Axton/Watts/Mason/Chapman –
The seeds of this mashup have been rattling around in my head for going on 40 years at this point. Back when Three Dog Night had their big hit, I was thinking about ways to superimpose the one over the other. I guess it was only a matter of time before I let it loose on the rest of the world. And for your further listening pleasure, there’s also an instrumental version…
Special Guest: Steven Shayle Rhodes on Vocals
Tchaikovsky/Chapman –
Ever since creating my version of the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy for the Twisted Christmas series, I’ve been tossing around the idea of creating my version of the entire Nutcracker Suite. Well, here’s the first three pieces of the suite, Overture, March, and the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy. I don’t know if this will go any further than this, or if this is as much of the suite as I’ll create, but here it is.
Gillespie/Coots/Chapman –
We teach this song to our kids to get them excited? Have you listened to the lyrics? It should be treated more like a Grimm’s Fairy Tale, warning kids about the creepy old man who offers them candy and wants them to sit on his lap…
Gannon/Kent/Chapman –
A Christmas song for all those that dread the holiday season, with the requisite dysfunctional family gatherings, and everything else that comes along. The idea for this came from a joking remark a friend made in an email discussion.
Although I already had a rough cut of this arrangement in the works before the death of Richard Wright, I hope that it can be considered a suitable tribute to the legacy of musical works that he was a part of creating.
Artwork design by Judson Cowan.
Davis/Onorati/Simeone –
One of my least favorite Christmas songs (ok, I admit it, I hate this song), so what better to get the twisted treatment. Take a bunch of musicians and ply them with drinks, and see what you get.
Special Guests: Baba Kwasi, Nana Kweku, and Diabate Moussa on African Drums
Chapman –
Have you ever had one of those dreams that starts out ok, then suddenly you find yourself running for your life? Me neither…
Ambegin – Shifting Relations
Chapman –
The starting point of this set of pieces. All three works start virtually the same, but don’t stay that way. This was the first of the three, and was intended to be a play of shifting interval relationships.
Ambidance – Tension and Release
Chapman –
This piece is all about building tension, and then releasing it. It plays with slightly different tempos, and the overlap between them, as well as contrasting harmonic relationships that build tension, and then release it.
Special Guests: Baba Kwasi, Nana Kweku, and Diabate Moussa on Drums
Ambijam – Flow
Chapman –
The final piece in this trilogy is all about finding the flow and going with it, adapting to changing conditions. It’s also about taking elements that aren’t normally found together, and combining them in a harmonious way to build something greater than the separate parts and pieces.
Special Guests: Baba Kwasi, Nana Kweku, and Diabate Moussa on Drums
Tchaikovsky/Chapman –
Ah yes, the classic ballet of a child’s dreams about toys coming to life in a Victorian mansion. Now, transport it to the outback of Australia, and transform the Sugar Plum Fairy into an Aboriginal Shaman…
Spears –
One thing I always enjoy is taking something familiar, and twisting it to something completely different. Now, if you liked the original version of this song, then this version is probably not for you. Now, if like me, you go into diabetic shock when you hear the original, then you may be twisted enough to like this version…
Bernstein/Schubert/Chapman –
Take one of the favorite Christmas songs of Operatically trained singers and stir in a little Broadway, then mix in a lot of attitude…
Oh yeah, special guest Rick Smith on Drums!