Rita Payés: Nunca Vas A Comprender

Monday morning, a delightful family picnic, what a way to spend the day. And dig the trombone. It’s a family affair, with mother on the guitar. Every meal should be like this.

Elisabeth Roma: Guitar Rita Payés: Trombone, guitar and vocals; Horacio: Contrabass; Juan Berbín: Percussion.

More at Rita Payés

Waters Of March (Águas De Março)

Monday morning, Bossa Nova goodness with Martina DaSilva and Josh Turner. Martina is a native Portuguese speaker, but Josh also got props in his YouTube comments for his excellent Portuguese pronunciation.

More at Josh Turner Guitar

Suzanne

Monday morning, we give thanks that we were born into the time of Judy Collins singing Leonard Cohen’s “Suzanne,” as perfect a match between singer and song as there will ever be. Here she is at Tanglewood in 1968.

Thanks to YouTuber Flickering Songs

Homeward Bound

Monday morning, an old classic covered impeccably. The Belfast band, Dea Matrona, consisting of Mollie McGinn and Orlaith Forsythe, makes me realize just how good this song sounds with female voices.

More at Dea Matrona

Mary Spender’s Church Bells

(Click on the video above to play)

Monday morning, crack guitar player, singer, songwriter, and videomaker Mary Spender takes us behind the scenes to her castle, as she gives us a backstage explanation of how she put together her Romeo-and-Juliet influenced music video with zero crew. A really fascinating look at what talent and resourcefulness can do. Oh, and add camera drone operator to that list.

More at Mary Spender

Hollow Wood

Monday morning, a beautiful song written and sung by Allison Young and Josh Turner. Josh writes:

“When Allison and I started to conceive of this project, we both wanted to do something acapella in the Scots-Irish-Appalachian folk tradition. I had suggested a few covers, and then Allison come to me with a verse and a chorus. We finished the song together over the next two days and recorded it just a few days after that. Allison woke up with her voice feeling terrible the morning of recording but it was one of the last days we had, so when she said she felt good enough to give it a try, I hit record on the camera without even checking it – couldn’t waste time! as a result, it is not a very good shot, with Allison almost out of frame and me blocked by the mic. But the recording I’m very happy with.  

Longtime friend of the channel Gabe Terraciano added some subtle fiddle drones after the fact for this one, and I put just a tiny bit of Moog synth on there for bass. Topping it off is a recording of some birds Allison took at Edwin Warner park.”

More at Josh Turner Guitar

Buy A Gun For Your Son

Monday morning, Tom Paxton, one of the best of the political songwriters of the 60s and afterwards, sings a song for Pete Seeger in 1965 about buying war toys. Little did Tom or Pete realize that the problem of war toys would be fully solved in our time by banning toy guns for children and insisting that they use real ones.

Thanks to Mitchel Cohen for pointing out this video.

Thanks to YouTuber funkydudesupreme

Ain’t Misbehavin’: Joe Pass

I like Joe Pass because he always has such taste. You know that he could do whatever he wants to do on the guitar, but he holds himself back just a bit, restrains himself from showing off too much.

When I was a teenager I worked on a play as a stage manager with a very good professional older cast who I looked up to. I remember one actor, Gene, who came off stage into the wings where I was, after playing a very emotional scene. He was still crying from the scene, and I was impressed by the real tears. I congratulated him on how powerful the scene was. But he shook his head, and said to me, no, he didn’t get it right; he didn’t want to cry at that point in the play, it didn’t serve the playwright. I never forgot that.