Pre-order of Dressed In A Song. You get 1 track now (streaming via the free Bandcamp app and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the complete album the moment it’s released.
Purchasable with gift card
releases February 7, 2020
$10USD or more
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Includes digital pre-order of Dressed In A Song.
You get 1 track now
(streaming via the free Bandcamp app
and also available as a high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more), plus the
complete album the moment it’s released.
The original concept of the recording was duets with pianists I love and the intimacy and freedom that the duet allows.
"Dressed In A Song"-I was adopted before the age of one. This song was written for my Mother who was and is a musician. She nurtured me musically and helped me to find a place of intimacy and refuge as a sensitive child. This is dedicated to her. Taylor did a study of what I’d written and his accompaniment is a gorgeous orchestration.
“You Go To My Head”- My take on this classic ballad into a pseudo Latin feel with Jim Ridl and his virtuosic stunning one take. I am always enraptured by his otherworldly rhythmic approach, and our collaborations have spanned over 20 years
"The Last Muse" is a recent composition. One of the first performances of this song was at a festival where Becca Stevens was also performing. I asked her to sit in and quickly showed her the vocal part and she improvised the charango ornamentations as well. The reception to the performance and the feel good aspect of this performance led me to want to record this song upon my return to NYC, and decided to include it on the recording even though it was not a duet. The prodigious, intuitive talent of Julius stuns me and although not a worldwide recognized name yet, he will be. It was written for my current girlfriend reflecting visual vignettes of our early meetings and romance.
“What The World Needs Now”-I randomly played this tune with Orrin on a gig. His seamless offering of the tune in an untraditional 5/4 went unnoticed to me and felt very natural as it should, and we decided to try that same concept in the studio to our great satisfaction.
"Brother John"-written for and dedicated to my childhood best friend, John Joseph Maransky-06/25/1967-9/01/2018, who tragically took his own life during this project. The song reflects on my own struggles with depression and suicidal thoughts and lamenting this devastating loss. I had been a fan of Marc’s since Betty Carters “Droppin’ Things”, and he was high on my wish list for players who I had not worked with before to be a part of something so personal. This song was difficult to record in some respects and took a different turn when Marc asked what the song was about. He went on to explain how a suicide attempt by someone close to him affected his life as well. This changed the dynamic of the session to where we both were affected by the theme in its interpretation.
“Can It Be Done”- Jean-Michel and I had played frequently and recorded in my early days surrounding my move to NYC in the 90’s. It was always an adventure and a welcomed musical challenge to follow in the direction of his impressionistic spontaneous concepts, and I always loved the version of this song from Weather Report.
“All Through The Night”- A hymn I used to sing as a child to fall asleep at night when afraid. Five pianists on one track, sometimes 2 or 3 at a time. The recording offers an edited version without an almost 4 minute intro from the 5 pianists and will be offered in another format in its entirety. My idea was originally to have this as the title track as it has 5 of the 6 pianists on one track. I wanted to showcase them on this tune.
All songs are my own arrangements and or compositions save for Jean-Michel’s interpretation of Can It Be Done, and Orrin’s interpretation of What The World Needs Now.
This recording is highly personal as is the material chosen. These musicians hold great meaning to me and this dream project of duets with pianists, with a gestation period of 3 years, was totally worth the wait for me.
credits
releases February 7, 2020
Recorded and mixed by Dave Stoller at The Samurai Hotel-NYC
Pro tools sessions- Andy Manganello
Produced by Al Pryor and JD Walter
Mastered by Trevor Fedele
Photography-Vikram Valluri
CD Design- Shaven Raven
Personnel
JD Walter-voice
Jim Ridl, Orrin Evans, Taylor Eigsti, Marc Cary, Jean-Michel Pilc, Julius Rodriguez- Piano
Becca Stevens-Charango and backing vocals on The Last Muse
Ben Wolfe- Bass on The Last Muse
Obed Calvaire- Drums on The Last Muse
Tracks 1,3, 5 written by JD Walter (SESAC) . Published by Boynbarn Music (SESAC)
Track 2 written by J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie (ASCAP). Published by Haven Gillespie Music and John F Coots Jr trust (ASCAP)
Track 4 Written by Bacharach (BMI) and David (ASCAP). Published by BMG Gold Songs and Roynet Music (ASCAP).
Track 6 written by Wilson Turbinton, published by Songs of Universal and Picadilly Music Corp (BMI)
Track 7 traditional
Thanks- My Mother Patricia Walter, Rima Moawad, David Pulkingham, Dave Stoller, Al Pryor, Tinku Bhattacharyya
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