So honored to have singer/song writers Gary and Darcy Bixler add a vocal and lyrical interpretation to an earlier song I wrote "When You Awake" in which Pat Howell added a lovely mandolin part.  I am twice blessed by these fine talents adding to a song with such a humble beginning; the result of a dream during an afternoon nap:) Thanks to all of you for making this song something very special.  More fine songs can be heard from Gary @soundcloud.com/user-432405235-236877019, and @patrick-howell-786748109.

From This Moment On--SC Original Collaboration of Gary&Darcy Bixler/Pat Howell/David Dunham

I witnessed a miracle--at least I would call it that.  A beloved rose that was a regular bloomer(pictured) fell victim to the incredibly harsh cold spell we had last February.  By April when the rest of the roses were waking up, this one had not a sign of life in it, just a brown stump.  I watered, and fed, and waited, and waited.  Nothing.  I dug out the stump.   For Mothers' Day my daughter had bought a rose to replace the one that had perished...or so I thought.  Within a week of planting the new one, the old one put out a shoot just a foot away.  I guess the digging, watering, etc for the new rose stimulated some remaining root of the old.  It has since received lots of love and care, and has at least a half-dozen buds ready to bloom in a couple of weeks.  So this is an ode; to a beloved rose and all things miraculous.  UPDATE:   Here is the rose blooming in October 2021. 
Special thanks to Pat Howell for the initial inspiration and his fine musicianship and sweet additions with mandolin and octave.  Please check out his page for more fine music @patrick-howell-786748109

Ode To A Rose (Collaboration with Pat Howell, Mandolin and Octave) October Bloom

A peppy little tune written for my fourth granddaughter 11 years ago (she just turned 13) but newly arranged and recorded.  A distinctive feature heard throughout this song is the falling 3rd interval that sounds like I'm calling out her name which I do from time to time whenever I get to visit.  Hopefully it will put a little spring in your step:)

Calling Abby

Marking my third collaboration with gifted pianist Debra Buesking, what an honor and treat to have her add her piano magic to a tune I wrote some 25 years ago on a warm summer evening in Colorado.  The Godin guitar seemed the perfect voice to express the warmth and intimacy of a summer evening reverie, and Debra's piano the perfect accompaniment, like two friends enjoying a glass of wine.  Hear more of Debra's fine compositions and arrangements @debra_buesking.

One Summer Night, A Reverie, with Debra Buesking, piano

I always love it when my good friend and bandmate Pat Howell sends me his latest mandolin musing, this time with his Octave.  His musing becomes my "muse" and the ideas start to flow, this time using two mandolins and two guitars.  Just in time for Fall, and maybe my favorite season, a refreshing breeze from the Texas Highlands.  Hear more fine music on Pat's Cloud @patrick-howell-786748109

Texas Highlands (Pat Howell; Mandolins, David Dunham; Guitars)

This song, originally written for my 2nd daughter Joanna, was one of my first ventures into Latin Jazz.  Exceptionally talented pianist Debra Buesking heard it and wanted to add her Latin seasoning to it, and did she ever.  I love the spice she gave it; part Bossa, part Tango, all Debra.
Thank you my friend for the collaborations we have shared this year, and this maybe the most fun.  We hope you think so too:)  Hear more of Debra's fine playing and original arrangements @debra_buesking.

Bossa Nueva (with Debra Buesking, piano)

Fingerstyle playing has been a passion for me for over 45 years, having fallen in love with it when I first heard a college friend play with his fingers instead of a pick.  It was mesmerizing and I determined then and there I must learn how.  This song is the first I wrote using fingerstyle and has followed me around now for over 40 years evolving as I learned more playing technique.  I think it is still evolving, but this is where it is now; shades of light and shadow, good times, difficult times, hopefully full of the Grace of God. It is a musical portrait of me.  Performance note:  only one guitar used, the Taylor JKSM, standard tuning, no overdubbing--strictly solo fingerstyle.

Places I've Been

My good friend, mandolinist bandmate, and SC collaborator Pat Howell started building a guitar from a mail-order kit some thirty years ago, got pretty far along on it, then had a local luthier do the finishing work.  It is the guitar pictured and is a masterpiece of craftsmanship and sound.   Being thoroughly smitten by all things mandolin, the guitar hasn't been played much, and he paid me the highest complement by asking me to record the guitar so he can hear what it sounds like as a listener.  I readily agreed mostly because it was a chance to play the guitar again:)  As I was improvising into the Zoom, this little nugget showed up and thought you all might like to hear it too:) I did some editing for musical flow and added some reverb, but nothing else was done to alter the tone of the guitar.  It is a special song for my friend.

For My Friend--Part 1

This is part 2 of some improvisational recordings I made with Pat Howell's beautiful handcrafted-from-a -kit dreadnought acoustic guitar.  Part 1 details the guitar's journey a little more and here I wanted Pat to hear his guitar in drop D tuning, and I thought you'd like to hear it too:)

For My Friend--Part 2

So honored to be in collaboration with 1234567890 (Peter) and Debra Buesking on this track that first started out as an instrumental lament in a Celtic style.   It is no overstatement to say that Peter is one of the finest lyricists/poets on the Cloud.  More of his music and poetry can be heard at soundcloud.com/user-264930040.  More of Debra's brilliant creativity and playing can be heard @debra_buesking.

"And so to this…a song of sorrows.
Impassive moods shimmer grey from misted hollow yesterdays,
Stolen for the bleak tomorrows strewn upon our stony ways.
In enfolded dusks we watch in thrall as snows upon the migrant fall.
A massing stream of human husks, a currency, tragic traffic monetized,
Laundered of their simplest dreams. Kindled fading hopes bestride
Whose futures market crashed it seems, for his sickly child beside.

But thence the Noel star aglow; sapphire blue flashing light of hope,
Above the seething forlorn lines is surely set to rise.
As if upon the migrant three we know, kings mimicking the trope.
Man meets man’s humanity in heartfelt care, lives to de-commoditise.

And when trafficker before the final audit bashful, fain appears,
Rancid cash in offshore banks o’erflowing billowed surplus well.
From credit to the debit side we glance, and see a soul in deep arrears;
The ledger to be set aside, replaced with first class trafficked seat to hell.

When the Virgin Mother’s tears ease at last of speared pain,
When satan’s armies’ magazines vast of vice are finally spent,
When welcome arms cross razor wires, compassions fall as softest rain.
Christian helping hands of hope aspired shall end this fair lament.
…and so to this…a song of hope.

And So to This  (1234567890; Poem and Narrator, Debra Buesking, Piano & Synth; David Dunham, Guitar)

What a lovely surprise Debra came up with when I asked if she would like to collaborate on an earlier released song "Nice to See You".  She couldn't get past "Ode to Joy" when she first started, and I told her "Let's just run with it and see what other Christmas music might go with the song".  Her genius for counterpoint is full of charm and wit and on full display in this song.  Hear more of her beautiul music @debra_buesking.  We wish you all a very merry Christmas and the happiest of New Years:)

"Nice To See You" Holiday Mashup (with Debra Buesking, piano)

What a joy it was to play Pat's hand-built guitar in this series of improvisational musings.  This one is also in Drop D tuning drawing  inspiration from Fahey to Beethoven, but no inspiration more prominent than Pat himself in our friendship and collaborations.  As in the previous parts, only reverb was added to enhance the ambience of the guitar sound, no tonal filters were used.

For My Friend--Part 3 Miscellaneous Musings

It was a year ago I originally released "Angels", a most unlikely event given that it was a mouse click away from ever seeing the light of day.  I didn't like how it was progressing and wanted to scrap the whole thing.  That's the time you walk away and let it steep, let the idea mature and if it is a good one, let it fly.  Your response showed it was good beyond my hopes, and now made even better with Debra's wonderful playing on this second flight.  I hope you think so too.  Hear more of Debra's wonderful music @debra_buesking.

On Angels' Wings--Second Flight (with Debra Buesking, piano)

So pleased to have Debra Buesking as my ever-capable copilot on piano as we take off into the new year with a new collaboration.  Destination is yet unknown, but the skies are partly cloudy, and we may encounter some turbulence during the flight.  So buckle up, we just got cleared for take off:)  Hear more of Debra's great music @debra_buesking.

Flight Pattern (with Debbie Buesking, piano and co-pilot)

Pat Howell was kind enough to allow me to re-release his composition turned collaboration after I got hold of it:) That was nine months ago when first released on his profile(@patrick-howell-786748109) but hope now to give his charming piece wider exposure in the new year.  We hope you enjoy it.

Now And Again (Pat Howell; Octave Mandolin, David Dunham; Classical Guitar)

Thommo's inspiration that began as "Dream Catching", then "Dancing on the Veranda", is now "Waiting" with the addition of Bix singing the love-lyrics of his wife Darcy; and just in time for Valentine's Day.  What a sweet box of chocolates this collaboration has turned out to be with Thommo, Debra, and the Bixlers.  Have a listen and savor the flavor:)
Check out these fine artist's profiles;
@thommo_tunes
@debra_buesking
and Bix @user-432405235-236877019
Thanks to Dreamstime for the great track photo.

Waiting (Thommo=synth, Bix=vocal, Darcy Bixler=lyrics, Debra Buesking=piano, David Dunham=guitars)

I don't think of prayer as a passive activity, but actively engaging and dialoguing with God about the state of affairs be it personal or of late, international in scope and consequence.  I am praying for Ukraine that their show of strength in the face of tyranny may be rewarded with freedom and peace. I'm praying also for Russia, a land of vast wealth and beauty, for the people whom I have come to know and love on the Cloud, that they may know it is a bad actor and not them who is to blame for the shadow that has fallen upon Europe, and in a broader sense, over all of civilization.  Peace is not the exception to human existence, bullets and bombs are.  Love is the state of normal we want to have, not hate.  I offer in this guitar meditation a prayer for peace.

A Prayer for Peace (Meditation for Guitar)

Spring, though a season, is also a metaphor of new beginnings emerging from death or deep sleeping.  Out of this winter of crucifixion so many are suffering, there is an Easter on the way.   A song of hope.  Spring will come.

Spring Will Come

What an honor to be invited to collaborate with ace guitarist, composer, and producer Seagull to create a moving tribute and memorial to the people of Ukraine; those who have been displaced, those who chose to remain, those who have perished in the senseless, needless war, especially the children.  Seagull directed my attention to this very recently release video featuring Pink Floyd and Andriy Khlyvnyuk of Boombox.  It is incredibly moving. www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUfVmtAvfdg 
Seagull: Electric Guitar, Bass Guitar, Synth soundscape
Clara: Vocals
David: Acoustic Guitar
Hear more of Seagull's fine music @farout-music-studio

When The Light Fades (with Seagull, Clara, and David)

For my oldest daughter who never likes to say "goodbye" but prefers to say "love ya, see ya".  Thanks to Debbie Buesking for giving this reissue of a song I posted two years ago a rejuvenating lift and a whole new feel only she can do.  More of her fine music can be found @debra_buesking.   Also a shoutout to Annie Smart who graced the original with her superb lyrics and vocals; soundcloud.com/annie-smart-1/dont-say-goodbye-by-david-dunham-and-annie-smart.  Jose Castro has also put forth a beautiful vocal interpretation using mine and Debbie's version: https://soundcloud.com/jfcpetruscastrus/dont-say-goodbye/comment-1727452658

Don't Say Goodbye with Debbie Buesking, piano

Such an honor to be invited again to collaborate with Seagull, a wonderful musician and creator who challenges me to reach beyond my usual genre of music to add to his.  This time it is to join him in a place of rest for the heart away from the turmoil that fills the headlines.  We ask you to join us too for a few brief minutes.
More of Seagull's lovely music can be heard @farout-music-studio

Rest My Heart (Seagull--Synths, Electric Guitar, Bass; David Dunham--Classical Guitar)

"Aisling", besides being a popular girl's name in Ireland, also means a Celtic dream or vision.  It was Pat's hope I would catch the vision from a recording he made of his Octave mandolin which I finally did a few weeks ago adding a guitar part and a middle section with the Requinto guitar that sounds remarkably like a Celtic harp.  It's a vision we want to share with you:)

An Aisling (A Dream or Vision)

One of Nature's sweetest fragrances, rain-washed air.  What a delight and honor to join Dan-DT, Clara, and Seagull in making this fragrance an aural experience, and my maiden voyage into Dan's lovely genre of French Fantasy more of which can be heard @dan-t-3.  Seagull's lovely music can be heard here @farout-music-studio.

After The Rain  (Dan-DT, Clara, David, and Seagull)

Even a short perusal of Debra Buesking's profile will convince one of how good a pianist she is.  She also thinks musically which makes her arrangements original and a treat to listen to.  She is also very good at turning lemons into lemonade;) This song is exhibit A, which began its life last year as a request for a vocal accompaniment.  The vocalist rejected it thinking it needed more fire.  Being a bit of a tightwad about writing off the considerable time spent on it, I felt it could be repurposed as an instrumental built largely on the strength of Debbie's inventive playing; variations on a theme of sorts.  Please feel free to sample our "lemonade".  I really do hope you like it;) Hear more of Debbie's exquisite playing and arrangements @debra_buesking.

Cantina Tango (Debra Buesking; Piano, David Dunham; Godin Guitar, Bass, and Shaker

How wonderful it is to work with skilled guitarist and synth artist Seagull and ace guitarist Ed Cunningham on our tribute to the night sky; a favorite pastime of mine in years gone by. I was once an avid amateur astronomer (still have my telescope), until I got caught up in the guitar universe and this wonderful place called Soundcloud.  I still manage to get out now and then to capture a little starlight.  Hear more of Seagull's fine productions @farout-music-studio and Ed's beautiful guitar music @westtracksmusic

Starlight(Seagull; guitars and synths, Ed Cunningham; electric guitar, David Dunham; acoustic guitar

An Irish-flavored tune that is quickly paced with a running bass line.  Grab an umbrella. Hope you enjoy.

Run In The Irish Rain

A happy, uncomplicated tune that will hopefully brighten someone's day.

Splash Of Joy

A little tune for those in the Autumn of life who may have lost a spouse or maybe never married but have found someone very special and find themselves "falling again" in love.  
Annie @annie-smart-1 loved this tune and asked to collaborate on it which can be heard on her Cloud by following the link.  It is lovely in every way, and I am so honored by her collaboration.

Falling Again (Guitar Instrumental)

Longtime friend Clint Culwell and I got together to practice and record some of his songs and covers, and jam a little as well.  Out of the session came this little gem, a unique, slightly reggae take on a traditional favorite.  Clint is left center on vocal and nylon string guitar; I am right center doing some ornamenting on steel sting guitar and playing bass. For more music from Clint check out his Cloud @Clint-Culwell.

Wayfaring Stranger (Clint Culwell;  guitar, vocal, David Dunham; guitar, bass)

With all that's going on, sometimes the heart just wants to flee to a place of innocence. Maybe we could meet there...

Return To Innocence

I am a finger-style guitarist perched on the Texas high plains.  At the core of my music is melody that is inspired and informed by my Christian faith, family, friends, and countless influences through the years from the great composers, to jazz, folk, rock, Latin, Celtic, and the many fine musicians I have come to love on the Cloud, some I have been privileged to collaborate with.  Thanks for stopping by to have a listen. Comments are always welcome. Feel free to click on the picture of any track to learn more about it.

David Dunham

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