Michael Mott, Aisha Jackson, and Open Jar Studios collaborated on a new music video of Mott's song "Fly High." See Jackson (Frozen, Once Upon a One More Time) sing the song above.
The new song follows a young girl chasing her performing dreams. Along with Jackson, the music video features Gabby Tenor, Brianna Kaleen, Sarah Hamaty, Adam Wolfe, Lindsay Rider, David White, and Brad Bosenbeck.
"'Fly High' is a song about perseverance,” says Mott in a statement. "In an industry of constant rejection, I wanted to create a piece to motivate and inspire those struggling to find the confidence to move forward. Finding the courage to take 'just one step' may be challenging, but if we trust and believe, there are beautiful adventures and endless possibilities awaiting us. I originally wrote this song for Broadway’s Emma Howard (Matilda) and am so proud of her beautiful version. It was important to try and reach a larger audience with this new recording. Kim Scharnberg expanded his original orchestration, and I was thrilled to work with my live concert band plus 16 of NYC’s musicians bringing this record to life. I had worked with Aisha Jackson on the In The Light, A Faustian Tale: Highlights Recording and was hungry to collaborate together again. This song felt like the perfect project and her passionate vocal performance blew me away. I am forever grateful to my phenomenal director Josh Jordan, who worked tirelessly with me to get the visual narrative correct. To all of the generous performers in the music video and musicians on the track, thank you for your artistry and courage. I hope this song moves and inspires listeners for generations to come."
"Filming with Josh Jordan was an absolute pleasure," adds Jackson. "He’s so talented, and it brought me great comfort to see someone who looks like me behind the lens. Partnering with Michael Mott to bring this song to life was equally amazing! I gave every take all I had and prayed that someone would be encouraged by this jewel of a song. We hope you love it!"
The video is produced by Mott and orchestrator Kim Scharnberg, with mixing by Michael Croiter and mastering by Michael Fossenkemper of TurtleTone Mastering. Director Josh Jordan shot the video on location at Open Jar Studios. The single is currently available on digital platforms, with sheet music available at MichaelMott.net.
"When Michael approached me about the project, he expressed his hopes for the positive impact of the video,” says Jordan in a statement. "He, Aisha, and I had many conversations about how we could weave together an engaging narrative while promoting a message of hope and acceptance in just short of four minutes. I think we spent more time going back and forth than actually filming the video, ha! We wanted to get it right. And I’m proud to say that we succeeded. The response that we have received from the video prior to the official release has been indicative of that, and I am very excited to see how the song and video impact our future audience."
"When I first heard the song I was really touched," shares Open Jar CEO Jeff Whiting in a statement. "[I]t truly captures the spirit of Open Jar—that we hold unlimited potential within us and a determination to bring ideas and dreams to life. When Open Jar studios was launched, it was dedicated to the creation of art and the cultivation of the artist, and we are so thrilled to have brilliant artists like Michael creating here on a regular basis. We are so honored that Michael has permitted the song and the video, which was filmed at Open Jar, to be our official theme song of Open Jar Studios."
