Week 1 – Chrysalis

Today, Clay and I start the first week of our “Duo Chronicles” series – a year-long project where we present a new song every week.

The song we’re starting with is a composition of mine from 2006, when I was still in New York City.  It’s a relatively simple little tune that I used to play on piano, but could never figure out how to make it work in a group with bass and drums.  However, when I brought the tune to the first rehearsal with Clay, we found out that it works great as a duet.  I think at the time, I was studying with Bob Mintzer and looking for a Yellowjackets style vibe to the tune.  As I was writing, it drifted away from that, but the intro (the figure Clay plays at the very beginning) still reminds me of that.

For three years, the song went without a title, but as we were getting ready to launch Duo Chronicles, I decided to ask some friends for a song title that reflected new beginnings or new directions – something fitting for the launch of a new project.  The name I choose came from a great Portland drummer by the name of Ji Tanzer that suggested “Chrysalis.”

For the musicians in the audience, you can download the sheet music and follow along if you like – we made a couple of changes that aren’t reflected in the chart, but it’s pretty accurate.

Clay and I are both pretty excited about this project – a new tune a week for a year.  It may be ambitious, but it’s fun as well.  If you haven’t yet, why not head over to our subscribe page and pick a way to keep up with us (email, Facebook, Twitter, etc).  There’s nothing to lose – it’s just free music and video for a year.