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A Cello Rondo
is my first cello performance video. If you play the cello, or if you just enjoy cello
playing, I promise you will love this video. The link at left will take you to the web
page for this video. |
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This is the
performance portion only from my 18 minute interview with Phil
Cramer. Phil built the guitar he's playing, and you can see much more of his amazing
handiwork in the full interview linked above. This is the only music on my site that I
didn't perform and record, but it's too good not to share. |
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I wrote Lullaby
as the sound track for my next music video, but I'm still working on ideas for the video!
The music was finished a few months ago, so in the mean time here it is as music only.
I'll add a link to the video when it's finished. |
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Like most of my tunes, the
backing instruments for Gear Jammer were performed entirely on
synthesizers. But the hard-driving lead guitar is 100 percent live, played on my
customized 1960s Fender Telecaster. |
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Cello Concerto in A
Minor One of my most ambitious projects ever, this concerto took me nine months
to write, and another three months to typeset the score and parts. It was recorded between
August and December 1998 in my home studio using live string, woodwind, and brass players.
Read all about it HERE in my article from Strings Magazine. |
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I wrote Men At Work
as the sound track for my company's video Made in Connecticut (LINK). All of the machine
samples and sounds are original. |
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Elli's Song was
written for and inspired by my wife, Elli. Besides the MIDI synth backing instruments,
there's a live acoustic guitar solo and also real violins played by members of an
orchestra I perform with. |
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Happy Go Lucky
was created entirely with the fabulous DreamStation analog-style software synthesizer. If
you write music using a computer, go HERE
now and buy this program! |
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The Swan
is a beautiful piece from St. Saens' Carnival of the Animals. It was originally written
for cello and piano, but in this arrangement I used the haunting sound of a Theremin. This
recording was created entirely using the DreamStation synthesizer. |
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I recorded Spunky in
the late 1990s. The sampled sax solo is pretty lame, but it's a fun piece anyway. |
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Jungle If
you like percussion instruments you'll definitely enjoy this piece. The live fiddle solo
at the end is played by teenage violin virtuoso James Herstatt. |
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Sharp Four is
named for the musical device which is used throughout the piece. The only live instrument
here is the cello, on which I play an assortment of Jeff Beck-inspired noises and other
musical effects. |
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Rocky Top
This is my arrangement of the traditional bluegrass tune, which I recorded in the mid
1990s. James Herstatt played the fiddle solos. |
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Saturday Night
is my latest string quartet, written as seven variations on an original jazz progression.
This version sounds pretty good considering it's played by synthesizers, but I hope to
record real players some day. If you have a quartet and want to play it, you can download
a Zip file (1.2MB) with all of the parts scanned to GIF images here. |
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Playing Solitaire
was written and sung by my friend Katie Petreycik, and I produced this recording. The
drums and Rhodes piano were generated by Yamaha's Visual Arranger program. I played the
electric bass, pedal steel leads, and background vocals (MIDI), and the rhythm and lead
acoustic guitars (live). I also engineered the sessions and did the final mix. |
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Disco Rainbow This
arrangement of Over the Rainbow was done in the late '70s when I owned a
professional recording studio. I'm playing Fender bass, and also the lead on a homemade
synthesizer (check out the chicken clucks!); with Phil Cramer on guitars; Chris Toelken on
the clavinet and, along with Barb LaValle, ending vocals; Peter Hodgson on drums; and
James "Doc" Halliday playing sax. |
This synthesizer
took me more than a year to build (in 1974). |
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We'll call them Disembodied
Guitar Solos. Back in the 1970s I was a pretty decent guitar player, but a lot of
the tunes I played on are too embrassing to post in their entirety. So here are the best
10-20 seconds from four of them. All of these tracks were recorded direct into a board I
designed and built, either by distorting the board's input or through various home-made
fuzz tones. |
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Bernhard Romberg
was an 18th century cellist who also wrote many fine works. This is my arrangement of the
first movement of his E Minor sonata for cello and piano, Opus 38, Number 1. But instead
of a cello I'm playing the lead on electric guitar, and instead of a piano there's a rock
band providing the backing! |
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Insaen is
my pop music arrangement of St. Saens' Allegro Appassionato for cello and
orchestra. Steven Thomas is the cello soloist, Rob Aries plays the keyboards, and Scott
Lebish is on drums. I wrote the arrangement and played everything else. |
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On The Run Here's
another guitar rocker played on my Fender Telecaster. It's got harmony guitar and synth
leads for the verses, and a triple-tracked guitar solo. Trivia challenge: Can you tell
which early Beatles song was the inspiration for this piece? |
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Rock Jam This
hard rockin' guitar jam features two tracks of live electric guitar, plus organ licks and
fills played by my good buddy, Eric Pearson, shown here. |
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I wrote Eth-O-Ditty
in the early 1980s when I owned a professional 16-track recording studio. Bob
Lavalle played the drums and I'm on the electric guitar and bass. I also played all the
other parts on my homemade analog synthesizer. Read more about this synthesizer and my
studio on my Music page. At the right is a fragment of the
original schematic drawing I made while designing this beast. There's a photo of the
synthesizer itself next to Disco Rainbow, above. |
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A Day in the Life
of a Cat Named Bear This piece written for a full orchestra is a series of
short musical vignettes about my precious monster. It's an old recording using a lame (by
today's standards) Proteus/2 MIDI sound module. But hopefully the musical intent comes
through. Sections: 1) Bear wakes up in a
playful mood, and goes outside for some fun. 2) A mouse darts across the yard, with Bear
in hot pursuit. 3) In heroic triumph, Bear catches the mouse and eats it! 4) Exhausted
from his conquest, Bear climbs on my lap for a nap. 5) Fully rested, Bear plays with his
many cat toys. 6) Bear gets down and funky at the food dish. 7) Suitably stuffed, Bear
relaxes and reflects on his day. 8) Reprise. |
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Uptown Serenade
is a jazzy tune in the big-band style, and it features a live electric guitar plus real
strings. |
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Computer: 2.4 GHz Dell
XPS Duo-Core with 2 GB RAM, more than 1 TB of hard drive storage, dual-layer DVD burner,
and two monitors including a widescreen LCD.