Guitarist Peter Sprague and I have played music together for over 30 years. Our first group was called The Dance of the Universe Orchestra and we made a recording entitled “You make me wanna sing” that really stirred things up for us in San Diego. This led to many concerts and other recording deals that embraced our definition of jazz which included jazz standards along with our love of Brazilian music.
With the release of What Is Enough? we reunited after many a moon to explore the sound of just guitar and voice. We’ve chosen a unique collection of songs including some original songs I wrote with Yellowjackets keyboardist Russel Ferrante, guitarist Mike Stern, guitarist Kleber Jorge, and a tune Peter and I wrote together called “Cantar” almost 20 years ago! We also recorded a John Mayer tune, a Stevie Wonder anthem, a Jobim gem, and a couple of jazz standards. I love the freedom of playing with only the guitar. Peter is truly a genius. We follow each other as we brave the terrane of the unknown and I think we went some beautiful places!
Heed your call
how do I reveal the joy tunnel vision will ignore
the big picture holds the power
close my eyes and look around answers true, soon will be found
but maybe not where I’ve been searching
can’t keep fighting with myself
Hercules won’t bring me strength
the stone always holds the statue
blow the fuse, turn off my mind, search my soul and I will find
Gaia, mother-nature’s healing
mold my spirit with your calm, I invite you to be mine
like a child with free abandon
with a huge expansive breath of surrender comes the depth
Quietude, embrace the night
from the strings of my guitar, to the sky beyond the stars
teach me how to heed your call
Drawn To You
Your strength and tender heart,
Sweet fire in your blue eyes,
The wisdom and stillness in your words
Makes me want you
Makes me want you…
Let me into your world
Of simplicity and discipline,
To soften the edges of your cage
I want you
Oh, I want you…
Your innocent curiosity,
Your quest for the Light,
May the breath of life unite
Bathing in your gentle spirit,
I dream of you keeping watch over me
With a longing and patience
Won’t you to take me with your kisses and power,
To dance in the union of passionate love
Oh I want you…
I’m not thinking with my head now,
But rather feeling with my heart
May our spirits soon unite
Interlude…
And if you never love me
The perfection lies in what will be
The lessons you laid at my feet will be all
I will need
I’m not thinking with my head now,
But rather feeling with my heart
May our spirits soon unite
Like a magnet drawn to steal
Like the flower to the sun
Like the wolf’s howl to the moon
Or just exactly what it is,
My heart is drawn to you
My heart is drawn to you
I see your lovely strong back And I must contain myself from embracing you,
From wrapping my arms and body around the physical,
And joining in the rhythm of your breath
In the tide of your energy
It’s a crush of a different variety, a spiritual infatuation
May the spark of life unite
May our spirits soon unite
What is Enough?
Christmas never brought me all that I would hoped for Santa seemed to love my sisters more than me It didn’t matter how well I behaved all year long It served as proof that you were more than me
The voice that led me from youth into womanhood, I, I never felt I got everythin’ I deserved Black and white and grey were all I knew of color Me, me, me, me, became my favorite word
In my Quest to tame the lonely one In my Quest to calm the troubled storm I ask anyone who cares to answer What is enough to make it in this world?
If only I could become just a bit more loving If only I could loose just five more little pounds My self-worth has always been measured by my dress size “If only” was the mantra in my mind
In my Quest to tame the lonely one In my Quest to calm the troubled storm I ask anyone who cares to answer What is enough to make it in this world?
I dream of bringing you a jewel A spotlight for your heart To show you you’re a perfect angel You are much more, than ever now, much more than enough!
Too old to really believe I could make a difference Too selfish to become a gracious caring wife Time to replace the thoughts linked with stinkin’ thinkin’ If ever I will have a happy life
I’m enough as long as I believe God created every part of me We are all as He would have us be now Enough is all around, if I dare to see!
Cantar
Sing the sound rio on my mind
a feel a taste
Wondering what we’ll find
a day a life, waiting to be born
Hear the voice of the children whispering soft to me cantar
In time, no rhythm,
Waking every dream
With light and grace
Circling moonbeams
a girl, a boy humming loud and sweet
Making laughter and language come together as one
Gosta, cantar, I want to sing
Voce, cantar of joy you bring
Cantar feliz, cantar triste,
Brasil, voice of love in my heart
The breath os sound echoing the beat
a groove so smooth, everyone you meet
We’ll smile, we’ll sail, following the way
To the spirit of music I hear singing cantar
I know, gosta, cantar
Patience
The sun arises with the dawn
The moon appears when day is gone
Snowflakes fall when clouds are near
The orange ripens but once a year
Birds fly south when the weather turns
Leaves ignite when the hot sun burns
Summer smiles, waiting for spring
Before her bounty starts to sing!
Nothing happens before it’s time
Though there appears to no reason or rhyme
It’s all apart of the delicate dance
Between nature and God, not happenstance
The river rises with the tide
The heart won’t heal with swollen pride
Seashells give, turning to sand
The more we love, we understand
Nothing happens before it’s time
Though there appears to no reason or rhyme
It’s all apart of the delicate dance
Between nature and God, not happenstance
Patience seems to be the pearl
The oyster must yield to the soil
And overtime endurance wins
Through the gift of steady discipline
Not now, not then, but when the time is ripe
This is the mystery of true delight
Surrender to the when and where
The unknown fate behind the constant prayer
The sun arises with the dawn
The moon appears when day is gone
Seashells give, turning to sand
The more we love, we understand
Nothing happens before it’s time
Though there appears to no reason or rhyme
It’s all apart of the delicate dance
Between nature and God, not happenstance
Have a Talk With God
There are people who have let the problems of today
Lead them to conclude that for them life is not the way
But every problem has an answer and if yours you cannot find
You should talk it over to him
Hell give you peace of mind
When you feel your lifes too hard
Just go have a talk with god
Many of us feel we walk alone without a friend
Never communicating with the one who lives within
Forgetting all about the one who never ever lets you down
And you can talk to him anytime hes always around
When you feel your lifes too hard
Just go have a talk with god
Well hes the only free psychiatrist thats known throughout the world
For solving the problems of all men, women, little boys and girls
When you feel your lifes too hard
Just go have a talk with god
When you feel your lifes too hard
Just go have a talk with god
When your loads too much to bear
Just go talk to God he cares
I know he does
When you feel your lifes too hard
Just go have a talk with god
Thank-you
Thank-you very much
Water of March
A stick, a stone,
It’s the end of the road,
It’s the rest of a stump,
It’s a little alone
It’s a sliver of glass,
It is life, it’s the sun,
It is night, it is death,
It’s a trap, it’s a gun
The oak when it blooms,
A fox in the brush,
A knot in the wood,
The song of a thrush
The wood of the wind,
A cliff, a fall,
A scratch, a lump,
It is nothing at all
It’s the wind blowing free,
It’s the end of the slope,
It’s a beam, it’s a void,
It’s a hunch, it’s a hope
And the river bank talks
of the waters of March,
It’s the end of the strain,
The joy in your heart
The foot, the ground,
The flesh and the bone,
The beat of the road,
A slingshot’s stone
A fish, a flash,
A silvery glow,
A fight, a bet,
The range of a bow
The bed of the well,
The end of the line,
The dismay in the face,
It’s a loss, it’s a find
A spear, a spike,
A point, a nail,
A drip, a drop,
The end of the tale
A truckload of bricks
in the soft morning light,
The shot of a gun
in the dead of the night
A mile, a must,
A thrust, a bump,
It’s a girl, it’s a rhyme,
It’s a cold, it’s the mumps
The plan of the house,
The body in bed,
And the car that got stuck,
It’s the mud, it’s the mud
Afloat, adrift,
A flight, a wing,
A hawk, a quail,
The promise of spring
And the riverbank talks
of the waters of March,
It’s the promise of life
It’s the joy in your heart
A stick, a stone,
It’s the end of the road
It’s the rest of a stump,
It’s a little alone
A snake, a stick,
It is John, it is Joe,
It’s a thorn in your hand
and a cut in your toe
A point, a grain,
A bee, a bite,
A blink, a buzzard,
A sudden stroke of night
A pin, a needle,
A sting, a pain,
A snail, a riddle,
A wasp, a stain
A pass in the mountains,
A horse and a mule,
In the distance the shelves
rode three shadows of blue
And the riverbank talks
of the waters of March,
It’s the promise of life
in your heart, in your heart
A stick, a stone,
The end of the road,
The rest of a stump,
A lonesome road
A sliver of glass,
A life, the sun,
A knife, a death,
The end of the run
And the riverbank talks
of the waters of March,
It’s the end of all strain,
It’s the joy in your heart.
Heroes of The Day
Born with the need to trust you
Just like a baby bird
Learning through imitation
Hanging on every word
When can we start the calling
To raise our children strong
Enough to know compassion
Enough to get along
Teachers, healers, mothers and friends
Preachers, painters, fathers transcend
They’re the heroes of the day
Tryin’ to make a change
Everyone dreams of glory
But do we want to pay
The price to make life better
The price to have a say
The message on the TV
The fastest way to fame
Is through an act of violence
But nobody wants the blame
Teachers, healers, mothers and friends
Preachers, painters, fathers transcend
They’re the heroes of the day
Tryin’ to make a change
Heroes of the day drive your blues away
Whenever your ready
No matter when, no matter where,
Heroes of the day
Take all you want from strangers
Long as you don’t get caught
Learning to live with a conscience
Cannot be taught
Children see want we do
And they do want they see
How can we wish for the truth
Without honesty
Teachers, healers, mothers and friends
Preachers, painters, fathers transcend
They’re the heroes of the day
Tryin’ to make a change
Heroes of the day drive your blues away
Whenever your ready
No matter when, no matter where,
Heroes of the day
Solo
Teachers, healers, mothers and friends
Preachers, painters, fathers transcend
They’re the heroes of the day
Tryin’ to make a change