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NEWSLETTER, OCTOBER, 2004
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OCTOBER UPDATES
The long, busy summer is finally over. A lot of things happened for me this summer including a trip to San Diego for a Music Strategies Conference in June, a fabulous Reggae On The River in August, a great North Country Fair in September and a trip to Phoenix for more Music Strategies in October. In between, many new and old friends stopped by the piano at the Benbow Inn to say hi. I want to say thanks to everyone who listened this summer and a special thanks to those who took some of my music home. I found time to visit Spencer Brewer's fabulous recording studio in August and recorded some new material that will show up in finished projects over the next couple of months. Laughing Coyote Studios is about 150 miles away from my home, but it's the closest studio with a real piano. We get such great sound from the 7 1/2 foot Yamaha that Spencer so lovingly cares for. I'm now finding myself with some time to take care of some projects that have been waiting. A big one has been some work on the website to make it more valuable to visitors. ARTIST STORY ADDED TO FRONT PAGE A goal of mine has been to have the front page of the website say more about who I am as an artist and what my art is about. This has been difficult to put into concise language but I have finally gotten it done and posted. SONG INSIGHTS ADDED FOR REDWOOD REFLECTIONS To help people understand the relevance to them of my art, I have written insights for each song on Redwood Reflections and added them to the web page for that CD. These are the stories behind the music that tell where it came from. It's interesting--check it out! OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER PERFORMANCE SCHEDULES UPDATED The new performance dates are now up on the Schedule page. This is helpful for those planning a trip to Benbow to see me. The Benbow Inn Halloween party will be Saturday, October 30th. FREE CD SAMPLERS AVAILABLE IN LOCAL STORES One of the tools I'm using to introduce new people to my music is a CD Sampler containing an introduction to myself and my art, two songs from Redwood Reflections, and the story behind each of those songs. These samplers are available free at The Metro, The Works, and Wildwood Music in Arcata and The Works in Eureka. To sign up to receive monthly E-mail updates, send a message HERE with 'ADD ME' in the subject line. If you are receiving E-mail updates and don't want them, send a message HERE with 'REMOVE ME' in the subject line |
FEATURED ALBUM FOR OCTOBER
In Redwood Reflections, A Suite For Solo Piano, I take the listener on a day trip through a majestic Redwood Forest, evoking in the listener the feelings of serenity and refreshment that seem so elusive in the day-to-day struggle of living that occupies so much of our lives. Here is a mini-vacation for when we just don't have the time to get away. The opening song, Morning Fog, depicts the stillness of early morning deep in the forest. Tendrils of fog snake their way between the trees as the sun rises high enough to splash occasionally through the mass of greenery overhead. SONG SPOTLIGHT When my son, Kai, was four years old he was singing this song he made up about a crow. As a music lesson at the time we expanded on it a little. Over the next few days it grew in my hands into this latin-flavored, happy piece that closes the Redwood Reflections CD.
Matthew & Kai Cook . .. . . . . |
