December 6, 2017
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Comments Off on Songs as offerings
As our visit to Toraja approached I spent a long time thinking about what I would sing there, within those magical mountains and mysterious caves. I knew I wanted to sing some of my dream haiku as I’d been doing … Continue reading
August 10, 2017
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Comments Off on Malaysia and Sulawesi inspiration
I remember when the great jazz trumpet player Herbie Spanier, a family friend, complained to me about the seasons. He said something like: why are we expected to do all this work in the dead of winter when it’s so … Continue reading
May 2, 2017
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Comments Off on Melancholy in springtime and Catalonia
This is always a bittersweet time of year for me, when we’re waiting breathlessly for the leaves to emerge from the trees again, and yet there is a tinge of loss in the air. You’d think I’d feel that way … Continue reading
April 6, 2017
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Comments Off on Words or music; chicken or egg?
It’s like the chicken or the egg question: which comes first, the music or the words? I’m happy to write songs in either order, words first or music first. When the words come first I like to tease out a … Continue reading
January 27, 2017
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Comments Off on Why I keep a dream journal
When I tell people I’ve been doing dreamwork for decades, they sometimes ask why I keep a dream journal. Here’s one small story that illustrates what I love about it. I’ve been keeping a dream journal since the early 1990s … Continue reading
May 25, 2016
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Comments Off on Why I sing in English
As a very young singer, travelling with my family in southern Spain, I developed a habit of listening to and singing along with flamenco music. To this day I still warm up my voice and practice by singing flamenco in … Continue reading
March 30, 2016
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Comments Off on Why I sing my dreams
Very often, when listening to talented singers with lovely voices, I find myself asking, why is she singing that? Often the song choices are baffling to me. I do understand that it springs from a sincere wish to make a living, … Continue reading
January 25, 2016
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Comments Off on Improvising and ancestral memory
Sometimes there are many words for the same thing. How different is improvising, when using lyrics, from stream of consciousness poetry or automatic writing? If dreaming and imagination exist in the same space, what kind of stories can reach us … Continue reading
December 19, 2015
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Comments Off on Holiday music
We recorded the album Jeannettically Modified Christmas Songs after several years of great Christmas party gigs. Every December we’d hike up to the top of a skyscraper overlooking the financial district in Toronto, swig martinis, wolf down sushi and … Continue reading