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ALBUM: Speechless
ARTIST: Mike Chapman

Sleeve Notes

1). Away from the town and into the country. Written to try and get an “English” sound from the plectrum guitar.

2). Celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary and the result of setting myself the problem “write something in B major”.

3). Clive James once wrote, “I’m just trying to write a sentence that catches the light”. Well, that’s where the title comes from.

4). Written by Ike lsaacs although my second section is totally different from the original. He was the doyen of British jazzers from the 1950’s onwards.

5). Taking Bluegrass cross-picking a stage further. I call this my Bluegrass rumba.

6). One of the few solo pieces recorded by Wes Montgomery. He used his right thumb on a jazz archtop.

7). Dick McDonough’s arrangement from 1934. Over the time I’ve been playing this more and more of my own playing has crept in.

8). Another Ike lsaacs piece. The street in question is in London’s Soho and possibly the location of a post-war jazz club. Anyone add to this?

9). A lovely waltz by Pat Shaw taught to me by the late Lionel Green. I always liked Lionel’s gigs as he paid well and the band generally got fed!

10). A rare original from jazz master Johnny Smith. I can’t help at all with the title as I have no idea who Wally is and it’s not a waltz.

11). My arrangement of the O'Carolan tune. Arranging this tune in a minor key was a real challenge and nearly drove me barmy.

12). One for my old teacher Cedric West. His house was always full of guitarists drinking his terrible cups of tea, chatting, arguing, and playing. Wonderful.

13). A Barney Kessel original although I’ve added sections and the key change near the end.

14). Johnny Smith’s arrangement of the Jerome Kern tune. Johnny always managed to find chords no one else ever used and although it’s in his usual drop-D tuning, it’s played in the key of A.

 
Thanks to Steve Tsoi at Soundmagic Studio for his patience. My teachers Cedric West and Colin Oxley for not being too upset when we realised I was not going to be a jazz player, and encouraging me to go my own way. Andrew King for his friendship and information and, most of all, my wife Sally for everything else.
 

Credits

Recorded at Sound Magic Studio, 2003
and Studio Adelaide 1997.
Engineer Steve Tsoi.
Production Martin Appleby.
Photography Ian Tomey
Cover design Steve Tsoi
Guitar Bill Collings, Austin, Texas.

Photo: Mike Chapman

This page was last updated on 13 February, 2005