Here is a piece of music that sounds fitting for a celebration of the new year . . .

I love the sound of this celtic fiddler and his band!  It is Alasdair Fraser, originally from Scotland, and now living in the United States.  He has perfomed for many years, and also founded two fiddle camps-- Valley of the Moon, among the redwood trees in California, and Sierra Fiddle Camp. In addition to playing music and teaching here in the U.S., Alasdair has been running a fiddle course on the Isle of Skye, Scotland, since 1987.

Here is a link to his website: 
​www.alasdairfraser.com/home

This song is from his award-winning Dawn Dance album, created with his band Skyedance, and released in 1996.

Last fall I started doing a part-time job putting parts into circuit boards (tiny electronic pieces -- I have to wear glasses!) at a small business run by a couple I know.  It's not difficult, but it is time-consuming, and is a perfect job to have background music on while doing it . . .

My business owner friends had a stack of CD's and a CD player, and when I was there working, I listened to several of them.  Soon I found there was one that I looked forward to hearing each time -- I often had free choice of music because I was there working alone, and so I listened to this CD every time, first thing.

I enjoyed the Christian praise lyrics, and also the wonderful rhythms and melodies in the songs on this CD.  I even purchased the same CD myself, because I wanted to be able to play it at home.  This is an older album--it was released by Vertical Music in 1998.  I had to hunt to find a used CD, although digital files are available through all the main music distributers.

Now I just found out in researching this musician, that Darrell Evans has written and recorded many more songs. His first album was in 1997,  and he has created 10 other albums.  Some became Christian music "hits," like "Let the River Flow" (1997) and "Trading My Sorrows" (2002). 

I'd heard one of the songs on the "You Are, I Am" album before, during worship in church, but everything else was new to me.  As I listened to this album again and again (every time I went to work-- once a week, then later less often) certain songs seemed to call out to me; and I was not just enjoying listening, but started wanting to learn the words and guitar chords so I could sing and play them myself.  One of these was a song called "You Are, I Am"(the title song for the album).

The lyrics are like a beautiful poem-- and they are a series of metaphors -- "if you are (this) then I am (that) . . ."  

I found a video on YouTube made by Patrick Cruz, that illustrates this song; I think it is also great to just listen and think about what the words are saying.

One of my favorite instrumental music composers is Tracey Chattaway, from Australia.  Her music has been designated as "Classical Crossover"-- kind of a mix of piano melodies with rock beats and synth sounds, etc.  But I think it is just "beautiful music" . . .

I first came across this composer on Bandcamp, and purchased a CD for one of her early albums, Third Place. And then later I added a couple others in digital format, Nightsky  and Secret Garden.  I have listened to the pieces in these albums many times.

And then just recently I saw that she has newer album, but I couldn't find it on Bandcamp.  However, she has her music out on all the other usual places -- itunes, Amazon music, Spotify, etc.  So I found the new album, and purchased it, too.

This one is called "Oceans," and it is filled with beautiful music, much like the previous work, but different in some ways . . . kind of like having butter pecan ice cream instead of chocolate chip mint . . . 

Tracey began composing in 2010-- she has created an abundance of musical pieces in the past 10 years (a total of 54 pieces over 6 albums). Her earlier works were digital music, created with midi tracks. The newest album, "Oceans (2019)," includes acoustic piano as well as a combination of digital instruments.

And there is a pretty amazing video that goes with one of the pieces on Oceans--"Into the Night"-- it's like seeing a work of art (the ocean) that is constantly changing . . .

​Here it is . . . 

This song is so fun!  I think you will probably agree, if you listen to it.  Everyone knows the usual ABC song . . . but have you ever heard one for the backwards ABC's?  

Nancy Kopman is a singer-songwriter and has written many songs for young children.  She sings on a regular basis for and with children in her city, Toronto, Canada, as well as holding Zoom music sessions that children anywhere can join in on.

​Nancy's music can be found on Apple Music, Amazon,  Spotify, and YouTube.

So do YOU know how to say the alphabet backwards?  After you hear this song a half-dozen times or more, it will get easy  . . .

Wow, this is freaky!  And I didn't do it on purpose . . . today is exactly 5 years from when I last made a post on this blog . . . and I decided to start it up again now, without realizing that April 13 was the same date as the last post :)

So maybe this could be an anniversary of some sort . . .  at any rate, I do want to keep writing new posts, and I'm so happy to begin with this one, featuring a composer and photographer, Jeff Carlson.

Below is what the homepage of his website looks like (https://www.shippyhollow.com).

For a long time Jeff has been composing instrumental music, and producing it digitally.  His main way to use the tracks has been to put together a video with photographs, and create a musical soundtrack to go along with it. I first heard some of his pieces two years ago, when watching some of his videos. 

Jeff is in a process of continually composing music, and also takes a lot of photographs.  He has joined both art forms together  to make short videos with photos on a variety of themes.  As his website states, "These videos combine all of my loves: family, friends, pics and music. "  To this I have to say, "What could be better?!" 

Well, not much (could be better) . . .  but ever since beginning to see (and hear) these videos, I was hoping he would make his music tracks available on a CD, to be able to hear the music by itself, unattached to anything else.

So I was very happy when in fall of 2019 he put out not one, but two CD albums! 

Here is a link to learn about them: https://www.shippyhollow.com/music  Besides CD format, they are also available from Apple Music,  Amazon,  Spotify, and other digital sources.

And very recently, a video by Jeff Carlson became a catalyst for me to get back to this music blog after a long period of hibernation  . . .  when I watched this video,  I was so amazed by it-- the images were wonderful, ethereal; and the quiet music was a beautiful accompaniment.  I was inspired to make the next post about this music AND video, "River Walk,"  about a foggy morning in a small  town, walking along to reach a river.

Named after the "father of Bluegrass," Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys -- from Kentucky, the Urban Monroes, from Portland, Oregon, are a bluegrass band that mixes traditional style with new and original songs.  They have been making waves in the bluegrass genre,  being  in the Top 10 "Best of 2015" Bluegrass Song Chart at  Roots Music Report.  

I personally have enjoyed listening to a couple of instrumental tracks from their third album,  Apaloosa Daydream (2014), while doing artwork.  I brought  them with me, in a mix with some other instrumental music, to a painting class I was in this fall.  I think everyone was surprised when the song "Blackberry Shortcake" started out with a strong rhythmic beat that sounded almost like a rock song, and then after we all got into the groove of the beat, it burst into glorious bluegrass!

Here is some music for spring, in a recently made video, with Fran Kent, the guitarist of Urban Monroes, playing; the title is "Periwinkle's Song".  It is a traditional Irish tune.

"Lean on Me,"  a classic soul music song that has been covered by many, was written and first performed by Bill Withers (on his 1972 album, Still Bill).  It is one of those songs that it's really hard not to sing along with;  it seems to have a certain spell that draws in its listeners, and if they aren't singing, they are spell-bound, silently enjoying this song's sounds as well as its message. 

Here it is, performed in New York City on the steps of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, by the doo-wop group "Acapella Soul."  

Doo-wop is a style of vocal based rhythm and blues music that emerged in the 1950's in many major U.S. cities. Singers would perform on street corners or in subways, in groups of 3 to 6 performers, taking turns doing lead vocals or background harmonies.

The Acapella Soul group began over 10 years ago, and regularly sings in the streets and subways, as well as being in demand for entertainment at weddings, parties, and other special events.  They have also  performed at Harlem's famous Apollo Theater in recent years. They have released 3 albums, which are available on their website.

I loved watching this video, and seeing the enjoyment of the crowd and passers-by who were there, and wanted to share this song with you . . . please keep it moving forward!

 Several years ago I had the opportunity to hear Tommy Emmanuel play guitar, at a music festival in my area.  His performance was definitely a highlight, for me and many others.  I'd had no idea it was possible for a person to play guitar in such amazing ways, until listening to him.

For some Christmas cheer, here is Tommy Emmanuel along with John Knowles--both are fingerstyle virtuosos--practicing their version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer."  It is evident these guitarists are having a great time playing this short piece.

  Tommy Emmanuel is from Australia.  He has been performing music for most of his life, beginning playing in a family band, the "Emmanuel Quartet," at age 6.  Later he worked in a variety of bands, and as a studio musician, before deciding to begin a solo career.

John Knowles, a Texan, majored in physics and math in college, becoming a research lab scientist.  But he had always loved music, playing accordion and ukelele as a child, and then guitar as a teenager.  After 2 years in science he switched careers, becoming a guitar teacher.   He is the author of the "Fingerstyle Quarterly"-- a publication with guitar music pieces in tab format along with recordings to hear, for guitarists.

Both Tommy Emmanuel and John Knowles are among only 5 musicians who have been awarded an honorary CGP (Certified Guitar Player) title from Chet Atkins, one of the most influential country-western guitarists of the 20th century.

Music and medicine -- for Suzie Brown these two interests and skill-sets fit together very well.  She is a cardiologist and also a singer-songwriter; treating physical ailments with modern medicine, and also-- when in musician mode-- allowing the power of music to touch the hearts of her listeners.

One of her songs that I absolutely love is "Everywhere I Go."  It is in folk/Americana style, with great-sounding percussion and other instrumentation, and her vocal lyrics -- winsome and clever-- are about  being in love, about having the loved one always with you.

The words give visual images such as these, from the first chorus: 
"Gonna keep you in my mouth like a secret, keep you in a locket on a chain, put you in my wallet next to George and Abe and Ben, we'll never have to be apart again."

She is the daughter of two physicians, and after graduating from Harvard Medical School and then University of Pennsylvania and working for over a decade as a research cardiologist, she made a career shift-- to working part-time in a clinic setting and also beginning to write songs and perform music.

Her first full-length album was very appropriately called "Heartstrings" (2011).  Her second album, "Almost There" (2013) included the song "Everywhere I Go," which you can listen to in the video below.  She has a new album, made with her husband Scot Sax-- who himself is an award-winning musician-- and just released, called "Our Album Doesn't Like You Either" (2015).

To hear the studio version of this song, that uses some very interesting percussion, go to her Bandcamp page: ​https://suziebrown.bandcamp.com/track/everywhere-i-go

It was Christmas, and I was opening a package.  It was rectangular-shaped, and felt firm.  As I got past the wrappings, I was elated to find not one, but six George Winston CD's!  That was one of the best presents ever, and one I am still enjoying today.  

My first time to hear George Winston piano had been a couple of years earlier, with a  CD called December, loaned from a friend.  I was amazed and delighted with the music on it, and my children enjoyed hearing it, too.  It was lively and rhythmical at times, beautifully smooth and comforting at other times.

And this piano music is still one of my first choices to listen to, when looking for instrumental music to hear while working on artwork or just wanting beautiful sounds in the background while doing anything.

I recently did some research on George Winston, and found out some interesting things I hadn't known:  
About 95% of the pieces he plays are by other composers, though he does arrange pieces.  
He composes about 1 - 2 songs a year.
He is constantly touring and doing live performances.  
He also plays solo guitar and solo harmonica, in addition to solo piano.  
His type of piano music is NOT classical-- it is called "folk piano."
He has never played piano music by classical European composers.
He didn't start playing a keyboard instrument until he was 18, and started with the organ because he liked the music of "The Doors."
His inspiration to begin playing piano was hearing recordings from the '20's and '30's, of "stride piano" ("Fats" Waller and Teddy Wilson).
He recorded his first album in 1972, when he was 25 and had been playing piano for just one year.

One of the piano recordings he is most well-known for is Linus and Lucy-- The Music of Vince Guaraldi, released in 1996, which has some familiar piano solos from the "Peanuts" TV specials on it.  But he has created a steady stream of recordings over the past 35 years, with 10 solo piano full albums and several EP's.  His EP's are benefit albums, with proceeds going to various causes such as 9-11 survivors, Hurricane Relief and cancer research.

Since summer has just ended, I thought it would be fitting to put a song from his Summer album here-- it is called "Living in the Country" and was originally a guitar piece by Pete Seeger, composed around 1956.  George also used a second song as the intro for his piano arrangement of "Living in the Country"-- it is a traditional Irish song, "Do You Love an Apple?"  There are no other pictures with this video;  just the nice yellowish one below, but there is no need for pictures-- just listening is enchanting in itself.  

What do you think?  Does it sound like summer to you?  It is certainly bright and lively.  If you enjoyed hearing this piece,  there's lots more where it came from . . .

​You can investigate George Winston's website at www.GeorgeWinston.com and hear other recordings from this album or other albums, as well as order the mp3 files or CD's (I suggest giving yourself an early Christmas present).