, Eva, where he writes, produces, records, and engineers music in his home studio. His latest published solo albums are ‘Dumaflache’ and ‘im gi at on’, with the third on it’s way. Perry also writes, produces and engineers albums with his recording buddies Donny, Bob, and Murry; known as ‘Fiddy 8’ (five albums published so far).
