Recorded at Coast Recorders, San Francisco, CA
April 14 and 15, 2013
Engineered by Sean Beresford
Mixed by Peter Sprague- Spragueland Studio, Leucadia, Ca
Cover art and design by Brian Wood
Photo of "imagine wall" Prague, Czech Republic by Steve Feierabend
The music on this CD is inspired by and dedicated to the great pianist
and composer Cedar Walton.
Throughout my musical journey, Cedar Walton's music has been a trusted
and nurturing source of inspiration, invigoration and re-dedication.
From his days with Art Blakey, to his own trio recordings, to his
Eastern Rebellion band, Cedar's music remains honest, pure and true to
his perspective and direction.
His music stands as a beacon of good taste, managing to elegantly and
effortlessly balance his driving swing feel with beauty, understatement,
exuberance, humor and joy.
I feel extremely lucky to have experienced Cedar perform live so many
times, including many weeks at Elario's in San Diego, where, for the
price of a cup of coffee I could sit night after night and witness the
intuitive interaction unfolding between Cedar and Billy Higgins on drums.
Thank you! Thank You!
Here's to Cedar Wal
The graffiti on the cover of this CD is a close-up of the "Imagine Wall" in Prague, Czech Republic. This immense wall began to be covered in the 1980's following the death of John Lennon, inspired by and paying tribute to the vision of love, peace and freedom in his song "Imagine". Erased every day by the Communist regime, it was reinvented and expanded every night, gaining momentum and followers, becoming a focal point of artistic, peaceful, dissident storytelling. Because of my family's involvement and sacrifice for the independence of the Czech nation, and because jazz was outlawed during the reign of both the Nazis and the Communists (1939-1987) the "Imagine Wall" is meaningful in a deeply personal way.
In today's world of violent uprisings, war, occupation, and acts of terrorism, often fueled on both sides by anti-intellectual, anti-cultural fundamentalism, the "Imagine Wall" and the "Velvet Revolution" that followed stand as shining examples of peaceful regime change… a revolution begun and inspired in large part by artists and musicians and culminating in the election of a playwright.
"If the world is to change for the better it must start with a change in human consciousness, in the very humanness of modern man." - Vaclav Havel