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Jazz musician Jon Hartmann's third self-produced album pays tribute to the long-vanished Pacific Electric Railway "Red Cars" that used to rattle ever-so-slowly down the center of Los Angeles streets. From his press release:
My interest in the Pacific Electric Railway began in 1967, when I was given a tour of the remains of the Subway Terminal Building under downtown Los Angeles. I am concerned about the environment, and part of the solution to healthy air is to expand rail service between and inside cities. I was recently elected Chair of the Transportation Committee of the Hollywood Hills West Neighborhood Council. I've always been a little torn between music and politics. My music mirrors some of my ideals and values. Even though there are no lyrics on these songs, I hope one can easily tell that a pragmatic optimist wrote them.
Hartmann's press release notes that he once performed "with Ike & Tina Turner in Germany with the Rolling Stones as audience spectators."