Thursday, September 9, 2010

Six Years of Noah

I tried something like this in the pre-digital 70s, but, alas, couldn't get past the first 30-some days.



Lots of people do this, I guess. Here's another one, a bit less ambitious:

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Friday, September 3, 2010

All The Pretty Little Horses

I've been listening to and exploring the music of Odetta today, triggered by the previous post on Water Boy. In doing so, I came upon her rendition of All The Pretty Little Horses, said to be an old slave lullaby sung by a mother who had to leave and lost her child to tend to the master's children:



I'm a pretty big fan of Calexico, so was delighted when I then found their take on this song:



Next, here is Laura Gibson's recent rendition. Gibson is gaining a big following here out of Portland:

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Water Boy

Have been away for nearly three weeks in the Midwest with my brother and sister, dealing with our mother's funeral and its run-up and aftermath. While going through her belongings, we came upon a CD mix that brother Dennis has custom-compiled for her some years ago, including Odetta's Water Boy. When we were playing the CD, he mentioned that his favorite rendition was Don Shirley's, but he had been unable to locate or hear it for years. So, returning home, I can now present the Don Shirley Trio, circa 1962, with Water Boy:




This, too, was one of my favorites, nearly once forgotten (by me). The trio's (piano, cello, string bass) playing is wonderful, subtle, moving stuff.

Of course, Odetta's take on this is very special itself: