Liam’s Mail

I wouldn’t be surprised if this is the last new item from what has been a fairly productive summer musically.

After you listen, you will not be surprised to find this track is a tribute to the Allman Brothers Band — especially their instrumental jams. I just love those, and wish there were more. So I wrote one.

I also wanted to stay faithful to their approach, so this track is very full, set for 2 lead guitars, one rhythm guitar, bass (all of which I played) as well as piano, organ and drums.

[audio http://home.comcast.net/~drahcir.nilknarf/music/fusion/LiamsMail.mp3]

Deleveled

The end of summer draws ever closer, and I am still trying to fit in some more creative time. This tune is something of a lament that I’ll be going back to work soon. It is called “Deleveled”.

I allowed myself the luxury of some overdubbed guitars with this track.

[audio http://home.comcast.net/~drahcir.nilknarf/music/fusion/Deleveled.mp3]

EOS

So, it is August and the summer is winding down. It seemed like a good time to write and record a tune to make note of that. This is pretty basic jazz/rock fusion…set for my standard guitar, bass, keys and drums where i played the guitar and bass parts and programmed the other parts using Sibelius and Midi. I tried quite hard here to make it sound live — so there may be a few rough edges.

[audio http://home.comcast.net/~drahcir.nilknarf/music/fusion/EOS.mp3]

 

Richard Franklin Fusion

Since I am no longer releasing CDs, I thought I’d try Soundcloud “albums”. These are all instrumental jazz-rock tracks and are all of the newer stuff from the past year or so.

If you’d rather listen directly in Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/shufflocity/sets/richard-franklin-fusion

Lacey Summer

My latest composition and recording commemorates an important event for us this summer. It has been almost 14 months since we helped our beloved German Shepherd, Casey, to the Rainbow Bridge at the age of twelve — suffering from cancer.

Last week we adopted a lovely and very sweet  senior (9 year old) female hound mix. We have named her Lacey, which was my mother’s maiden name. We did not know what her original name was. That’s her photo at the bottom of the post.

The track is in a jazz-fusion style. As is my usual approach it is set for a quartet of guitar, bass, keyboard and drums. Again as usual I played the guitar and bass parts and used midi/Sibelius to compose/program the keyboard and drum parts.

[audio http://home.comcast.net/~drahcir.nilknarf/music/fusion/LaceySummer.mp3]

 

Richard Franklin Rawks

Since I am no longer releasing CDs, I thought I’d try a Soundcloud “album”. These are all instrumental rock tracks with quite a bit of jazz influence.

If you’d rather listen directly in Soundcloud:
https://soundcloud.com/shufflocity/sets/richard-franklin-rawks

In Memory of Elizabeth Reed

I am still exploring of the music of the Allman Brothers Band.

In Memory of Elizabeth Reed  was one the ABB’s instrumental jam numbers. It is the fourth track on the group’s 1970 album Idlewild South. Composed by Dickey Betts, it is the first instrumental written by a bandmember, and the first of several that Betts would write and become popular. The song is named after a headstone Betts saw at the Rose Hill Cemetery in Macon, Georgia a place frequented by band members in their early days to relax and write songs.

The original is quite clearly jazz-influenced. My arrangement, while pushing things even further into the jazz realm, is very much in the spirit of the original, and is set for guitar, bass, drums, and piano. As usual, I played the guitar and bass parts while using Sibelius/midi to compose/program the others.

[audio http://home.comcast.net/~drahcir.nilknarf/music/fusion/LizReed.mp3]

 

Ramblin Man

Here I am continuing my exploration of the music of the Allman Brothers Band.

Ramblin Man was the ABB’s only top ten single, topping out at number two on the charts. Written by Dickie Betts, it was released in 1973, about two years after Duane’s death.

My arrangement, while instrumental, is very much in the spirit of the original, and is set for guitar, bass, drums, piano and organ. As usual, I played the guitar and bass parts while using Sibelius/midi to compose/program the others.

[audio http://home.comcast.net/~drahcir.nilknarf/music/fusion/RamblinMan.mp3]

 

Grub A La Burg

This is my latest track. It’s in a funk/fusion style, set for guitar, piano, bass and drums. As usual, I played the guitar and bass parts and used Sibelius/midi to compose/program the keyboard and drums parts.

[audio http://home.comcast.net/~drahcir.nilknarf/music/fusion/GrubAlaBurg.mp3]

 

Evitative

This tune is a little different, and as such, I’m not actually sure how well it works. Maybe you can let me know.

I set out with some goals for it, which I met it terms of structure and content. Whether it is pleasant to hear I am not sure yet.

The style is jazzy/smooth jazzy – maybe a little bit new-age/ambient.

[audio http://home.comcast.net/~drahcir.nilknarf/music/fusion/evitative.mp3]

Taco Cat Part II

This track is development of some of the ideas originally explored in my tune Taco Cat. I have therefore decided to title it Taco Cat – Part II.

It is essentially a  mashup of classic-rock style funk riffs. The instrumental setting and style (Guitar, Bass Drums, B-3)  also recalls early Deep Purple — at least for me.

As usual, I played the guitar and bass parts, and relied on midi for the organ and drums.

There certainly isn’t anything groundbreaking going on here, but I think it’s fun.

 

Jessica

This is my second cover of an Allman Brothers’ tune. One of the things I really like about them is the instrumentals, and Jessica certainly is a classic. This arrangement is pretty loyal to the Allman’s version.

So much is going on that I needed to add an additional keyboard part to my usual practice of guitar, bass, drums and keyboard. As usual, I played the guitar and bass parts and programmed the drum and keyboard parts.

[audio http://home.comcast.net/~drahcir.nilknarf/music/fusion/Jessica.mp3]

 

Maiden Voyage Take II

I might also call this ‘Deep Purple does Herbie Hancock’.

This new recording of Maiden Voyage is based on a recording I did a couple of years ago, when I first started playing around with setting jazz standards over a rock feel.

However, this version takes things quite a bit further down the road to good, old-fashioned 60’s style hard rock, with the setting for guitar, B-3, bass and drums.

[audio http://home.comcast.net/~drahcir.nilknarf/music/fusion/MaidenVoyageB3.mp3]

 

Won’t it Now?

This is a new fusion tune/recording called “Won’t it Now?”. I think it’s got some interesting chord changes, and is set over a moderate jazz-funk feel.

The instrumentation is (as usual) guitar, bass, keys and drums, with me playing the guitar and bass parts and programming the piano and drums parts.

[audio http://home.comcast.net/~drahcir.nilknarf/music/fusion/WontItNow.mp3]

 

Taco Cat

For this original number, titled “Taco Cat”, I’ve again tapped my classic rock and funk roots. I think this is a fun, fairly high energy track.

The instrumental setting is a well-established format: guitar, bass, B-3, and drums. As always, I played the guitar and bass parts, and relied on my midi composing and arranging skills for the organ and drums parts.

[audio http://home.comcast.net/~drahcir.nilknarf/music/fusion/TacoCat.mp3]