Courtesy Tim McCabe & Planet Earth Rec
Hi Friends and Family, a few weeks ago, Sharyn and I visited some acquaintances of ours in nearby Helen, GA. Hors-d’oeuvres and a very tasty bottle of red wine greeted us as we walked in the door. We knew Hollywood and David Hobbs from our many tastings together. As we sipped our pinot noir and enjoyed their beautiful view of the Blue Ridge Mountains, I asked Hollywood if she was enjoying her copy of Palomino Duck’s Smooth Flight?She replied, “You didn’t send me one…” Oops, I had forgotten to mail the two of them the CD. “That’s no problem,” I said, “let’s just access your streaming network and we should find the music there.” She clicked on Amazon and authoritatively said, “Alexa, play the music of Palomino Duck…” Alexa’s soft, velvety voice announced, “playing the music of Palomino Duck…” I was impressed!
First one up was “Streets In the Rain,” from First Flight. Composed and performed on piano by Cheryl Rogers. This was the perfect selection as the rain gently fell on the roof. In anticipation, I waited to see if there would be a second song from Alexa? Yes indeed, then came the Jesse Pena composition entitled “One Last Look,” from Smooth Flight. But wait, there’s more! Here comes Mac Frampton’s composition, “On the Isle of Skye” from Free Flight.Alexa was really making friends.
We lost a great friend and an internationally acclaimed artist in November. Wayland Moore was one of a kind – artist, poet, and philanthropist. His expressionistic paintings of dramatic action and brilliant color defined an era in sports art. Olympics events in Lake Placid, NY (1980), LA Olympics (1984), and the 1996 Atlanta Olympics all featured art and logo designs by Wayland. Graphic design, too, was his one of his specialties, having created the Atlanta Braves’ “most popular” uniform – the 1974 version, worn by Hank Aaron when Aaron hit his record breaking 715th home run. It now resides in the Cooperstown Baseball Hall of Fame.
It’s impossible to name all the works attributed to Wayland Moore – thousands of paintings reside in homes and galleries worldwide. We are blessed to have seven in our home including the one below, “The Songwriter,” an original by Wayland Moore. Yes, that’s me and Sharyn in our younger days.
We ate and drank for about an hour and a half (David provided sufficient wine for the afternoon) until it was time to head home. We gave thanks to our hosts and, as we headed out the door, Alexa was still playing the music of Palomino Duck, without repeating a song. I thanked her but was not sure she heard me. Bottom line, every one of you has the music of Palomino Duck at your fingertips. It’s there for you to enjoy…and I believe you will.
I’ve always been a fan of The Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Many years ago, as a National Trustee for the Recording Academy, I had the honor of presenting Robert Shaw, then conductor of the ASO, a record number of five Grammy Awards to the well-deserving conductor and the orchestra. It was a momentous event. A recent announcement tells us that the orchestra is now under its newly appointed Music Director, Nathalie Stutzmann. More good things to come, I’m sure.
On this particular Friday night in November, there was a guest conductor, Scandinavian John Storsgards, currently performing with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra and Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa. The featured soloist was Inon Barnatan, an Israeli pianist, most recently serving as the inaugural Artist-in-Association Performer with the NY Philharmonic.
Honestly, I was not familiar with these two classical icons however, when the word “Rachmaninov” was mentioned, I was in! Chopin, Stravinsky, Sibelius…all good, but “Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini” was what I came for. The concert was like a two-act play, flowing seamlessly from one score to the next. But, the highlight was when Barnatan began playing “the Rhapsody.” It was electric. The orchestra and the music transported us to a musical Neverland. It was quite a performance, one of the best I’ve experienced. Not being a classically trained music critic, I’ll cut to the chase –I/we loved it!
I gazed upon the orchestra as they made their final bows, I couldn’t help but think of the number of ASO orchestra members who have contributed their talents to our Palomino Duck recordings over the years. All appreciated! You are great musicians, and we thank you!
Courtesy Tim McCabe & Planet Earth Rec
