Godspeed, J.T.

I didn’t know J.T. Corenflos well. I never hung out with him or spent much time with him outside the studio. But he touched my life deeply all the same.

J.T. was one of Nashville’s top-call electric guitar session players, appearing on records from Sara Evans to Tim McGraw and everyone in between. He performed on most of the major cuts that artists did of my songs, and he was always a regular in my demo session bands. And as a songwriter, there’s nothing like the moment when you hear the music you have only imagined in your head come to life at the hands of a truly gifted musician, and J.T. never failed to make that happen.

J.T. gave me a lot of “jump up and down and fist pump in the air” moments over the years, when I watched him through the studio glass as he laid down overdubs or ripped out a perfect first-take solo on one of my brand new songs. He was quiet and even a little shy in person, but the moment he sat down in that studio chair he let his blue Telecaster do the talking for him.

When we lost J.T. this week, we didn’t just lose a beautiful person. We lost all of his music too…all the years of training and heart and soul that imbued every note he played. It’s hard to absorb the magnitude of a loss like that.

Godspeed, J.T., and thank you for lending us your incredible talent. We will miss you.

Here’s a video of the first take of my song “Come On” during the recording session for my Never be the Same record at Oceanway Studios in Nashville. You can hear J.T.’s Telecaster prominently in the mix, and it captures some of the exciting energy that lights up the studio when a song comes to life for the first time at the hands of Nashville’s talented session players.

*****

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