music

Baul Jam Session, Home of Rina & Dibakar Das Baul

Baul Jam Session, Home of Rina & Dibakar Das Baul

A couple days before leaving Kolkata, I took a very special trip to the village of Paruldanga, just outside Shantiniketan, to spend a day and a night at the lovely home of revered Baul musicians Rina & Dibakar Das Baul. They invited family and friends to share an evening of music with me.

Got an Old Upright in the AirBnB • with Michael Biggins

Got an Old Upright in the AirBnB • with Michael Biggins

Michael and I met at my first few jam session down in Glasgow. His rhythm, harmony, and left hand bass saved the day for me, and we planned to get together after the holidays. Luckily, my AirBnB came with an upright piano that was relatively in tune—5 stars for amenities.

Tunes in the Arisaig House Bar with Eilidh Shaw & Ross Martin

Tunes in the Arisaig House Bar with Eilidh Shaw & Ross Martin

When I mentioned to friends I was heading up to the western Highlands of Scotland, I kept hearing that I should meet fiddler Eilidh Shaw and guitarist Ross Martin. They were right. We met on many different occasions and were able to record in an amazing location.

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OTHERLANDS: Spain [Recap]

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OTHERLANDS: Spain [Recap]

Our travels kicked off in September 2019 with six weeks in the Iberian Peninsula. During our time living in Valencia, Spain, we had the chance to do some exploring but hadn’t yet made it to Andalucía or Galicia as a family, so that is where our Otherlands journey begins…

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"A Miña Burriña" with Xosé Liz & Hugo Franco

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"A Miña Burriña" with Xosé Liz & Hugo Franco

While in up in the northwest Galicia area of Spain, I prepared material for a trio gig with Xosé Liz (bouzouki) and Hugo Franco (guitar). Here is an arrangement of A Miña Burriña from our collaboration.

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"Elzic's Farewell" with Javi Gómez

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"Elzic's Farewell" with Javi Gómez

On my final afternoon in Seville, I was able to meet flamenco guitarist Javi Gómez. We twisted up an old American fiddle tune with a standard flamenco farruca guitar melody for a lovely melding of our traditions.

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"Tientos Tangos" with Ricardo Bustamante

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"Tientos Tangos" with Ricardo Bustamante

I met Ricardo Bustamante while attending a weekly flamenco concert on Sunday nights in a cozy terrace at Mar d’Amura (Cabanyal, Valencia, Spain) and promptly took a couple lessons with him. In our second meeting, we focused on a slow and beautifully melodic tango of his own, Tientos Tangos.

OTHERLANDS: A Global Music Exploration

OTHERLANDS: A Global Music Exploration

Well, I quit my job, and we took our 10yr old daughter out of school. We shipped our lapdog pitbull to a friend in the US and our giant hairy cats to my sister in L.A. Most of the things we own are on boat somewhere in the Atlantic on their way to a storage unit. It’s time to start a new project…Announcing: