Claire de Lune - Debussy on Guitar - Free Recording

I never get tired of hearing Debussy's Claire de Lune. I've heard it on piano, for violin, and on my son's Baby Einstein movies! I still love it.  It's a great piece, full of interesting harmonic changes and soaring melodies.

 0:00 - The piece begins with the main theme, a flowing, wandering melody that slowly makes it's way down the major scale.

 0:50 - This is followed with a rhythmic section which alternates with dramatic bass notes.

 1:23 - Next a stormy melody which begins a modulation to a distant key (the chromatic mediant for those of you keeping score!)

2:00 - The climax of the piece comes at the completion of the modulation. Listen for the highest note of the piece followed with a beautiful two octave descending scale.

2:05 - A return to the earlier “stormy melody,” this time in a mellower mood.

2:30 - Now a return to the original flowing melody. Starting to wind down.

3:20 - The coda, hints of the earlier modulation (the chromatic mediant) and a gentle ending on the tonic chord.

 

Encima de las Nubes - Nuevo Flamenco - Free Recording

Continuing in my series of original "Nuevo Flamenco" tunes is Encima de las Nubes (Above the Clouds). The title comes from pilot Syd Logan who heard the piece and invited me to play it during a flight. It is written in the Jazz Minor Mode called Dorian. The rhythm comes from Allan Phillips, Venezuelan keyboardist and composer. He taught it to me during a recording session, and I fell in love with it, almost nothing happens on the downbeat, which gives it a real lift.

New on this track is the electric guitar. I felt the sustain of the electric guitar, combined with its ability to bend a note gave me the additional freedom necessary to create "soaring" lines, fitting of a piece called Encima de las Nubes. Enjoy!

Andando Na Chuva - Nuevo Flamenco - Free Recording

Andando Na Chuva - "Walking in the rain" was originally titled Jam No. 1 with Gerlando, as the first time I played it was with percussionist Gerlando Compilati at the SD Museum of Art. Happily it was renamed by guitarist / harmonica player Syd Logan, who thought it reminded him of a walk in a gentle rain in Rio. When you listen to the piece the main motif has a gentle descent which does sound a little like raindrops. Also at about 2 minutes into the piece you can hear chords being played by the vibes, which sounds a little like water dripping.

I borrowed the main chord progression from the end of Hey Jude, by the Beatles. The jam part at the end of Hey Jude has always been one of my favorites. My tune, Andando Na Chuva, is in Mixolydian mode which has a happy bluesy quality to it. The bridge briefly travels to the related minor, but circles back to G. Rhythmically Andando Na Chuva is a  Nuevo Flamenco tune. That part I didn't get from the Beatles :-) Hope you like it!

Sleeper's Awake

Currently I'm working on a project of Classical guitar music for relaxation. I started by brainstorming beautiful relaxing pieces by classical composers. Handel, Sor, Bach, and Debussy just to name a few. One piece I included was Bach's Wachet Auf. In case your German is rusty, it translates to "Hey, Wake Up." Perfect song for a relaxation album! I think I'll stick with the German title.

Here's my recording of Wachet Auf, which is surprisingly relaxing...despite it's title.

Sheep May Safely Graze: Free Recording

Growing up, one of my favorite pieces was Christopher Parkening's version of Sheep May Safely Graze. It's an amazing version of Bach's classic taken from Cantata No. 208. It requires extraordinary technical mastery of the guitar. I don't think it's possible to improve on Parkening's masterpiece.

And yet, here I am re-recording it! (Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery) When I set out to record it myself I wanted to look at it from a new perspective. My version is more meditative and explores the rich low resonances of the guitar. I was looking for warm comforting sounds, and trying to reflect the text of the original Cantata which reads:

(English): Sheep may safely graze where a good shepherd watches. Where rulers govern well we may feel peace and rest and what makes countries happy (German): Schafe können sicher weiden, Wo ein guter Hirte wacht. Wo Regenten wohl regieren, Kann man Ruh und Friede spüren Und was Länder glücklich macht.

Give it a listen, and feel free to share!

Santiago - Nuevo Flamenco - Free Recording

Recently, I sat down to write some new music; I was performing with percussionist Gerlando Compilati and wanted to have something new and fun to play. In just two short evenings I managed to write seven new tunes! They were inspired by many of my favorite artists. Here is a partial list:

1) Miles Davis - I am a huge fan of his Kind of Blue album. It's a collection of "modal" tunes, where each tune explores a different mode. (Modes are different scales, like major and minor but with more variety.) In my collection each tune explores one of the seven modes of the major scale.

2) Astor Piazzolla - The last CD I recorded was a collection of Tango music by Astor Piazzolla (and some by Alberto Ginastera). Many of his rhythms are included on my new tunes.

3) Allan Phillips - San Diego Musician Allan Phillips produced the last CD my band recorded, Café Pacificó by the Peter Pupping Band. I "borrowed" a few rhythms from him as well.

The first tune I recorded is titled Santiago. It's written in the Phrygian Mode (The Spanish Scale), but the rhythm was inspired by Piazzolla's Libertango. You can listen to it below. I hope you enjoy it, please share it if you do!

Malagueña Video

For this video I put together some classic photos from Spain. They capture the mood of the piece I think. I just love old photos. In this age of fast moving technology and instant gratification, it's good to stop and think about how things were. Hope you enjoy them and my version of the Spanish classic Malagueña.