Farmington Hills Firefighter's New Jazz CD Looks 'Just Ahead'

Farmington Hills firefighter and jazz musician Stan Barnes believes better times are always "Just Ahead". 

That's the title of his new CD, which is available through CD Baby, iTunes, Amazon.com and Rhapsody.com.

"Every year, I try to do a CD to check that moment in time," Barnes said, "and to get experience with different genres." 

This time around, Barnes blends jazz with classical music, with a jazz version of Beethoven's "Für Elise" he calls "Jazzical". The album's 14 tracks have uplifting titles like "Never Give Up", "A Lovely Day" and "Moving Forward". 

"The focus is that better times can be just ahead," he said. "I'm trying to make every song lean toward helping people focus on positive things."

The album is also a family affair; Barnes' sons Jordan, Brandan and Kàdan do a little bit of rap, he said. His wife, Brenda, and sister-in-law Breanna Renay were also involved. 

"It was a lot of fun doing it," Barnes said of producing the album. "I think if we can have fun, we'll keep making music." 

Listen to samples of "Just Ahead" at stanbarnesmusic.com.