Jack Spann lives in New York City, but — thanks to his work with prolific Milwaukee producer Gary Tanin over the course of three captivating albums—his connection to Brew City is palpable. The in-demand keyboardist played on the demos for David Bowie’s final record, Blackstar, which boosted his profile and heavily influenced his second album, 2017’s Beautiful Man From Mars. On Propaganda Man, Spann’s most invigorating, melodic and diverse album, you can still hear traces of Bowie (“Dead Man’s Clothes”), but also vintage Steve Winwood (“Sing Your Own Song”) and Joe Jackson (“When Joe Sings”), and the keyboards no longer dominate as they did on his first two records. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist plays everything but drums and also doesn’t shy away from thorny issues. On the title track, Spann sings, “Who will be my next little Hitler? / Who will be the one I push on? / Who will preach the words I teach to the wide world beyond?”
