Monday, April 13, 2015

Elevations Profiles: Sean Jones - What Good Music is Supposed To Be!

June 3rd, 2015

Those of you who have been following the exciting movements of Elevations recently, obviously have noticed the mysterious young gentleman who keeps photo-bombing all of our pictures! To a number of you, there's nothing mysterious about Sean (with the exception of you growing number of ladies, who keep telling me how they are mystified by his "alluring eyes", "infectious smile", and "silky voice"!).  I gotta tell you, ladies... I just don't see it.  But I will admit... that I hear it!

Sean hates when I do this, but... some of you may remember Sean from Toronto's finest R'n'B group from the 90s into the 2000s, In Essence!  And Sean... just for you, I've added a link below to one of your most infectious tracks from back in the day... I.E.!  Enjoy this throwback, ladies!


  
Sean!  Remember the corn rows!  Wow.  Everyone knows that you can pull any look off!  But, let's admit it... it takes a keen eye from a skilled company like Elevations to find you the right look for the right moment!

The more Sean and I talked about his new sound, and I got a sneak preview of the carefully calculated, yet seemingly effortless sounds of what promises to be a soulful and heartfelt musical experience, I started to imagine what I thought that sound should look and feel like.  I went to work on my pitch for the album art concept.

Sean and I talked about what the music meant to him and his plans for world domination.  I listened.  I learned who the man was, and how he and his team wanted to portray him. Sean and his team saw the vision I was focused on communicating.  Elevations was retained to conceptualize, style, and direct the album art shoot, and that's when the magic started.  I set out to Hugo Boss and began painting the picture. 


We had a lot of fun on that shoot last summer and with the help of renowned photographer Matt Barnes we managed to capture the following great shots which I have FINALLY gotten my hands on for a exclusive Elevations Premier!



The new album, called Waiting For Midnight, was released yesterday, and Sean continues to lay down new tracks in the studio on a regular basis.  Some of you may have caught him on Canada AM yesterday as well, if not, here it is.  He's also currently working with Nordstrom's as they expand into the Canadian market by rocking the grand opening parties!  Heard these parties are turnt up!  Can't wait for the Eaton Centre opening.

As my boy Chase Washington of XpoZae would say... the below is what happens when genius meets opportunity...  Sean and I constantly argue about which one of us is the "genius" in that statement.  Have a look at these amazing pics... you be the judge!



Black tuxedo, tuxedo shirt bow tie courtesy of Hugo Boss | Jewelry courtesy of Mark Lash | Black Rose courtesy of Elevations | photograph courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography


Late for call time!  On set @ Mankind Grooming Studio
Director's Note:  I set the first shot in Mankind Studios because I wanted the story to have a beginning, middle, and end.  I wanted you to see the casual Sean... a man focused on a dream, and is calmly and effortlessly preparing for battle.  I went with a simple low cut v-neck white T, as I know that Sean's physique would be the story for this shot.  This is everyday Sean... the one who writes the music.
 
White v-neck t-shirt, jeans courtesy of Hugo Boss | necklace, bracelets, rings courtesy of Mark Lash | photograph courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography


Double-breasted blazer, shirt, pants, tie, pocket square, lapel pin courtesy of Hugo Boss | photography courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography


Director's Note:  Sean is taking a moment and you can see in these shots, that he is focused and optimistic as he moves closer and closer to what he is called to do.  For this look, I wanted to show that there is passion in what he does, but there is also a sophisticated, experienced professionalism to his craft that sets him apart from the crowd, but not so far apart that he doesn't know these streets.  I believe we captured this with these shots.

Behind-the-scenes: photograph courtesy of Elevations

Behind-the-scenes: photograph courtesy of Elevations


Director's note:  Sean's team was able to find us a great location that offered some great staging areas to allow you to get deeper into the story. In this series, we see Sean having a peaceful moment.  In his reflectiveness, we've captured a man who is grateful of his journey so far, and most importantly, he's comfortable in his skin.  I went with a lighter suit with a slim cut.  This shade of dusty blue was a great contrast with the ever-ready crisp white shirt.  Sean was about to take us to chuuuch!
Two-button suit, white shirt, pocket square courtesy of Hugo Boss | ring courtesy of Mark Lash | socks and shoes courtesy of Elevations | photograph courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography
Two-button suit, white shirt, pocket square courtesy of Hugo Boss | socks and shoes courtesy of Elevations | photograph courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography
Two-button suit, white shirt, pocket square courtesy of Hugo Boss | ring courtesy of Mark Lash | socks and shoes courtesy of Elevations | photograph courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography
Behind-the-scenes: photograph courtesy of Elevations
Two-button suit, white shirt, pocket square courtesy of Hugo Boss | ring courtesy of Mark Lash | photograph courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography
Two-button suit, white shirt, pocket square courtesy of Hugo Boss | socks and shoes courtesy of Elevations | photograph courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography
Two-button suit, white shirt, pocket square courtesy of Hugo Boss | ring courtesy of Mark Lash | photograph courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography
Midnight blue tuxedo, tuxedo shirt, bow tie courtesy of Hugo Boss | black rose, scarf courtesy of Elevations | jewelry courtesy of Mark Lash | photograph courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography
Director's Note:  Matt came up with some great shots here.  Performance time!  We wanted to show that this is where Sean feels like home.  He commands the stage.  It was about clean lines, class, and respect for the stage as well as the audience.  The look was intended to be a precursor to the sounds you are about to hear... clean, polished, and with purpose.  Elevations' signature black rose brought dimension to the look.


Midnight blue tuxedo, tuxedo shirt, bow tie courtesy of Hugo Boss | black rose courtesy of Elevations | jewelry courtesy of Mark Lash | photograph courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography
Tuxedo shirt, pants, bow tie, shoes courtesy of Hugo Boss | jewelry courtesy of Mark Lash | photograph courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography

Director's Note:  After the encore:  Sean's rehearsal is done, and that smile says it all...  He's ready.  The look here is weathered, but unencumbered.  He left it all on the stage. 

Behind-the-scenes; photograph courtesy of Elevations
Tuxedo shirt, pants, bow tie, shoes courtesy of Hugo Boss; jewelry courtesy of Mark Lash; photograph courtesy of Matt Barnes Photography

Behind-the-scenes:  photograph courtesy of Elevations
Sean entertaining the crew after we wrapped for the day.


Nordstrom is giving it's opening night guests copies of Sean's single.  Nordstrom has always known what's hot!

Special thanks to Hugo Boss for helping me elevate Sean to match the high performance quality of his music.

And as an extra special gift for all of Mr. Jones' new fans... here's that very impressive sound that exudes from this very impressive young artist.  These two particular songs were featured, along with Sean's cameo, on the hit VH-1 TV show, Single Ladies.  Clean...


"One In A Million" - Previously shared with you last summer @ELEVATIONSstyle on twitter.

 

Now that I've spent so much time and energy gassing this guy who clearly doesn't need it... without further adieu... Ladies and Gentleman... allow me to introduce you to one of the near future's brightest new stars in... well, in JUST GOOD MUSIC PERIOD...  Mr... Sean... Jones....

 


FINALLY, now that you are thoroughly impressed, and obviously want to experience this phenomenon in real life, I can help you with your next fix!  Sean will be appearing on a weekly basis at Casa Loma for their Soul in the City series, beginning June 8th!  Me and my team will be there to enjoy the beautiful acoustics of the castle.  We hope to see you there too!  Get@me if you need details.  (*Guys!... Perfect date night for your ladies... I'm just sayin'!  You can thank me later!)



 


Can't make the above June 8th launch?  Check out Sean's performance on Breafast Television around 8:40am on City TV on June 9th and then come see him live on July 6th and every Monday in July!


Most of the pics and vids above are courtesy of seanjones.tv.  Please check it out and if you join his fan club, make sure you get me a t-shirt too!  Sean keeps forgetting to give me mine!


Stay tuned!  Big things are coming from this rising star and Elevations!