Big Cave

This is a piece from one guitar two, recorded during my recent retreat in the cave at the Prajna Mountain Refuge. The album was published to Backstage this week and will make its way to Bandcamp in a few months.

The piece has the working title Wednesday because that’s the day it was recorded. What would it sound like if the cave was really really huge? I used a plugin called Valhalla (perfect name, isn’t it?) to simulate a gigantic cave. The beauty of a simulated cave is that it can be turned on and turned off. What you hear is just my guitar… no other instrument was added. Some people imagine they hear synthesizers but it’s just the guitar and reverb. So now I want to give this treatment to all of the slow pieces from one guitar two, which means there will be a second volume called one guitar two – Big Cave Versions.

I hope you like it.

 

one guitar two

Today I posted the new album to Backstage. 14 tracks. 40 minutes of music. Exactly four weeks from start to finish, because I arrived at the refuge on Tuesday 6. August. I loved every moment of working on this album. One guitar in the wilderness… and my reaction to the surroundings and the sound of the cave and six hours of daily zazen. I want to make more recordings like this, especially now that I know the equipment does what I was hoping it could do. one guitar three… next year sometime, somewhere.

A big thank you has to go to Roshi Joan Halifax, who has been an important part of my life for two decades and who invited me to stay at the refuge. It was she who suggested the cave as a place to record my guitar. Many thanks also to Sensei Noah Kodo Roen, who built the meditation cave.  

The Complete Santa Fe Sessions

I have been working on this album for several months, and it’s coming together very nicely. The current favorite cover design is this one, using a photo I took of my guitar case, with yellow-edged stairs and a red table:

TCSFS 5 for diary

Track List:
01 Borrasca
02 Isla del Sol
03 Barcelona Nights
04 Reaching Out 2 U
05 Havana Club
06 Dancing Under the Moon
07 Snakecharmer
08 São Paulo
09 Song 4 Pablo
10 Turkish Night
11 2 the Night
12 La Rosa Negra
13 Heart Still/Beating
14 Santa Fe
15 Morning Arrival in Goa

That’s the favorite sequence at the moment. The sequence might change, but those are the fifteen songs that will be on the album.

Lensic Performance + New Album

The stage at the Lensic Theater on 8. October:

2015 10 08 Lensic

We had a great time performing for a sold-out audience here in Santa Fe. Thanks to everyone who came and supported a good cause. I was most impressed by the fellow who drove all the way from Houston to experience the concert. :-)

CDs of the new album arrived the day before the concert and so we brought some to the venue to sell. Since Marita: Shadows + Storms in 1989, this is, I think, the first time that an album of mine premiered on Santa Fe radio – last Wednesday at KBAC Radio Free Santa Fe – and was first sold in Santa Fe. That makes me smile.

I updated the webpage for Waiting n Swan today. It now contains previews for all of the songs. These previews are good quality and are in stereo, but are limited to one minute each. I will add links to iTunes (download), Amazon (CD and download) and HDTracks (high definition download) as I find them – the official release date is Friday 10/23. Unfortunately the music will NOT be available from our ListeningLounge because of the licensing process involved. We will, however, sell the CD at our concerts.

Transit 3: migration

Transit 3 Cover Sq

Jon Gagan’s third Transit album is now available in our ListeningLounge. Click on the above image to go there.

Transit 3: migration contains 15 songs with performances by:

Jon Gagan – bass, keyboards, sound design
Eddie Garcia – drums
John Bartlit – vibraphone, marimba
Ottmar Liebert – flamenco guitar, electric guitar, wah, handclaps
Dimi Disanti – electric guitar, solo electric guitar
Robby Rothschils – djembe, calabash, conga, cajón, percussion
Nancy Gagan – vocals
Deborah Domanski – vocals
Mark Clark – bongos, udu, seed pods