Tag Archives: music

The Old Wooden House

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I once had the great pleasure of wandering around an old wooden church in the state of Mississippi and was able to really feel and smell its history.  It was quite a humbling experience in many ways, and it certainly penetrated deep inside me, so that many years later, when I had developed the ability, I wrote a piece of music about it and included it on my fourth album Heading West.

I was particularly gratified that the esteemed music reviewer Kathy Parsons wrote of the track…..“Old Wooden House suggests a time-worn structure that has seen better days and holds generations of precious memories of days gone by.”  I couldn’t have put it better myself.

Here’s a little video that I put together featuring the beautiful photographs of Walker Evans and Bernard M Baruch, which I felt illustrated the kind of building that it is/was, I hope you like it.

A Love Song….

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Photo: Mike Alexander
Photo: Mike Alexander

This is a simple song about those times in your life when it feels like someone who is very dear to you is always close, inside you almost, no matter where you are…..

The Music of a Landscape Part III – Badlands

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Sadly I only visited the badlands of North Dakota very briefly many years ago.  Even more sadly my camera wasn’t working at the time so I wasn’t able to record the hauntingly beautiful landscape, so I did the next best thing and wrote some music about it instead…..

Of course the music of any landscape is completely abstract, so for every person that can identify with it, there will be many more who cannot – we all have different senses and points of reference, which is a very good thing.

This music is also dedicated to Yellow Bird, Kent, Grover and Dan, “The Wolf at Twilight”

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Music and art about San Francisco

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So in composing the music for my album “Heading West”, which is essentially a travelogue about my journey across America, I wrote a song called “San Francisco” which leaned heavily on my love of jazz and jazz fusion.  I wanted to paint a musical picture of a cityscape, something that talked of vibrancy, excitement and a little edginess, and contrasted with the more peaceful sounds I had written on the album to capture great landscapes.  San Francisco is such a beautiful, exciting city to visit, I felt compelled to write music about it.

I also wanted to put together a video essentially to showcase the music.  What I ended up with, however, was something different – a video showcasing the amazing art of Jeremy Mann, who has painted some of the most beautiful and evocative cityscapes that I have ever seen of his hometown, San Francisco.  See what you think here….

In his creative practice, Mann aims to imbue his city with drama, mood, and personality.  He paints his immediate surroundings with intimate, dynamic expression. A number of his compositions are inspired by wet pavement that reflects street lamps and neon signs and glitters in the rain.

Painting on medium-to-large scale wood panels, Mann utilizes a number of techniques: staining the surface, wiping away paint with solvents, and applying broad, gritty marks with an ink brayer.  He paints with confidence and flair, addressing complex compositions with colors both vivid and atmospheric.

I love his work.  And so, actually, my song is dedicated to him and I hope it does his work justice, even in a very small way.