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This month…a new free arrangement, Echoes CD of the Month, Groovy Moody Music TV, and some recommendations.
Free Piece
I have been working a lot on my arranging skills this year, so I thought I would share another one.
“Black Muddy River” is one of my favorite Grateful Dead songs. It's on their next to last studio album "In the Dark". The Dead were never known for great studio albums, but this one is fantastic. It was released in 1987, which was the first year I started going to Dead shows, thanks to my dear departed friend Jason Sisk.
Robert Hunter's on his lyrics…
“Black Muddy River is about the perspective of age and making a decision about the necessity of living in spite of a rough time, and the ravages of anything else that's going to come at you."
The melody that Jerry Garcia came up with sounds very Celtic to me, which is probably why it speaks to me so clearly. If you don't know the tune, I suggest giving it a listen.
In my arrangement, I play the intro, verse, chorus, bridge, verse, and a little outro. I hope you enjoy playing it, or just listening.
“seven conversations” has been chosen as May's CD of the Month on Echoes Radio. Echoes Radio has over 200,000 weekly listeners, and is the place to be for new music…everything from acoustic to electronic, jazz to space music, the avant-garde to rock…so we are extremely excited about this!
John Diliberto of Echoes Radio recently posted a glowing review of the album. You can read it here.
If you are not a member of Echoes Radio, I would highly recommend joining. It is so well worth it. You can subscribe here.
Groovy Moody Music TV
My talk with the brilliant guitarist, composer, and songwriter Rick Musallam about the creative process has gone live over on Groovy Moody Music TV on Youtube. In our discussion, we talk about my musical journey as well as my writing process.
I had the great honor of finally meeting my favorite composer and guitarist, Andrew York. What made it even more special was that I was able to share the experience with a couple of my students.
Andrew performed a stunningly beautiful concert at NJCU, which was followed by performances of his music by New Jersey students and professional ensembles. One of those ensembles was the New Jersey Guitar Orchestra which included one of my Bayonne High students, William Castro Roman.
I was grateful for the opportunity to thank Andrew in person for his inspiration and influence on my own music. It was also fascinating to discuss our shared connection with Will Ackerman and Windham Hill Records. Thank you Andrew!
Recommendations
Here are some things I've been listening to and reading that I think are worth mentioning…
That's all for now. Things are beginning to turn green, the weather is warming up, and school is winding down. We are looking forward to summer, when we can get away to New England and enjoy some down time. Although…one of those trips north will be to record a new album of solo(ish) pieces. Stay tuned…
