Category Archives: Demos

Brush Your Teeth

On Thursday, I’ll lead an assembly called “Help Me Write a Jazz Song” at a local elementary school. I’ll tell them what a composer does and what it takes to write a song. Then I’ll tell them about my plan … Continue reading

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Psalm 28: My God, the Rock (tune: ROCKY)

As I explained in a previous blog post, Kate Bluett’s rendition of Psalm 28 was so good that it needed two musical versions to bring out the nuances of the text. I named this hymn tune “ROCKY” because of its … Continue reading

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Psalm 28: My God, the Rock (tune: SANDY)

I asked Kate Bluett if she would be willing to write a new Psalm text on one of the Psalms I haven’t yet set to music. She came through with skill and style! Psalm 28 is a three-part prayer. It … Continue reading

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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