The first track tonight is from John Hiatt - The title track off of his 16th album, released in 2000, this was the first album that John actually owned outright. Straightforward, acoustic, much more ‘americana’ sound, with the brilliant lyrics, forward mixed vocals. It’s obvious that the words are very important. 


John Hiatt is a master songwriter, and I love how clearly he describes the reality of the craft. 


“People tend to, especially with singer-songwriters, take songs as literal snippets of the writers’ lives,” he says. “My point in that song was that they’re not, exactly--it comes out of a whole mess of images and only the song survives.” John Hiatt
LA Times article.
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-nov-07-ca-48101-story.html

Our second track is from the badass supergroup ‘I’m With Her’ comprised of Sarah Jarosz, Sara Watkins, and Aoife O’Donovan. 


It’s the same song, but with different decisions made, to highlight the strengths of the the group. I’ve seen them do this live, and it is incredible how much of a dynamic arc they can produce, three women, each playing one instrument and in one piece there are so many layers.


what did you hear? Does everyone play all the time? Does everyone sing all the time?

And now, let’s go a little further afield. what happens when the inspiration comes from a different genre.


Tonight we are going a bit rock and roll, this piece spent 4 weeks as no 2 on the billboard hot 100 charts, sold over one million singles. It’s 4 minutes of attitude, synth, and the Boss doing his born in the USA dance moves. 


Springsteen wrote "Dancing In the Dark" overnight, after Jon Landau convinced him that the album needed a single. According to journalist Dave Marsh in the book Glory Days, Springsteen was not impressed with Landau's approach. "Look", he snarled, "I've written seventy songs. You want another one, you write it." Despite this reaction, Springsteen sat in his hotel room and wrote the song in a single night. It sums up his state of mind, his feeling of isolation after the success of his album The River, and his frustrations of trying to write a hit single. Six takes of "Dancing in the Dark" were recorded on February 14, 1984, at The Hit Factory, and after 58 mixes, work was completed on March 8, 1984. The 12-inch single was released May 9, 1984, and was the highest-selling 12-inch single in the US that year

So what happens when you want to cover a tune? what do you do, you’re not Springsteen, so why try to be him. Don’t set yourself an impossible task. Find what aspects of the song are essential, what things can be transferred to other instruments, what instrument has a percussive pop to fill in for drums? what instruments can hold long soundscape pads like a synth? Do you change the tempo? can you add in harmonies? Is there a problematic verse you don’t want to use? lyrics you want to adjust?


So without further Adieu I give you a this wonderful version of Dancing in the dark, by Ruth Moody from her album These Wilder Things Adam Dobres (guitars), Adrian Dolan (fiddle, mandolin, accordion), Sam Howard (upright bass) and her brother Richard Moody (viola)–

We have all heard the Prelude to Cello Suite no 1 a million times.

Think "Classical Cello", or even just 'Cello' and that's the piece that comes to mind. 

I love that first movement, but always lament that we don't usually get to hear the rest of the Suite, let alone the other Cello 5 Suites.

This week we listened to the entirety of Suite 1, I've provided a link here that is a live performance of ALL SIX!!! So pour yourself a nice cuppa tea or bevvy of your choice, sit back, and enjoy.

While many of us have heard the amazing recordings of Ry Cooder and the Buena Vista Social Club, that iconic music is just a sliver of the vibrant culture of dance, music and song in Cuba. Cuba is a land of immigrants, none of the indigenous people survived the spanish conquests. it is a country of stark contrasts, an incredibly rich culture, created by people who live in a system of rations, and making do with less.

Tonight we’re going to drive out of the tourist areas, in a car that has questionable headlights, an on-going list of mcgyvered repairs, but rest assured the horn works. Traveling 2 hours east to Matanzas, the birthplace of Rhumba, 
While Miriam Webster defines
“a ballroom dance of Cuban origin in ²/₄ or ⁴/₄ time with a basic pattern of step-close-step and marked by a delayed transfer of weight and pronounced hip movements also : the music for this dance.”
and that is true, but we aren't going to go into the ball room with the bright lights and fancy dresses and silverscreen patina for the tourists and visiting dignitaries.

{“Recogidito” a beautiful rumba written by the late Julián Mesa IBAE, performed by Rafael Navarro Pujada “El Niño” for over 30 years the lead singer of the emblematic group “Los Muñequitos de Matanzas"(Founded in 1952). Niño is the voice of rumba in Matanzas and some say of Cuba, with an amazing career, he has multiple awards and collaborations with countless top artists around the planet, a dear friend, teacher and mentor to a new generation of rumberos. Joining him and equally amazing is Ana Pérez, master singer and dancer for “Los Muñequitos de Matanzas” also for more than 3 decades. Ana, a priestess, educator and a pillar of the community, has single handedly established an academy to teach children her musical traditions, she has an incredible musical family and hundreds of students around the world. She continues to be a champion for the arts in the province of Matanzas. On drums: Orlando Álvarez “El Yamba” master percussionist, lead drummer for the famous “Grupo Afrocuba de Matanzas”(Founded in 1957).
Since the early 1900s rumba continues to evolve, not exclusively Cuban anymore, the genre is now played and performed worldwide, mixing it in todays music scene with every possible style from European classical to urban styles like reguetón in the last few years.  Regardless of the outcome, we feel as Matanceros that it is important to share it in its most basic forms so that the new generation of practitioners and performers can hopefully learn the “basics” of where this comes from.
We always heard “If you don’t know where you come from you won’t be able to know where you are going”. Our elders used to say: “El género no pelea con nadie” (The genre doesn’t fight with anyone) whether you are a student, academic or a professional artist we hope you take this to heart. } - from the 'liner notes' for this video


To our Canadian/North American/western music ears, perhaps unaccustomed to music that is so rhythmically layered, the accompaniment percussion can be overwhelming. 

This music is best made sense of through the body, not numbered in counting or time signatures, but felt. Let it wash over you, resist the urge to find the ‘Down beat’ the pulse will come, let it move your body, perhaps you’ll feel it here *in your heart*, or in long sweeps of the arm, or your hips, or in small staccato steps. Like in meditation, your focus will probably travel to different layers throughout the performance. enjoy the ride

The movements that this music brings as you listen may feel strange, unfamiliar, or awkward. Perhaps unattainable to you, let’s sit with that. I too struggle to let my body move in the way this music asks. But the only way to learn those movements is to allow ourselves to let go.
So as we listen to the first piece, if you’re comfortable feel free to join the dancers, or we can hangout on the curb, and enjoy watching Rumba Timba.
but, let your body do the listening.

For the final piece tonight we are going to listen to a traditional Yoruba song, the initial unison melody is a song for Eleggua. Eleggua is one of a pantheon of Orishas, which are a part of the Afro-Cuban religion, closely syncretized with Catholic Saints. This wonderful performance starts with the traditional song, but then takes the harmonizations to other wonderful places.