Press Release
My Undivided Attention, an album of 10 pop-jazz vocal tracks, will be released on February 10, 2026, by Rob McGilton, Spokane-area singer-songwriter-pianist.
The album was produced by Portland jazz pianist and educator Randy Porter, whose many honors include a Grammy nomination for Porter Plays Porter with Nancy King. Porter plays piano on all tracks and co-arranged the songs with McGilton. David Evans, veteran Portland reed player, wrote horn arrangements and played tenor sax and clarinet. Other top jazz musicians on the album include drummer Todd Strait, known for his long association with jazz vocalist Karrin Allyson; guitarist Jack Radsliff; bassists Patrick Golicnik and Dan Dean; trumpeter Dick Titterington; and flugelhornist Dmitri Matheny. Erin McGaughan sings harmony vocals.
The album offers several love songs, including I Always Had a Thing for You by lyricist Lorraine Feather and composer Shelly Berg. Some of the other tunes are humorous with a serious message, using the “untrustworthy narrator” to comment on human foibles and 21st-century issues.
Examples include a short-lived Supermarket Love Affair; a guy whose complete history from the Department of Lies totals 30 boxes; and a cell phone–obsessed dude whose “Undivided Attention” is anything but. An older man has a bucket list focused on life’s “small, sweet pleasures,” a radio guru reveals the three magic words for getting unstuck — Do It Anyway — and infatuation with a Little Plastic Card turns to desperation.
In his small hometown of Snoqualmie, Washington, near Seattle, McGilton grew up loving the Great American Songbook, late-night jazz radio from San Francisco, and Broadway musicals. He credits Dave Frishberg, Lorraine Feather, and Randy Newman as key songwriting influences.
Living in the Seattle area for many years, McGilton never considered himself an accomplished jazz musician but was fortunate enough to play gigs with a few, including bassists Chuck Deardorf, Chuck Metcalf, and Rufus Reid. At Northwestern University, he discovered he had a knack for songwriting. In 2015 he wrote the book, music, and lyrics for a still-unproduced musical, The Goshen Country Club, set in an illegal, after-hours honky-tonk roadhouse.
He also used his PR experience to co-produce concerts, including a big-band jazz series featuring the Maynard Ferguson, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Thad Jones–Mel Lewis, and Buddy Rich bands; Dave Brubeck and sons; and three concerts by classical flutist Jean-Pierre Rampal. He recalls Rampal’s pianist sight-reading the score for Claude Bolling’s Suite for Flute and Jazz Piano Trio at dress rehearsal.
On his own, McGilton presented Lena Horne, a classical guitar series, fiddler Mark O’Connor, and four seasons of the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival in Seattle. He also co-produced a show with a very young Kenny G. “We each made $154,” he said.
An EPK with information about the artist, album, and musicians is available here. Rob can be contacted at rob@robmcgiltonmusic.com