Author Archives: Greg Scheer

Psalm 119: Beth

Continuing our series from Psalm 119, here is Beth. Beth is not only a woman’s name and the title of a ballad by Kiss; it is also the second letter of the Hebrew alphabet. In this second section of Psalm … Continue reading

Posted in Art Music, Psalms | Leave a comment

Psalm 119: Aleph

For the last three years, I have been quietly chipping away at a composition of behemoth proportions. It is now time to release it. And I mean “release” in two senses of the word: Over the next few days, I … Continue reading

Posted in Art Music, Psalms | 1 Comment

Psalm 21: The Coronation of the King

This is the Psalm that almost ended my relationship with the Psalms. I mean, I’ve made songs out of some pretty difficult Psalms, but this one almost did me in. No, it didn’t have hateful imprecations. (I’m looking at you, … Continue reading

Posted in Church, Congregational Songs, Demos, Psalms | Leave a comment

Your Soul Lives On

This is the last of the demos I recorded with Steve Talaga on an afternoon in September. While most of these tunes fall under the umbrella of jazz, this one…doesn’t. And that’s okay. I just want to write good music, … Continue reading

Posted in Demos, Jazz | Leave a comment

The Gospel Truth

I have a certain ambivalence about this tune. It is So. Freaking. Happy. And happy can easily be trite. I will let you, dear listener, decide if this little bonbon of a tune is happy, trite, or both. (Or neither?) … Continue reading

Posted in Demos, Jazz | Leave a comment

Sehnsucht

This tune has been reworked more times than it’s been played! It is named “Sehnsucht” (German: longing) for the yearning motif that begins the tune. I knew I had something good, but was never quite able to bring the tune … Continue reading

Posted in Demos, Jazz | Leave a comment

Mysterious Lee

This one’s a keeper. I’ve used it on a number of gigs since I wrote it back in October and each time it casts a special spell. Indeed, that’s the magical thing about jazz: a perfectly good song may never … Continue reading

Posted in Demos, Jazz | Leave a comment

Hotel Husband

This happy-go-lucky tune positively sparkles under Steve Talaga’s fingers. Listening to this after a while away reminds of of something one of my composition teachers used to tell me, “When you’re young you have lots of ideas; when you’re old … Continue reading

Posted in Demos, Jazz | Leave a comment

A Beautiful Delusion

I’ve written about this song previously, so I’ll let this newer, cleaner recording speak for itself. For the record, I’m not entirely sold on my own voice. However, it is what I had available at the time.

Posted in Demos, Jazz | Leave a comment

8 Lives

It is unfortunate that we couldn’t record “8 Lives” with a full band. It is a jazz fusion tune that would really have benefited from drums. Indeed, we were prepared to play it with full band at an Outside Pocket … Continue reading

Posted in Demos, Jazz | Leave a comment