Jessica (redux)
This is my new attempt at a cover of the Allman Brothers’ classic “Jessica”. My first attempt was back in 2014. It’s not so much that I play better now (though I like to think I do), but I definitely am better at recording. I could also mention that I find Dickie Bett’s playing to readily influence mine. It’s interesting how that works. There are many guitarists I admire greatly but their approach just doesn’t come easily to me: Nokie Edwards, Ritchie Blackmore, Duane Allman, chicken pickers like Johnny Hiland, etc. Then there are those like Dickie Betts, Larry Carlton and Hank Marvin, whom I can hear in my playing all the time.
Shufflin’
“Shufflin'” is an original instrumental composition intended to be similar in style to the early 1960s instrumental guitar rock groups like the Ventures.
Boxing Day Blues
“Boxing Day Blues” is an “original” 12-bar minor blues that borrows heavily from Miles Davis’ “All Blues”. The title is a simple reflection of when I wrote and recorded it – December 26th. Naming a blues is often little more than looking around for something going on at the moment. As usual, I played guitars and bass and used the computer to create the drum and organ parts. There is one unusual aspect to this track — each of the three on-screen parts took only one take.
Just Me Three
“Just Me Three” is an original instrumental in a “classic rock” style…specifically, a “power trio”.
Home
This is my cover of “Home (When Shadows Fall)”. It was written by Harry Clarkson, Geoffrey Clarkson and Peter Van Steeden in 1931. It has been recorded by many artists, including Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke and Paul McCartney. The Ventures included an instrumental version on their very first album “Walk Don’t Run” in 1960.
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year
This is my instrumental cover of “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”, which was written in 1963 by Edward Pola and George Wyle. It was recorded and released that year by pop singer Andy Williams for his first Christmas album.
Winter Wonderland
This is my instrumental cover of “Winter Wonderland”, which was written in 1934 by Felix Bernard and lyricist Richard Bernhard Smith. Due to its seasonal theme, it is often regarded as a Christmas song.
Santa Baby
This is my instrumental cover of “Santa Baby”. It was written in 1953 by Philip Springer and Joan Javits. It was released that year as a single by Eartha Kitt.
Skating
This is my cover of “Skating”, one the the many brilliant compositions written by Jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi for the now-classic 1965 TV program, “A Charlie Brown Christmas”.
I Wonder as I Wander
This is my instrumental arrangement of “I Wonder as I Wander” – a Christian folk hymn, typically performed as a Christmas carol. It was written by American folklorist and singer John Jacob Niles. Its origins are in a song fragment he collected in 1933. Niles first performed the song in December of that year, and it was published in 1934.
The Star of Christmas Morning
This is my somewhat jazzy instrumental arrangement of “The Star of Christmas Morning”, which is a traditional English carol.
Silver Bells
This is my instrumental cover of “Silver Bells”. It was composed by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans. The first recorded version was sung by Bing Crosby and Carol Richards in 1950. The recording was released by Decca Records in October 1950. In 1951, the song was featured in the Bob Hope movie, The Lemon Drop Kid”.
Livingston and Evans were a long-time songwriting team best known for their film work. According to Ray Evans, “Silver Bells” started out as “Tinkle Bells.” He said: “We never thought that tinkle had a double meaning until Jay went home and his first wife said, ‘Are you out of your mind? Do you know what the word tinkle is?'”
Home for the Holidays
This is my instrumental cover of “(There’s No Place Like) Home for the Holidays” which was written by Robert Allen and Al Stillman. The first recording was by Perry Como.
The Christmas Waltz
This is my my instrumental cover of “The Christmas Waltz”. It was written by Sammy Cahn and Jule Styne for Frank Sinatra, who recorded it in 1954 as the B-side of a new recording of “White Christmas”. “The Christmas Waltz” has been covered many times over the years by a wide variety of artists.
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