In his CD release “Carry On” Jay Ottaway finds inspiration from John Cage to 19thCentury German poet Wilhelm Mueller; from prison life to life on the road; from the joysand frustrations of everyday life to the impact of historic events such as the 2013 Bostonmarathon bombings. The award-winning songwriter/producer’s 6th full-length studio CDevokes images of the natural world as both enemy and ally while celebrating andlamenting how life’s gifts and cruel twists of fate determine our lives.Like his previous CD “Coming Home to You” (2012), “Carry On” is a collection of 16songs that moves smoothly between powerful Rock ballads, while touching on Countryund Folk, and blasts of Jazz and Blues. The CD opens with a vengeance with “All RightNow,” a cathartic cleansing of everyday frustrations that clears the way for “OldMessiah,” an ode to the power of love and the natural world. The song was inspired byWilhelm Mueller’s “Lindenbaum,” a poem from Mueller’s lyric collection “Winterreise”which was made eternal by classical composer Franz Schubert’s song cycle. “OldMessiah” is followed by the title track, “Carry On,” a power ballad written on theoccasion of The Jay Ottaway Band’s 2012 visit and performance in a Cologne, Germanyprison. Next up is “Blessings in Disguise,” a ballad to Ottaway’s daughter written afterher diagnosis with a rare eye disorder. The rest of the journey includes songs about thequirks of life on the road in “Ringing through My Head,” relationship frustrations with“Deep Freeze,” and the all too frequent trips back home for funerals in “Man Down.” Italso captures the beauty and importance of randomness celebrated by musicians andphilosophers such as John Cage (“Reason in the Noise”). The CD is dedicated to thememory of the victims of the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing which deeply affected theBoston based songwriter as expressed in “Even Moses Is Crying.”“Carry On” is Jay Ottaway’s second release for the German label Cactus Rock Recordsand is truly an international production. It was recorded and engineered in Boston,Nashville, and Cologne, Germany by Cliff Goldmacher, Ben Olendzki, John Escobar,and Jon Stinson. It was mixed by veteran Cologne producer Florian Bechte and masteredin Düsseldorf at Skyline Tonfabrik by Kai Blankenberg. Besides european members ofhis touring band including Christina Christ (sax) and Frank Tetzner (vocals) worldfamousstudio musicians from Nashville were part of this project. They include SteveConn (keys / B3), Andrea Zonn (violin), Andy Leftwich (violin), Pat Buchanan (guitar),Jim Hoke (pedal steel guitar, saxophone), Glen Caruba (drums), Dave Francis (bass), andMelissa Hooker (vocals). Also part of the project is Julian Mueller (vocals, guitar) fromGermany who co-wrote “Old World Wine” with Ottaway and Irish lyricist, MichaelCummins.