What a blast making this music was! When Lynda Nelson of Concord NH came to my studio to start working on recordings of her songs, it became immediately apparent that putting her music in the hands of the legendary ‘Nashville Cats’ would be the way to go. I knew Lynda’s exuberant positivity would bring out the best in Music City’s …
Cathy Wilson: Celtic-flavored folk/country from Tennessee
My latest trip to Nashville yielded some more beautiful tracks from Cookeville Tennessee singer-songwriter Cathy Wilson, with further overdubs and mixing back here in (cooler?-not so much, lately) Portsmouth. Bill Verdier on fiddle, John Mock on mando/banjo/whistle/drum, Jeff Taylor this time back on his first instrument, piano.
Latest Nashville sessions
March 16-19 found me in Nashville, producing and playing acoustic guitar on three days of recording. Song demos with various songwriters using my trusty team of Nashville A-list musicians, including Chris Leuzinger (Garth Brooks and just about everyone else), Gary Prim (Zac Brown Band, Alan Jackson, John Fogerty, etc.), Wayne Killius (Blake Shelton, Kenny Rogers, Luke Bryan, etc.). And, continued …
Lindsay Straw: Traditional Folk with fresh expertise!
Superb instrumental skills on guitar and bouzouki, a keen ear for repertoire selection, new takes on centuries-old stories and a clear, sparkling voice make this project everything a folk audience can hope for. Music from the past has a bright future! Lindsay‘s thoughtful preparation prior to the recording dates ensured an efficient use of time, keeping costs low and energy levels …
Chris Vaughan: Portsmouth’s ‘Great Scot’!
One of the first projects that came to me at Mill Pond Music about five years ago involved my adding a few guitar parts to and mixing the Dave Hallowell-produced CD by Portsmouth’s Scot-about-town, bon vivant Chris Vaughan. There’s now a new collection of his songs, ‘Americana 1974’. The production is in a folk-country vein, yours truly playing all the instruments, with bluesy …
Erica Brown and Matt Shipman: Darlin’ Corey
A couple more great musicians from Portland’s happening music scene, Matt and Erica, are releasing this month a collection of duo recordings featuring their plaintive, evocative vocals, Erica’s wonderful old-timey, country and celtic fiddle, Matt’s rich and nimble guitar, bouzouki and banjo. I’ve had the pleasure of working with Matt when I’ve subbed with High Range, and am a huge fan …
Jim’s Performance Schedule
See Jim’s Performance Schedule Below: Contact Jim for your entertainment needs at mpmstudionh@gmail.com -Celtic/Irish music, Old-timey and Bluegrass, Gypsy/Dixieland/Roots Jazz, Traditional/Classic Country, 60s Folk, Klezmer and other ethnic specialties. -Wedding receptions and ceremonies, house parties, events venues, themed events, background music and more. All instrumental or vocal/instrumental. Formal, casual or in-between. -I bring 45 years’ experience, playing for Governors, Presidents and …
John Carew: Boston’s Celtic Folk troubador
John is one of the first musicians I met when I started exploring the idea of moving back to New England from Nashville. I think it was in 2005, just after spending a wonderful week in upstate NY accompanying world-renowned fiddler Craig Duncan, a long-time colleague who was being inducted into the Northeast Fiddler’s Hall of Fame. I stepped into a …
Fodhla- Fine Irish music trio
I’ve known Nicole Rabata for 5 years and had many a lovely Irish tune session in her company. She’s a fine flute payer and true pro, and I‘m very grateful that she chose to bring in her companions in this lovely 6-tune project, Ellery Klein on fiddle and Bethany Waickman on DADGAD guitar to record here at MPM Studio. Here’s a …
Fall update
Lots happening this past summer into fall: new CDs by John Carew, Skip Gorman, Annie Eastman Young, Gus LaCasse, song demos by Abbi White, Greg Lull, Brandon Harris, Brin Banta, Portland Irish flutist Nicole Rabata‘s trio, a recent production trip to Nashville, and more- I’ll try to post some music and photos soon. Nashville’s Studio 19, one of my favorite places …
Riptide: America’s Contra Dance Band!
Something about the unselfconsciousness of making music purely for dancing has brought out the best in this group of stellar Portland ME based traditional musicians: Alden Robinson, Owen Marshall and Glen Loper, joined by the Contradance world’s leading percussionist Mark ‘Pokey’ Hellenberg. Contra dance aficionados will instantly recognize that this collection represents the apex of the genre’s musicianship. Those who have …
Eric McDonald & Ryan McKasson- Scottish fiddle and guitar
Eric‘s brought several projects to the studio in the last few months. This latest, with stellar West Coast Scottish/Cape Breton-style fiddler Ryan McKasson is just sweet. Listen!
Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki Trio: High-Energy Celtic
It’s here! Jordan’s new trio CD release party packed the legendary Stone Church in Newmarket NH. I got there for the last few songs after a grueling run of St. Pat’s gigs and was knocked out by their larger-than-life sound. I immediately started to wonder-did the CD manage to capture that energy in the recording process? A quick reference to …
Winter 2015 update
Lots going on this winter at MPM Studio, so much that I’m having trouble keeping the website up to date. Snow is falling- a moment to catch up. Here are just a few recent projects: A new ‘Trad’ Scottish CD project with Eric Macdonald and Will Woodson (Scottish small pipes, flute, guitar, mandolin and vocals). Boston singer/songwriter Abbi White finishing …
“…that’s an Irish Lullaby”
The challenge: to produce an instrumental CD without calling attention to the instruments, without distracting the listener from the beauty of the melody, to create an ambience of soothing relaxation for adults and children alike. I think that Bill Verdier, John Mock and I rose to the occasion in this collection of Irish melodies played as sparse, gentle lullabies we’ve …
‘Celtic Tribute’ Series on CMH
“You look like you could play Irish music” said the agent, who had known me for many years, “there’s a new Irish Pub opening at the Opryland Hotel, and we’d like you to put together an acoustic trio to play there.” Thus, in 2003, was born ‘The Boys of County Nashville‘. Jeff Taylor and I became totally besotted with …