Read Between the Lines

Read Between The Lines

One of my friends told me that writing a blog about the recording projects that I do as a bassoonist is an extreme niche market.

I thought, “Really!?”

Because, after all, the process includes getting an idea and making something happen... it also includes some amazingly diverse, talented and funny people.

And are these not universally desirable things? 

Anyway, yesterday I had the real fun of playing on some tracks of new arrangements and new songs by the beloved Canadian folksinger, Valdy (Valdemar Horsdal) and his collaborator, Karel Roessingh.  Guy Few came with me and added corno da caccia and trumpet along with bassoon.  Today, Valdy and Karel went into a reggae studio to add some more sounds.  They said that are going to drive up and down Highway 401, calling on old and new friends, dropping into different studios, all going into creating a new CD that will be released before Valdy goes home in December from his fall tour.

The first song we recorded was Read Between The Lines --- a song written in praise of literacy and probably the title track for the new CD. 

The music is open-hearted and has such an attractive lilting groove.  We went on to record contributions to other songs, including Ragged Band of Angels (I love the title and images in this one) and two songs that Karel and Valdy each wrote on their separate plane flights.  The musicianship of these two was very impressive as they tweaked our arrangements during the recording.

Anyway, we are living in a great artistic time when technology allows for the flowering of trans-genre friendships.