well that was 5 minutes of awesome conversation

Jam Session No. 1: Blues and Ballads — Recorded in Washington D.C.  on 11/9/25. Jon Kurtz (drums), Simon Wojcik @simonwojcik (Upright Bass), Billy Shelton @baddmonk (guitar). 

This was an unrehearsed and impromptu rehearsal/jam. All live tracks. One take. No overdubs, etc. As a group we’ve not these tunes together before, and some were totally new.

Recorded using a new Tascam X8, Shure 58 and 57, and a condenser mic on the upright bass. Mixed in LogicPro on iPad.

The Varnum Street Sessions

Short Stories

Oregano

This is me performing Fred Marshall's bass part to Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time is Here". This song was originally written, produced, and published in 1965.

"Christmas Time Is Here" by Vince Guaraldi

This tune was written by Ray Henderson. I do not own the copyright. I am not profiting from the dissemination of this track. I recorded this with my Shen SB80 5/8 sized double bass strung with Evah Pirazzi Weich strings while whistling the melody.

Bye Bye Blackbird

a live cut from our recent Rat Palace Sessions Album Launch. The piece is an improvisation based on a track from the album - which of course is also an improv.  So we are going down the rabbit hole here performing improvs based on improvs, each time changing into something slightly different.

Kirby/Ward LIVE - thumbs

From the annual Hexfarm get together where we fly/drive into a space for  a few days of improvising and laughing. This is from the 2024 sessions. The intro chaos somehow morphed into a piece Saxophonist Phil wrote many moons ago called Legacy(which itself was a massive vehicle for improv anyway). we sat with it for a few minutes : ) Looking forward to the 2025 get together. 
Hexfarm is   Dane Renshaw: Drums, Phil Bywater: Saxophones, Mat Ward: Bass

Hexfarm - (a Sort Of) Legacy

A new track from the New album....https://nomatesensemble.bandcamp.com/album/i-am-never-freer-than-when-i-am-with-you     
Daiphanousness features the following artists

Adam Meredith - Voice/Ford XD with XF front mods
Ariad Music - Piano
Axel Weiß - Synth
Banalytic - Hybrid Modular, Digital, Analogue Sounds
Belial Pelgrim - Digital Strings
Chicago Word Brigade - Electronica
Dane Renshaw - Cymbals
Dani Kirby - Voice
Frank Wilke - French Horn
Glenn Ward - Electric Guitar
Loop(c)y - Electric Guitar
Oily - Meows/Squeaky Toy
Paul Miller - Phat Electro Bass/Keyboards
Raul Mainer - Drum Programming
Rosin Dust - Violin
Scratch Kelly - Beats

Mat Ward - Arrangement/Digital Orchestration

Diaphanousness

In Sanskrit, ‘Prakanda’ is the trunk of a tree, from its root to its branches. Additionally, it can mean ‘excellent’, ‘prominent’, ‘superior’ and ‘transcendent’.

I explored ideas about trees by listening to various artists’ recordings using contact microphones inside the trees. I also spent hours walking in ancient woodlands, listening and observing them. But I couldn’t find what I wanted until, by accident, I discovered the most beautiful images of tree-rings. They reminded me of the surface of a desert, the ocean, the patterns of water; the references might be endless. 

Each tree-ring has its own structure, form and appearance and they became my main source of inspiration. In the music I have mapped these images into many sonic patterns, the music’s structure based on independent melodic lines, each with its own time, pitch, timbre and articulation.

Video artist - Lukas Miceika 

The work was commissioned by the Lithuanian Association LATGA, by Music Authors Fund in 2025.

The piece was premiered by ensemble Kwartludium (Poland): Dagna Sadkowska (violin), Piotr Nowicki (piano), Michal Gorczynski (bass clarinet), and Pawel Nowicki (percussion) at International Contemporary Music festival Gaida, on 26th October, Vilnius, Lithuania, 2025.

Prakanda

Cathedral ledges

Straight No Chaser

Cover of the Kenny Burrell classic — 1963

Chitlins Con Carne

Recorded live with [instrumentation — guitar, bass, and drums. 1st time this group has played this piece.

The original tune appears on the 1962 album Interplay featuring Bill Evans, Freddie Hubbard, Jim Hall, Percy Heath, and Philly Joe Jones.

Tags: jazz, jazz guitar, guitar trio, post-bop, Bill Evans.

Interplay – live jazz guitar trio (Bill Evans)

By Marvin Fisher and lyrics by Jack Segal — 1956

When Sunny Gets Blue

Blues In The Closet

Long Moon

if you...(Roop Track)

These are my explorations in sound painting… plus a song or two that accidentally resemble actual music. This is less like a record store and more like stumbling into an artist’s studio: things in progress, things half-finished, things I’m still trying to understand myself.

I’m a guitarist, improviser, and composer based in the Washington, DC area — a Berklee grad from way back when I still thought knowing modes and chord scales would fix everything. I now split my time between two worlds: textural, experimental solo work and the more traditional jazz language I explore with my trios.

In the solo pieces, I chase self-organizing sound — music that tries to form itself without asking my permission: fluid, dynamic, occasionally confused, but alive. With the trio, the focus shifts toward groove, swing, and melody, though improvisation remains the one thing I haven’t managed to ruin.

Both sides come from the same place: curiosity, listening, and trusting the music more than I trust my own plans.

If any of this resonates — or if you just want to talk shop, collaborate, or say hi — feel free to reach out. 🙏

Straight No Chaser

Billy Shelton

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