John Korbel had been playing music his whole life, but he wasn’t aware of Orlando’s vibrant jazz scene that boasts world-class musicians with backgrounds working for Disney and Cirque du Soleil. Upon discovering this scene, he began collaborating with many of these former theme park employees and even became a vocalist for a house band at a jazz club. He met Mark Falchook, an elite producer, and suddenly, he had an outstanding band to work with and an incredible producer.

The first fruit from these developments came in April of 2022 when John approached Mark about recording a Christmas single. Mark loved the idea, so they booked time at a local studio owned by a former Disney employee. Everything seemed to click during that first session. The band was incredible, and Mark handled all the sound, taking on the role of producer and arranger. Everyone involved knew they had something special; they described the session as “lightning in a bottle.”

They had nothing but positive reception for their track, so the band continued booking studio time from April 2022 to September 2023, where they started to perfect their sound. They began taking things to the next level. Utilizing a live drummer in the sessions, a challenging approach compared to the way most records are made nowadays, added dimension to the sound. The exceptional level of musicianship of everyone involved in the project was obvious.

Prior to discovering the Orlando music scene, John was already an experienced and accomplished musician. As a Jazz, singer/songwriter, classic pop, and journeyman performer, he had developed a unique style that he describes as “a mix of classic pop, ala Michael Buble, and Jazz songwriting ala Sting, Donald Fagen (Steely Dan), Al Jarreau, Michael Franks.

Over the course of his career, he has released three previous EP-length projects that have received hundreds of thousands of streams on Spotify and other platforms. A music video John made for the title track of his Bourbon Street Taps EP was screened at several major film festivals. 

John performed at the 2002 International Song of Peace event in Tipperary, Ireland. During the course of his career, he has also opened for many top acts, including Jay Leno and Blood Sweat & Tears.

This new album, titled Falling Feels Like Flying, represents the culmination of John’s music career and the exceptional level of talent that he has surrounded himself with. The last year and a half spent working on his album and the current buzz around the music have convinced John that “it’s time now for me to put my music out into the world to the widest audience possible. I know the audience is out there.”

Falling Feels Like Flying is set to be released on January 19^th, 2024.  If you enjoy a wide range of Jazz/Pop artists, from Michael Buble or Al Jarreau to Sting or Donald Fagen, then this album will be something you will love. It will be lightning in a bottle.