Author: EKKARN

A Workout, A Meditation, and Nathan Speir

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Nathan Speir

June 2026 Relection

“At 65 I was wondering whether a 20-minute Tabata workout could replace my normal workout. At 74 I’m wondering whether I could still survive that Tabata workout! These days my exercise routine looks a little different. Running, walking, yoga, and staying active enough to chase grandchildren have replaced most of those high-intensity workouts. But one thing hasn’t changed. Music still plays an important role in both my exercise and relaxation routines.”

A Tabata Workout Followed by the peaceful music of Nathan Speir

This morning I really did not feel like doing a full 60 minute workout. I seriously considered only doing a light yoga workout. But the\n I thought maybe a short 20 minute Tabata workout. So I created one on the workout app tha

t I use. It consisted of 8 – 20 second intervals followed by 10 second rest of the following

  • Jumping jacks
  • Squat thrusts
  • Sit ups
  • Mountain climbers
  • Push-ups/ squats 5 push outs 3 squats

Of course I counted how many of the exercises I did in each interval. If you had told me T the beginning of the exercise I would be doing

  • 200 jumping jacks
  • 64 sit-ups
  • 64 squat thrusts
  • 240 mountain climbers and
  • 40 push ups

I would have said you were nuts! But that’s what I did. And although the workout according to my Fitbit burned fewer calories then I thought! It was pretty damn good workout!

I followed the workout with a 10 minute meditation  and 5 minute savasana
( had to sneak in a little yoga!)

Today’s Meditation Soundtrack: Part of a Kindly Plan – Nathan Speir

Part of a Kindly Plan - Nathan Speir

The soundtrack for the meditation was a New Age album that’s been in my music rotation for a while now but I haven’t written about it yet. Big surprise I haven’t been doing a lot of writing about anything recently. So in an effort to break out of that rut,let me tell you about Nathan Speir and his album Part of a Kindly Plan.

Nathan Speir is a pianist, multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was born in southern California but was raised in Florida and Connecticut. Currently he calls Winston-Salem North Carolina home. Part of a Kindly Plan is Speir’s eight studio release. His music style is eclectic and varied. He cites among his influences the music of George Winston, Keith Jarrret, Pat Metheny, Steve Roach, Harold Budd, R Carlos Nakai, Chopin and Erik Satie. His is inspired by his family, poetry, fine art, space and astronomy, the study of religion and nature.

From his Website Biography…

“I have a perpetual need to create,” explains Speir, “and making music teaches me many lessons in life. I hope that my creations enhance the ambience in the listener’s life, and in doing so, the listener holistically benefits. This kind of music lends itself to solace, relaxing, thinking and reflecting on life. Studying your inner life and identifying your personal beliefs is serious business, but I believe that serious things can bring great joy. I want the music to feel like taking a pastoral retreat, or going to space and then returning to earth, but afterwards feeling more at one with things. I feel strongly that each person needs to contribute in some way to our world. With my music I try to do my small part.” Read More

About Part of a Kindly Plan

Part of a Kindly Plan contains mostly acoustic instruments – acoustic piano, steel and nylon string acoustic guitars, wooden flute, cello, harmonica, rain-stick and singing bowls. A couple of the tunes also include a little synthesizer (primarily replicating a string section.)

In addition Speir states: “…. silence has a big part in my music and I pay a lot of attention to the space between the notes”

Some of the inspiration for Part of a Kindly Plan comes from the Thomas Hardy poem. “On a Fine Spring Morning” . The poem was written in the early 1900s and Speir has included it on the back of the album cover. Speir explains…

“At the beginning the poem asks a question: What is solace? Hardy says it is not this or exactly that, but at the end he is happy and content because he says everything is part of a benign or kindly plan that is proof that earth was made for man. I liked the sentiments expressed so I paraphrased the various lines for the name of the album and several tune titles”

You can read more about the various tunes also in his biography at his website. Here is the  link.

 Thoughts About Part of a Kindly Plan……

I find Part of a Kindly Plan to be a nice quiet and relaxing album. It is a nice album to use for meditation, not a perfect meditation album but damn close. One of the tracks that I’ve heard the most and have really enjoyed is track two “As We Turn” The track features an acoustic-steel string guitar blended with piano, rainstick shaker some sampled tympani and synth strings. Speir says the following about the track:

“There are lots of turns in life, and as we grow older our perspective of life changes.”

As I was driving to Walmart this morning listening to the album, I thought about what Speir had written about the use of space between the notes in his compositions. I really noticed that in practice on the tune ‘Praxis”  The song mixes nylon-string guitar and Native American flute with a rhythmic drum-sound created by Speir hitting the cello fretbound with his open hand.

“The idea behind this piece”, relates Speir is that everyone should choose a discipline of some sort, seriously practice it, persevere, improve and also enjoy the journey.”

Anyway the album is, like Speir says a beautiful and varied collection of acoustic music and is well worth checking out. I think that it will be in my New Age rotation for quiet a while!! And it’s not just me who likes this album. The album was number 8 on the MusicZoneReporter.com Top 100 Radio Airplay Chart for April

Artist’s Website

Nathan’s Blog

Amazon

The Playlist

2026 Post Update

Nathan Speir Discography Since Part of a Kindly Plan

  • Searching for Nepsis (2019)
  • Finding a Way to Be (2020)
  • Polyhedric Hearts (2020)
  • Ambient Piano Improvs (2021)
  • Pilgrim (2022)
  • Over Earth Under Stars (2023)
  • Tapestries for Seasons (2023)
  • Ethereal Moments (EP, 2025)
  • Interstate X O (Single, 2025)
  • A Night of Poetry (2025)
  • Beside a Sanctuary for the Brave (Single, 2026

Looking at this list, I have to ask myself a question. Why haven’t I listened to more of Nathan Speir’s music? Since writing this original review he has released a considerable amount of music, and judging by how much I still enjoy Part of a Kindly Plan, I think I have some listening to do. Perhaps one of these albums will become the soundtrack for my next yoga session, meditation, or early morning reflection.

Phil Ochs and the States of Nixon and Trump -Still Relevant!

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Phil Ochs I Ain't Marching Anymore. Album where Here to the State of Mississippi appears

Daily Roots will be a recurring feature of this site. It is a a way of revisiting music, books, and ideas that first took hold decades ago — not out of nostalgia, but because some things refuse to stay in the past. This felt like the right place to begin, because Phil Ochs wrote songs that keep rewriting themselves every time history circles back on itself.

This post was originally written in 2017 during the first Trump administration but it’s even more relevant here in 2026!

Phil Ochs and “Here’s to the State of Mississippi “

As I have watched the unfolding of the events surrounding the President over the last few weeks the similarities to Trump and Nixon get stronger every day. These similarities led me to the songs of Phil Ochs. Well at least to one song “Here’s to the State of Mississippi”

Way back in the mid-60s during the height of the Civil Rights struggle many people were aghast at the actions of the people of Mississippi. Folksinger Phil Ochs responded through song and wrote the classic “Here’s to the State of Mississippi”. In the song Ochs sang….

Here’s to the state of Mississippi,
For underneath her borders, the devil draws no lines,
If you drag her muddy river, nameless bodies you will find.
whoa the fat trees of the forest have hid a thousand crimes,
the calendar  is lyin’ when it reads the present time.
Oh here’s to the land you’ve torn out the heart of,
Mississippi find yourself another country to be part of!….

Complete Lyrics Here

Updating the Song “Here’s to the State of Richard Nixon”

Fast forwarding several years and Phil needed to update the song and change Mississippi to Richard Nixon. In updating the song he added a new versus just for Tricky Dick…..

And here’s to the government of Richard Nixon
In the swamp of their bureaucracy
They’re always bogging down
And criminals are posing
As advisors to the crown
And they hope that no one sees the sights
And no one hears the sounds
And the speeches of the president
Are the ravings of a clown

Complete lyrics Here. Here’s Phil performing the song……

Hmm, seem like any government we may know??? Yep! Old Tricky Dick and Donald are like twin sons of different mothers!!

And Now – Here’s to the State of Donald Trump

While I was searching YouTube for Phil’s version of the song I can across this updated version of the song. It includes verses for Steve Bannon and Jeff Sessions along with dear Donald! Enjoy!

And after 50 plus years the question remains “why do Republicans hate poor people?”

Links

Remembering Phil Ochs
Facebook
Instagram
AllMusic

Youtube
Amazon

About Phil Ochs

Philip David Ochs was an American songwriter, protest singer, and political activist. Ochs was known for his sharp wit, sardonic humor, and political commentary. He wrote about 200 songs in the 1960s and 1970s and released eight albums. Wikipedia

Born: December 19, 1940, El Paso, TX

Died: April 9, 1976 (age 35 years), Far Rockaway, New York, NY

Spouse: Alice Skinner (m. 1962–1976)

Parents: Jacob Ochs, Gertrude Phin Ochs

Siblings: Michael Ochs, Sonny Ochs

 

Ray Cardwell – Tennessee Moon, A Steller Anchor for a Good Run

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This post was originally posted in 2017 and has been updated in Nov 2025 with new stuff added!

The Run – 3.25 Mile Creek Loop

Today’s run was my fifth run in the month of February. That’s a good start on the year and on a pace to run on more days than a typical February. The soundtrack for the run was Tennessee Moon from Ray Cardwell.

I ran the same course today that I have run for the last  two runs. It is a 3.25 mile loop that is mainly flat with a couple of small increases in elevation. Initially, I thought about running 4 miles today, but after running the first mile in the fastest time this year, I decided to shorten it to 3.25 miles. I shorten the run  for two reasons. The first reason was so I wouldn’t be tired for the rest of the day! And the second because  I needed to leave time to shower and eat lunch between the end of the run and babysitting granddaughter Zoe!

The run was my best runs of the year. My time was a little more than a minute faster than my time last week over the same course. I maintained a pace averaging a little under 11 minutes per mile over the first 2 plus miles. Overall, my pace for the entire run was 11:05 min/mile. The splits were 10:49 (1) 10:59 (2) 11:25 (3) and 11:17 (.25). I really slowed down over the third mile. One reason was  to see if I could lower my heartbeat a little. The other was because I was going up one of those little rises in elevation! Overall it was a good run and left me feeling like I wanted to go out and do it again tomorrow! Ah, but my knees know better!

The Soundtrack – Tennessee Moon – Ray Cardwell

The soundtrack for the run was Tennessee Moon the 2017 release from singer, songwriter and bassist Ray Cardwell. When I first listened to this album the other night, I thought that it had a John Cowan, New Grass Revival vibe to it.

When I went to read about the album I discovered two reasons. The first was that New Grass Revival alum Pat Flynn produced the album and John Cowan provided tenor and harmony vocals on the album!  Here’s a little about Ray from the Pinecastle Records website:

Ray honed his musical chops playing in The Cardwell family bluegrass band in the late 1970’s. In the ‘80s he spent time playing rock and reggae before moving to Nashville in the ‘90s to be a member of the bluegrass band, the New Tradition.

He returned to his home state of Missouri a few years later to raise a family while teaching vocal and instrumental ensembles. Along the way he has had experience with an eclectic mix of musical genres from bluegrass and Americana to musical theater and Motown. Now living in Nashville, TN Cardwell has returned to his musical roots while blending in his varied influences to create a style all his own.

Ray Cardwell wrote or co-wrote nine of the twelve tracks on the album. Ray says this about his music….

“I feel my music is based upon the traditional style of bluegrass and old timey music my parents raised me on, and the collection of musical experiences I’ve had in my journey through life. My songwriting is a direct reflection of new ideas balanced with the traditions of the past.

My Thoughts….

Favorite tracks include the title track “Tennessee Moon”, the opening track “His Will”,  “Stop, Look and Listen” and “Sailin’ for Glory”.  I must not have been struggling too badly throughout the run because I remember hearing most of the songs!

Now for me maybe the most important part of any bluegrass album is the picking and there are some good pickers on Tennessee Moon. First and foremost there;s my favorite dobro player Rob Ickes. Others include Andy Leftwich on fiddle and mandolin, Jesse McReynolds on mandolin and Scott Vestall on banjo. The producer Pat Flynn also provided some fine guitar and harmony vocals. Here’s the complete line-up…..

The Pickers and Singers

Ray Cardwell – bass, lead and harmony vocals
Pat Flynn – guitar, harmony vocals
Danny Roberts – mandolin
Jesse McReynolds – mandolin (“Tennessee Moon”)
Scott Vestal – banjo
Rob Ickes – resonator guitar
Andy Leftwich – fiddle, mandolin
Vocals: John Cowan, Claire Lynch, Ronnie Bowman, Scott Russell, Eric Morris, Brad Reside

Facebook
Pinecastle Records
Amazon
Bluegrass Today

The Tennessee Moon Playlist

Here is a short playlist of favorite songs from Tennessee Moon.I  will admit that I don’t usually like gospel but the two gospel tracks here work for me! I

Post Update

Over the last four to five years, I’ve written fewer posts than I would’ve liked — a trend I’m working to reverse! I’m also checking in on the artists and bands to see what they’ve been up to since I first wrote about them.

Since I wrote this post back in 2017, Ray Cardwell has continued to release strong, soulful bluegrass albums. His music has blended the traditional tones of the genre with a warm, rootsy vocal spirit that still carries that touch of gospel he’s always had.

Albums Since 2017:

YearAlbum
2019Stand On My Own
2020Just a Little Rain
2025Singing Tree

I was listening to Singing Tree tonight while editing this post — and it reminded me why Ray Cardwell stood out to me the first time I heard him. The songwriting is strong, the arrangements are warm and lively, and that soul-through-bluegrass voice remains the anchor.

This one may work its way into a Tangy Tuesday post… stay tuned.

A Great Trip to Tunes Used CD Store!

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Five New Albums to Add to My Music Library from Tunes Used CD Store

Yesterday in the post re-introducing Me, Myself, Music and Mysteries I wrote that previously I had found a lot of music at Tunes in Marlton, NJ.That action reminded me that I still had a $15.00 Gift Card to Tunes that my son Peter had given me about a year ago.

So…. after finishing the post and no Eagles game to watch I decided to make a trip to Tunes. I really haven’t been to Tunes much since my kids have grown and online music sources like Rhapsody and Spotify have come into existence. It’s really a lot easier to check out new music from the comfort of your own house.

The trip today though reconfirmed that I really enjoy scouring the bins looking for those special bargains on great music. Sometimes the bargains are albums from musicians you know. Other times you may find an album from someone you have never heard. However, because the price is so low you can take a chance on the album.

The albums that I found  yesterday are all from musicians that I am familiar. Some of the albums I have even written about on this blog. Anyway, here are the five albums that I bought with my $15.00!!

The Five Albums

Two of the albums that I found at Tunes yesterday I have previously listened to and enjoyed. However, I listened to them on Spotify, and I don’t have the physical CD. So it’s great to have them…..They are

Hot Rize – When I’m Free

Released in 2014, When I’m Free was Hot Rize’s first studio album in 24 years.

When I started to listen to a lot of music and collecting CDs, thanks to the used CD bins at Tunes in Marlton, in the early 2000s,  I found the music of Tim O’Brien, an amazing multi-instrumentalist and singer.  I also discovered the music of guitarist Charles Sawtelle. It took a while before I stumbled upon a great bluegrass album So Long a Journey (2002)  from the band Hot Rize. I discovered that both O’Brien and Sawtelle were members of the band, along with  Pete Wernick, and Nick Forster.

Subsequently, I discovered that the album was a live album that had been recorded in 1996 and was a reunion album of  the band, that had retired in 1990. In 1990, the members had parted ways and went on to have distinguished solo careers Conitnue Reading

The Lonely Heartstring Band  – Deep Waters

deep-watters

From My Previous Post

Among the albums that were released this Friday was Deep Waters the debut release on Rounder Records from the Boston-based band The Lonely Heartstring Band. Ken Irwin, a founder of Rounder Records, said

“The Lonely Heartstring Band is not only one of the most exciting bands musically we’ve heard in a while, but they combine artistry with a great attitude and commitment that makes them irresistible. Plus, they’ve just made an amazing record”

After listening to the album yesterday and today, I totally agree Deep Waters is a great album and these 2015 IBMA Momentum Award winners can flat-out bring it. Great pickin’ and singin’!  Four out the five members of the band met as students at the Berklee College of Music, which says volumes about their respective musical abilities in my eyes and ears. The band was founded in 2012 by Charles Clements (bass & vocals), George Clements (guitar & lead vocals), Gabe Hirshfeld (banjo), Patrick M’Gonigle (fiddle, vocals), and Matt Witler (mandolin). Since its founding the band has built a devoted following playing and headlining at major music festivals and historic venues from Western Canada to California, from Kentucky to New Hampshire. – Read More

The other three albums are all jazz albums.

Miles Davis – Birth of Cool

birth-of-cool

 

 

 

I wore out Miles’s Bitches Brew when it was in college. Since then I have listened to and  enjoyed a lot of his other albums. However, Birth of Cool was not in my music library until now!

From: AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

So dubbed because these three sessions — two from early 1949, one from March 1950 — are where the sound known as cool jazz essentially formed, Birth of the Cool remains one of the defining, pivotal moments in jazz. This is where the elasticity of bop was married with skillful, big-band arrangements and a relaxed, subdued mood that made it all seem easy, even at its most intricate. After all, there’s a reason why this music was called cool; it has a hip, detached elegance, never getting too hot, even as the rhythms skip and jump. Indeed, the most remarkable thing about these sessions — arranged by Gil Evans and featuring such heavy-hitters as Kai Winding, Gerry Mulligan, Lee Konitz, and Max Roach — is that they sound intimate, as the nonet never pushes too hard, never sounds like the work of nine musicians.

Furthermore, the group keeps things short and concise (probably the result of the running time of singles, but the results are the same), which keeps the focus on the tones and tunes. The virtuosity led to relaxing, stylish mood music as the end result — the very thing that came to define West Coast or “cool” jazz — but this music is so inventive, it remains alluring even after its influence has been thoroughly absorbed into the mainstream Read More at AllMusic

Here is a past post about Lee Konitz who played on Birth of Cool 

Bud Powell – The Best of Bud Powell – The Blue Note Years

This album contains fifteen tracks from the following albums recorded on the Blue Note label. The tracks were recorded and released between 1957 and 1958. The critic’s rating on all of the individual albums are either 4 or 4.5 stars out of five! So, I think that I am going to enjoy this collection!

1957–58: Bud Plays Bird (Roulette / Blue Note)
1958: Time Waits: The Amazing Bud Powell (Vol. 4) (Blue Note)
1958: The Scene Changes: The Amazing Bud Powell (Blue Note)

Powell’s band mates on the various tracks include:

Fats Navaro, trumpet,
Sonny Rollins, tenor sax,
Max Roach and Philly Joe Jones, drums!

Yes, I think that I will really like this CD!! Here  is a link to  short post  I wrote about Bud on his birthday!

 

The Mahavishnu Orchestra with John McLaughin- The Inner Mounting Flame

the-inner-mounting-flame

 

 

 

 

Columbia released The Inner Mounting Flame in 1971. I know I listened to it way back when, but somehow it never made it into my music library. Thank you Tunes and Peter for taking care of tha

From the AllMusic Review by Richard S. Ginel
This is the album that made John McLaughlin a semi-household name, a furious, high-energy, yet rigorously conceived meeting of virtuosos that, for all intents and purposes, defined the fusion of jazz and rock a year after Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew breakthrough. It also inadvertently led to the derogatory connotation of the word fusion, for it paved the way for an army of imitators, many of whose excesses and commercial panderings devalued the entire movement.

Though much was made of the influence of jazz-influenced improvisation in the Mahavishnu band, it is the rock element that predominates, stemming directly from the electronic innovations of Jimi Hendrix. The improvisations, particularly McLaughlin’s post-Hendrix machine-gun assaults on double-necked electric guitar and Jerry Goodman’s flights on electric violin, owe more to the freakouts that had been circulating in progressive rock circles than to jazz, based as they often are on ostinatos on one chord. Read More

The Inner Mounting Flame is one of the 1,000 recordings in the book,1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die. (Note: My son Andrew gave me this book fpr Father’s Day.. You think he was trying to tell me something?)Just joking! Anyway the next time I listen to the album I guess I’ll only have 999 to go! Of course I actually have less because I know I have herd many of the albums already!!

At the end of each article there is a box that lists various information about the album. The information listed includes: the genre of the album, its release date, along with key tracks and  a catalog choice track.The final two  fields are the Next Stop and  After That. After The Inner Mounting Flame the next stop is King Crimson’s Larks’ Tongues in Aspic.  After That  –Tortoise’s TNT. I know I have heard the King Crimson album, but I don’t know Tortoise’s TNT. So I’m off to find it!

So overall, I think I got a pretty good haul for my $15.00. Actually, I have to confess that the total bill came to $17.08. Which is still almost equal to the price of one CD! So by for now I have some listening and ripping to do!!

Peaceful Being by Richard Noll leads to Being a Peaceful Being

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Peaceful Being - Richard Noll

2026 Reflections on Peaceful Being

When I first wrote this post, I was searching for ways to slow down, relax, and perhaps rediscover a meditation practice that had slipped away. Two years later, Richard Noll’s Peaceful Being still finds its way into my morning routine.

Much has changed since then. I’ve returned to running, become more consistent with yoga, experimented with CPAP therapy, and spent countless hours babysitting grandchildren, working at Target, and rebuilding my websites. Yet one thing I have learned is that peacefulness is not something you achieve once and keep forever. It is something you practice.

Looking back, I find it interesting that the album’s title can be interpreted in two ways: feeling peaceful or being a peaceful person. At this stage of life, I think the second meaning speaks to me more than the first.

There are still busy days, stressful days, and days when my mind jumps from one project to another. But there are also mornings when a few minutes of yoga, a little quiet reflection, and music like Peaceful Being remind me that slowing down is sometimes just as important as getting things done.

With that in mind, here’s the original post I wrote about an album that continues to accompany many of those quiet moments.

Over the last month Peaceful Being the debut album from Richard Noll has been he soundtrack for many of my morning yoga routines and meditations. Overall, it has become one of my favorite albums. And listening to it has led to some of the most relaxing and calming meditations I have ever had.

Richard Noll -a Peaceful Being

About Richard Noll’s Music

Richard Noll is one of the few recording artists who plays primarily recorder and he is amazing! On Peaceful Being he plays both tenor and alto recorders. He also plays an electronic wind instrument, the EWI 4000s. But he doesn’t stop there. He also plays electronic keyboards. He uses the keyboards to create piano, percussion gamelan-like tones and other instrumental sounds.

Noll explains “Even though I play transverse flutes from time to time. I concentrated on using the recorder on this album since many of the pieces were composed on that instrument. Of course recorders are a type of flute, an internal duct flute, and I generally play them in the style of a native or indigenous wooden flute”

Nature is a primary inspiration for Noll’s music. He relates” Most of my early music came to me as I sat with my wooden recorder in the mountains or along rivers and streams of Northern New Mexico”

About Peaceful Being

He explains “ I collected eight of my songs for Peaceful Being that I felt were soothing meditative songs that could inspire, uplift and nourish a listener.” “ I believe these songs can be supportive during times of reflection and inner process, as background for yoga, meditation or other daily practice, during massage or other bodywork sessions, to create meditative energy for groups, or offered wherever calm and spacious music would be appropriate”

I have experienced Noll’s music as both background for yoga and meditation. So,I can attest to the fact, it is perfect for both!!

The title of the album Peaceful Being can be understood in two ways: feeling peaceful, or as a peaceful person.  Noll explains, “ The meaning that emerges depends on whether “being” is understood as a noun or a verb. ”Either way peacefulness is the end result of listening to Noll’s relaxing yet invigorating music

Final Thoughts and an Experiment

Peaceful Being is a pleasure to listen to. One of the most calming and relaxing to which I have ever listened.. I know it’s going to be in my music rotation for a long time. So check it out!

Finally let’s try a little experiment. Noll relates the following, “ I was sitting by a waterfall along a small stream in the mountains in New Mexico  when I wrote “Peaceful Being”. It evokes for me the lush, specious and nurturing presence of the pristine earth and the quality of being alive, nourished and supported by nature.”

The song “Nightfall” celebrates twilight, the transition from the light of day to the dark of night when the diminished light softens the edges of all things as the shadows take over, and I feel a sense of mystery and wonder. I composed this as dusk fell while camping at a river in the Gila Wilderness in Southern New Mexico.”

Ok so now I want you to re-read the above. Then listen to the appropriate track below and see where the music takes you!

Then listen to and enjoy the whole album here.

Joanna Connor – Six String Stories.

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Six String Stories – Joanna Connor –  The Best Blues of 2016?

A couple of weeks ago, I spotted an album titled Six String Stories on the Roots Music Report Blues Chart. The artist was Joanna Connor. Since the title of the album was interesting and I had never heard of Ms. Connor, I went to Spotify and gave it a quick listen. Wow! It sounded great! But then my ADD kicked in and I was soon off listening to other albums and Six String Stories was set aside.

Somehow at the end of last week the album caught my attention again and I went back to Spotify and listened to it again. Boy am I glad I did! Ms. Connor is one hell of a slide guitarist! She may even give my favorite slide guitarist Dave Hole a run for his money!

How Have I Missed Joanna Connor?

So why have I never heard of Ms. Connor? Well, it seems that her career started out way back in 1989 with the release of her debut album Believe It released on Blind Pig Records. Eight more albums followed over the next ten years. After the release of The Joanna Connor Band in 2002, decided to take a break from recording ad touring to raise her daughter. She has continued to play live locally in her adopted home Chicago.

The reason I have never heard of Ms.Connor may be that she began he career during MY period of child rearing. In 1989  Sharon, Lois and Bram and Raffi spent more time on my turntable than blues! Additionally, she hasn’t released any albums during the time, when I  rediscovered the blues, and started exploring new artists more fully. So now back to Six String Stories!

About Six String Stories

One of the things that I really liked about Six String Stories was the variety in Joanna;s music.Joanna’s fiery slide blues licks are mixed in among some soul, gospel and funk! Of the ten tracks on the album Joanna co-wrote eight of them with  Marion Lance Lewis, a multi-instrumentalist and mainstay of her live band.

In his review in Elmore magazine Jim Hynes writes….

….Connor sings like she wields her axe, fiercely with a “take no prisoners” approach.  The opener, “It’s a Woman’s Way” and “By Your Side” feature her trademark slide.  She takes the slow blues route on “We Stayed Together,” trading some verses with Lewis.  She treats Jill Scott’s “Golden” with the right jazz-soul feel as it morphs into funk over her spoken part.   The bayou-inspired “Swamp Swim” shows the improvisational side of her playing especially when offset by the guitar heavy “Halsted Street.”   The centerpiece of the album is “Heaven” which brings in the gospel with horns and the Lewis Family Singers..  Connor says, “I wrote that as more of a political song with West African feel, but Lance gave it more of a gospel sound. His brothers are pastors and have churches so they brought that kind of feel to it.”  The much covered “Sky is Crying’ sounds like a completely different tune here  Read More

Bottom – Line

Six String Stories may be my favorite blues album of the year! It has everything I love in an album, Fantastic guitar playing coupled with well-written and sung songs. A couple of great covers are also thrown in the mix. .My favorite tracks so far are “It’s a Woman’s Way” and “By Your Side” and the two instrumentals “Swamp Swim” and “Halsted Street”. So Check it Out! And as per usual I have a lot of back-catalog music to explore!!

Artist’s Website
Facebook
Twitter
AllMusic
Amazon

The Video

Here is that video from The North Atlantic Blues Festival……enjoy!

Music from 1970: The Use of Ashes – Pearl Before Swine

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The Use of Ashes - Pearls Before Swine

 

Thoughts about 70s Music lead me to – Pearl Before Swine

I was thinking about music in the late 60s and early 70s this morning My thoughts quickly turned to one of my favorite bands, Pearls Before Swine and the album The Use of Ashes. During those years the underground music scene was exploding. Typically AM commercial  radio stations played pop music that was singles oriented. Underground music was album oriented and the tracks played were usually much more complex and  longer.

As the popularity of underground music grew several Philadelphia radio stations adopted the underground music format. Both  WDAS and WMMR made the switch.To me the beauty of the format was the ability of the DJ to play just about anything HE wanted to play.  WIBG’s  DJ Hy Lit led the transition on WDAS and Dave Herman and his Marconi Experiment paved the way at WMMR.

This morning I read in the article on Underground Music at Wikipedia that Frank Zappa said this about the music….“mainstream comes to you, but you have to go to the underground.” 

Anyway new bands seemed to appear every day. Bands came together then split and reformed new bands and it was great.

Pearl Before Swine – The Use of Ashes

tom-rapp
Pearls Before Swine founder Tom Rapp

Pearls Before Swine was one of my favorite bands from that era. The band probably received more praise by critics, than commercial success. Again from Wikipedia……

Pearls Before Swine was an American psychedelic folk band formed by Tom Rapp in 1965 in Eau Gallie, now part of Melbourne, Florida. They released six albums between 1967 and 1971, before Rapp launched a solo career…..

My first and favorite Pearls Before Swine album was their 1970 release The Use of Ashes. From Wikipedia….

……The band signed for Reprise Records in 1969, although by this time the other original members had left and the band name now referred to Rapp and whichever musicians he was recording or touring with, one of whom, Jim Fairs, was previously a member of The Cryan’ Shames. The five albums on Reprise were generally more conventional in sound, but contained a unique blend of humanistic and mystical songs, with some whimsical touches. Some were recorded in New York and others – particularly The Use of Ashes and City of Gold – in Nashville with top session musicians including Charlie McCoy, Kenny Buttrey, and other members of Area Code 615.

Wow, one of the things that I had forgotten about the album was the session musicians that played on it. Charlie, Kenny and Area Code 615 were favorites!

One thing that I think many would argue with is that Tom Rapp did not have a commercial music voice. It was quirky and lispish, but for me the musical composition and lyrics of their music more than made up for Rapp’s voice.

Favorite Songs from The Use of Ashes

My two favorite tracks on The Use of Ashes  have always been,  “The Jeweler” and “Rocket Man”  Each of the songs create images for me, that are not soon forgotten. Hey they’ve stayed with me for over 50 years!! Through the years every time I heard Elton John’s “Rocket Man” I would think about Pearl Before Swine.

\ From Wikipedia…..

“Rocket Man  ….written the day Neil Armstrong landed on the moon – was credited by Bernie Taupin with inspiring his hit song with Elton John of the same title. Quote : “We didn’t steal that one from Bowie, we stole it from another guy, called Tom Rapp…”.

Listening to The Use of Ashes this morning reminded how much I like tPearls Before Swine! So Check Them Out!

P.S. My son Andrew has been a big fan of progressive rock bands. Several years ago he told me I should give the genre a listen. I did and discovered  that I did like the genre. I also discussed that I had been listening to Prog from many years. Many of the bands that I listened to like Jethro Tull and King Crimson were the founders of progressive rock. Surprisingly Pearls Before Swine also falls into the Progressive Rock genre. Their music is considered Prog Folk!

Mystical Morning – Leads to New Directions for My Blog and Mystical Morning Commute

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Mystical Morning -bUwe Gronau

The other morning while meditating my mind turned toward my blog and I thought of my blog in relationship to my body mind and spirit.

Mind, Body and Spirit Lead the Way

Much of what I try to do during the day is directed at one of those three aspects of life. Whether it’s trying to enrich and keep my mind sharp by reading, exercising and eating right to help my body and meditating and listening to New Age music to lift my spirit, the actions I take revolve around these aspects of life.

Anyway what I am going to try for a while is to keep this blog oriented toward the rejuvenation, and revitalization of my mind, body and spirit,

As part of this shift, the music discussions on this site will be mostly about New Age music and maybe some jazz. But knowing that my musical explorations of other genres including Americana, blues and progressive rock won’t stop, I will be discussing those explorations at FreeWheelin’ Music Safari!

Getting Directions from KeyWebsites

Now with the above thoughts swirling around in my head I visited some new sites like MindBodyGreen and BodyMindSpirit Guide both of which I believe I will be visiting more often in the future. I also visited a site that I have visited often in the past Tiny Buddha. While I was at Tiny Buddha the following post caught my eye……..

30 Simple Mindfulness Practices to Help You Focus and Be Present

I thought the article presented some  good practices to help become more mindful. As a result of reading this post I decided that this morning I would do two things.

Putting Thoughts into Action

First, I was going to listen to some New Age music on my way to work and secondly, I was going to try to be more aware of my surroundings. S

So as I was driving, I was attempting to view things as if it was the first time I saw them, rather than the six hundredth million time!! I must say that it made for a pretty interesting trip and I don’t think it’s too bad around here!!

Accompanied by Uwe Gronau – Mystical Morning

The music that I listened to was the album, Mystical Morning by German composer and keyboardist Uwe Gronau. I have had this album in my music rotation since its release back in October of 2015 and I like it more and more every time I listen to it!

About Uwe from his biography at his website…….

Gronau was born and raised in the Rhineland in northwest Germany, and grew up in Dusseldorf and Bocholt (where he currently resides) which is only a couple of miles from the Dutch border. “In the ‘70s and ‘80s the Netherlands were more involved in the evolution of jazz, pop, rock and soul than Germany, so I profited from this situation and heard much great music.” Uwe began playing piano at age six and grew up immersed in music as the son of a choir-leader, orchestra-conductor, music-school teacher and piano instructor.

In his early years Uwe studied classical music, but soon became passionate about jazz and rock artists such as Brian Auger, Keith Emerson, Patrick Moraz and Refugee, and Joe Zawinul and Weather Report.

As Gronau got older, his musical tastes expanded to include Supertramp, Jethro Tull, Gilbert ‘O Sullivan, Keith Jarrett, Sting, Peter Gabriel and Dream Theater. When Uwe was 14 he began to play in a series of bands and built a reputation in the area for his musicianship and professionalism.

One thing that always set Gronau apart from many other musicians is that from the beginning and continuing to today, Gronau has always played original material and has never covered compositions by others. In college, Gronau majored in music, German and theater-science. Read More

Thoughts on Mystical Morning

The music on Mystical Morning is varied and always interesting. A review of the album at CDBaby says it better than I can…..

This German keyboardist explores all that and more on his Mystical Morning album which he says is “positive, celebratory music that is like sunshine pouring onto a new day.” He specially has a ball playing his Hammond B-3 organ, most noteworthy on his tribute to Keith Emerson of Emerson, Lake & Palmer (“Letter to Emerson”), a fast-paced piece bubbling with energy.

That organ shows up several other places including the most prog-rock tune, “Over the Bridge,” which has a full-bodied arrangement featuring lots of varied sounds including synth, acoustic guitar and horns.

These pieces are balanced with some softer piano-dominated numbers including two versions of the piano and acoustic-guitar “Shy” (one with drums and one without). In fact about half of the 15 tunes are rocking (with drums or forceful percussion) and the other half are fairly soft which keeps it interesting. Gronau has always been known for making music that keeps the listener guessing and fascinated as to where he will head next. He somehow captures the spirit of the great rock albums of the Seventies and Eighties, but with modern sound exploration that is fresh and invigorating.  Read Full Review

My favorite track is the aforementioned “Letter to Emerson”, but this morning ” A Day in Sri Lanka” and the title track “Mystical Morning” fit the mood of the morning!

Mystical Morning is Uwe Gronau’s sixth full album and while I have not explored his full back catalog I have listened to and written about hos release Thoughts of Tomorrow and you can read what I wrote about that album here.

So with the help of the music of Uwe Gronau and a little mindfulness it was a Mystical Morning!!!

Here is the title track from Mystical Morning

King King and Dave Gunning A Great Soundtrack!

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Reaching for the Light- King King
Lift - Dave Gunning

Origianlly Posted January 2016 – Revised and Updated May 2026

King King’s Blues and Dave Gunning’s Folk Provide the Soundtracks for  my  Commute to Paulsboro

Back in 2016, I was still mostly writing straight music reviews. Looking back now, I realize these albums became attached to moments in life just as much as the music itself. These songs weren’t just albums playing in the car — they became part of my drives to Paulsboro to babysit Oliver, part of that season of life, and part of the soundtrack to becoming Grandad.

Some music pushes you forward. Some music helps you slow down and reflect.

On this particular day back in 2016, King King provided the energy for the morning drive to Paulsboro, while Dave Gunning supplied the calm for the trip home.

It seems that lately a good portion of the music I listened to is heard on my commutes to Paulsboro to babysit Oliver. Now as best as I can remember Wednesday soundtracks were a blues album Reaching for the Light from the Scottish blues band King King and the afternoon on the afternoon trip a folk album from Canadian folksinger Dave Gunning. The album was Lift  his 11th album.

First Up King King – for the drive to Paulsboro

I first listen to King King in 2014 when they released the album Standing in the Shadows. It was a great album and at the 2014 British Blues Awards the band won five awards including the awards for ‘Best Album’ and ‘Best Band”

King King hails from Glasgow and is composed of leader, vocalist and guitarist Alan Nimmo,Lindsay Coulson on bass, Wayne Proctor drums and Bob Fridzema on keyboards.Nimmo says this about Reaching for the Light …

“We’re really proud of this album,” ….”It’s faster, louder, more energetic and more exciting. It’s got the potential to blow the roof off.”….

….”We couldn’t settle with another album that was only as good as Standing In The Shadows,” says Alan. “We’d have got crucified for it. We’ve made a rod for our backs, because now we need something a few steps above. We’re always trying to improve – and I think we’ve managed it.”

Ross Muir of Fabrications HQ thinks so too….

….Because Reaching For the Light is the best blues rock album you’ll hear this year – and one of the best of the modern blues rock era..

Here’s King King with “You Stopped the Rain” from Reaching For the Light

 

 Dave Gunning- Lift Fuels the Trip Home

Lift - Dave Gunning

On the way back from Paulsboro I listened to Lift the new album from Canadian singer-songwriter Dave Gunning. Like King King, I first listened to Gunning’s music a few years ago, In Gunning’s case it was his 2012 album No More Pennies. Dave’s music fits in that niche of folksinger’s who write great story songs. Guys like fellow Canadians James Keelaghan and Gordon Lightfoot….from the Toronto Star…

Gunning is the next big thing in the True North of Song, an artist as compelling, as assured and attentive to every nuance of the writing process, as Lightfoot, Cockburn and Stan Rogers before him.”

From FYImusic,ca  Dave Gunning’s Career Gets A ‘Lift’

The recording career of rootsy East Coast singer/songwriter Dave Gunning now spans 20 years and 10 earlier albums. These have netted him a total of two Canadian Folk Music Awards and eight East Coast Music Awards, plus a 2012 Juno Award nomination for his acclaimed album … a tribute to John Allan Cameron. He was the winner of the Indie International Song Contest (for his song, “Hard Workin’ Hands,” co-written with Ron Hynes) and has been a finalist in other major international songwriting contests.

Expect more awards on the Gunning trophy shelf for his brand new 11th album, Lift. Released on his own imprint Wee House of Music on July 10th, this highly accomplished and eclectic collection is sure to please his still-growing audience at home and abroad. All 13 tunes are Gunning originals, though he has recruited a heady cast of talented friends/peers to assist on co-writes. That list includes fellow East Coasters Matt Andersen, Catherine MacLellan, and Thom Swift, plus American Sally Spring. Full Article

Dave writes this about Lift .……

Gunning acknowledges that “this album has more personal and introspective songs than my past recordings. I do still love songs that are about things and tell a real story, like the songs of Stan Rogers. They inspire me.”

A fine example of that here is “I Robbed The Co. Store,” which tells the true story of a group of British settlers in Nova Scotia in the 1770s forced to steal from a storehouse reserved for troops just so they could feed their families. A more contemporary song with a Pictou County setting is “They Don’t Do That No More.” “That one is inspired by the fight we have here against a pulp mill that is just an environmental disaster,” explains Gunning. The mournful sound of the pedal steel punctuates his lament that “there’s poison on the harbour floor.” It’s a song one of Dave’s key inspirations, the late folk great Pete Seeger, would have been proud to call his own. Read More

So Check Out Dave’s Music at http://www.davegunning.com/bio/

Here’s Dave performing “Sing It Louder” from Lift – Dave says this about the song….

 “Sing It Louder,” is actually a tribute to Seeger. “My goal was to write a song you could imagine him singing,” says Gunning. “As folk singers we should all aspire to carry the torch of Pete Seeger and his message of social justice.”

I do believe, Pete would be proud!

Links for KingKing

Links for Dave Gunning

Ten years later, I can barely think about these albums without remembering those drives across South Jersey — morning traffic heading toward Paulsboro with blues blasting through the speakers, then quieter folk music carrying me home after a day with Oliver. That’s how music works for me now. Albums become timestamps for life.

Sonny Terry – Blues Harp Master!!

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Sonny Terry – Blues Harp – Born October 24, 1911 Greensboro, Georgia

Among the many instruments that I love is the harmonica or more specifically the blues harp, and there are few who play that instrument better than Sonny Terry from Blues Harp…..

The joyous whoop that Sonny Terry naturally emitted between raucous harp blasts was as distinctive a signature sound as can possibly be imagined. Only a handful of blues harmonicists wielded as much of a lasting influence on the genre as did the sightless Terry (Buster Brown, for one, copied the whoop and all), who recorded some fine urban blues as a bandleader in addition to serving as guitarist Brownie McGhee‘s longtime duet partner.(From Blues Harp)

Today (October 24th) we can remember that joyous whoop and celebrate the 104th  birthday of acoustic blues musicians Sonny Terry. Sonny was born in Greensboro, North Carolina and started his blues career playing in the trio of Blind Boy Fuller. He played with Fuller until Fuller’s death in 1941. After Fuller died Terry began playing with Brownie McGhee and as they say the rest is folk history!!

Saunders Terrell, better known as Sonny Terry (24 October 1911 – 11 March 1986[2]) was a blind American Piedmont blues musician.[1] He was widely known for his energetic blues harmonica style, which frequently included vocal whoops and hollers, and imitations of trains and fox hunts.

 

Terry died from natural causes at Mineola, New York, in March 1986, the year he was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame (Wikipedia)

IThe Best of Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry  is in my music library  and the memory lingers of driving down the Blue Ridge Parkway singing along to songs from Brownie and Terry like “Walk On”, “Down by the Riverside”,  “Blues from the Lowland” and “Blowin’ The Fuses” ! Boy, what a great blues harp player!

So Happy Birthday Sonny- Hope you and Brownie have a nice day!!

Sources and Links

Wikipedia – Sonny Terry
Bluesharp.ca – Sonny Terry
Discogs: Sonny Terry-Discography
Allmusic: Sonny Terry & Brownie McGhee – biography discography

Here’s the song that’s stuck in my head this morning – Pete Seeger, Brownie McGhee and Sonny Terry perform “Down by the Riverside”