Despite the impossible challenges of 2021 and the past two years, it's been a very creative year musically for so many.  I've gathered about 75 of my favorite recordings from 2021, many of which also include so many remarkable friends.  Thanks to so many for your support, for your creativity and for your trust.

Here's to an even better 2022.  Mask up!

My Favorites - 2021

We think it's an inside job .... our new fusion release.  Joined by the wonderful Mirko Borach on bass, and Vlad Glavchovski and Stephan Lipinski on guitars. 

Spectacular playing...
https://soundcloud.com/stringburner
https://soundcloud.com/vlad-glavchovski
https://soundcloud.com/pinner

Thanks as always for your generous time listening, for your comments and for your shares

Inside Job - Mirko Borach / Vlad Glavchovski / Stephan Lipinski / Jamie Rhind

Check out what Vlad Glavchovski does here on guitar as Sam Mendez (flute) and I join him on our original 25, which was written for our son Tyler, who turned 25 that day.  Follow these great players:

https://soundcloud.com/vlad-glavchovski - guitar
https://soundcloud.com/santi-caballero - flute

And this is Sam and my 40th track together!  Here's a playlist of our recordings:  https://soundcloud.com/jamie-rhind/sets/swinging-with-santi-caballero

Thanks as always for your generous time listening, for your comments and for your shares

25 - Vlad Glavchovski / Sam Mendez / Jamie Rhind

Raspberry Jam - Jamie Rhind

'21 Blackjack

It's Gotta Groove

Some new grooving with the fabulous Tom Adams on guitar.  Great to be back with Tom - we've done so much together - and have him pushing it a little too:)

Follow his great playing if you aren't already:  https://soundcloud.com/user-342548892

And for a playlist of our 60+ recordings together:  https://soundcloud.com/jamie-rhind/sets/tearing-it-up-with-tom-adams-1

Smallmouth Blues - Tom Adams / Jamie Rhind

The wonderful Sam Mendez https://soundcloud.com/santi-caballero moves us forward with his beautiful soprano sax playing and Stephan Lipinski's great guitar work https://soundcloud.com/pinner complements so well on our original, Forward Momentum.  

Thanks as always for your generous time listening, for your comments and for your shares.  Mask up!

Forward Momentum - Sam Mendez / Stephan Lipinski / Jamie Rhind

A hard swinging jazz quartet with the wonderful Georg Boehme on tenor sax.  We released this earlier with Pinner joining on guitar.  This version was done before he sent over his stuff and it sounded so good it deserves a full listen.

https://soundcloud.com/georg-boehme

Thanks as always for your generous time listening, for your comments and for your shares

We Gotta Bring This Together - Georg Boehme / Jamie Rhind

Funky Space - Paploviante (Alexia Edit) Open Collab
Original track by Paul : https://soundcloud.com/paploviante-and-friends/funky-space-paploviante-open-collab

Funky Space - Paploviante (Alexia Edit) Open Collab

This is a good one:)

Thanks as always Stephan:  https://soundcloud.com/pinner
https://soundcloud.com/jamie-rhind/sets/smokin-with-stephan-stephan

What You Do To Me - Stephan Lipinski / Jamie Rhind

Blue Chevy

Check out Harry Jacobson's pro guitar work on our funk fusion original, On The Edge.  Harry's a senior faculty member of the National Guitar Workshop, teaching advanced students across many styles of play.  I love what he's done with his rhythm playing, his fills and his superb edgy and bluesy electric guitar soloing - contributing so much to the syncopation, groove and sound here.  Follow Harry's superb SoundCloud recordings and playing:  https://soundcloud.com/harry-jacobson.

On The Edge - Harry Jacobson / Jamie Rhind

Back with the wonderful Georg Boehme on tenor sax and Stephan Lipinski on guitar with this original, We Gotta Bring This Together.  Such talented musicians!  Love what they do
https://soundcloud.com/georg-boehme
https://soundcloud.com/pinner

Thanks as always for your generous time listening, for your comments and for your shares

We Gotta Bring This Together - Georg Boehme / Stephan Lipinski / Jamie Rhind

Pinner and I've got that Friday feeling going here.  Love what he does:
https://soundcloud.com/pinner
And for a great playlist of our 90+ tunes together:  https://soundcloud.com/jamie-rhind/sets/smokin-with-stephan-stephan

Be well, be safe and keep those masks on.  

And thanks as always for your generous time listening, for your comments and for your shares

Friday Groove - Stephan Lipinski / Jamie Rhind

Jamie sent me this incredible instrumental track he'd entitled "The Future Is Now" and said "I was wondering if you had time to add something to this?"
 
"OK" I said remembering my Brit Cool just in time. (I was very honoured to be asked and equally knocked out by the track...) I thought about that phrase "The Future Is Now" and how some people seem to be in a rush to cancel the past. As any history student knows; it is not who wins the battle or conducts the pious deed but whose record survives the interim years.

Walking across the countryside one frequently comes across large lakes and reservoirs and hears stories about the submerged villages with a fabled church bell that sometimes still doles out a message from the deep, on occasions or anniversaries of great import. (fromtheedges.wordpress.com/2015/03/20/…nken-bells/)

I do wonder if we deny and bury our past, who will understand the dolorous bells' messages from forgotten landscapes behind our burning bridges or even hear them: We're Building A Dam - It's an anguished cry for help as the very shore we crept out of the sea onto, slips back under the waves already lapping at our feet... and the telling of stories ends of our own doing, as the flood erases true history and our villages disappear under the water...

@jamie-rhind was the lead bell ringer and carillon player 
 @janinelevinson the wondrous mermaid that sings and tends to the sunken bells 
@phil-mcwalter sat on the shrinking shore, listening, playing guitar and singing the old stories with them...

WE'RE BUILDING A DAM

We’re building a dam
We’re building a dam
Feel the power
Flooding history
Cover the past
Cover
Sssh
Cover the past

Cover

I feel the lake growing
Feel the power
Flooding history
I see the world shrinking
I feel the lake growing
Feel the power
Flooding history
I know the past is going

The future is now
The future is now

I feel the lake growing
I see the world shrinking
I feel the lake growing
I know the past is going

We’re building a dam
The future is now
We’re building a dam
Feel the power
Building a dam
Flooding history
Cover the past
Building a dam
Cover
Building a dam
Cover the past
Building a dam
Cover
Building a dam
We're building a dam

© Phil McWalter Feb 2021

We're Building A Dam

Listen to the beautiful vocals and harmonies from Sennid on our new reggae music entitled Positive Direction.  This one's for our dear friend Alpha Roots https://soundcloud.com/alpha-roots, who left us two years ago.  Sennid lights it up and we've got an all-star SoundCloud band backing up with some sweet riddim and horns.  Joining the positive spirit are Julien Apelian on synths, Mirko Borach on bass, Stephan Lipinski on guitars and Sam Mendez on tenor sax.  
Follow these great players and friends:
https://soundcloud.com/sennid
https://soundcloud.com/jules-keys-1
https://soundcloud.com/stringburner
https://soundcloud.com/pinner
https://soundcloud.com/santi-caballero

Be safe, be well and continue to wear your masks.  We are headed in a Positive Direction

Thanks as always for your generous time listening, for your comments and for your shares

Positive Direction / Sennid / Apelian / Borach / Lipinski / Mendez / Rhind

We're excited to bring some new hot fusion to SoundCloud.  World View includes so many of my favorite players here, coming together to create a sound that take me back to the wonderful epic days of Weather Report, one of the seminal instrumental bands of our lifetime.  Five simply superb musicians and friends helped bring this original to life - Germany's Mirko "Stringburner" Borach on bass, Spain's Sergio Parraga on percussion, the US's Stephan Lipinski on guitar, Spain's Sam Mendez on tenor sax, and Norway's Will Paasche joining me on keyboards.  And oh can they play.  Stringburner lays down such a fantastic, grooving bass line reminiscent of Jaco, Sergio brings his world percussion sound on Congas, Bongos and Timbale, Stephan Lipinski adds his inside out guitar work, Sam Mendez with his always beautiful tenor sax sound, and Will Paasche with the effortless synth solo.  I've jumped on a classic flanged Fender Rhodes sound that Weather Report's Joe Zawinul used so well to help create the syncopation and add to the churn.  We've captured an almost live sound over this modal fusion, letting the cats stretch out and let loose.  Love what everyone does here on this tribute to Weather Report and to their all world sound.
Follow each of these exceptional players:
Mirko Borach https://soundcloud.com/stringburner
Stephan Lipinski https://soundcloud.com/pinner
Sam Mendez https://soundcloud.com/santi-caballero
Will Paasche https://soundcloud.com/snuppeluppen
Sergio Parraga https://soundcloud.com/sergioparraga

We hope you dig this as much as we do.  Be safe, be well and mask up.

And thanks as always for your generous time listening, for your comments and for your shares.  This one's for you Tyler...

World View - Borach / Lipinski / Mendez / Paasche / Parraga / Rhind

A cool rock/fusion tune by Jamie Rhind 
Guitars - HJ
All else J R

On The Edge - Jamie Rhind / Harry Jacobson

Some blues for the weekend to give you strength.  Joined here by the sensitive vocals and lyrics of Sennid Simon and the always fine jazz guitar work from Stephan Lipinski.  
Let the blues give you strength...
https://soundcloud.com/sennid
https://soundcloud.com/pinner
https://soundcloud.com/jamie-rhind/sets/smokin-with-stephan-stephan

Blues Gives Me Strength - Sennid Simon / Stephan Lipinski / Jamie Rhind

Time for a slow Hammond blues.  Joined here by the wonderful trio set up by Jamey Abersold on piano, bass and drums.

Blues for Jimmy Smith

Jazz/Fusion keyboard player, composer and producer.  Marketing, advertising, publishing and sales career.  Originally from Chicago, where I developed a strong appreciation for the blues and classical, and moved to New York, where jazz and the fine arts are so deep.  Key musical influences include Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Jimi Hendrix, Joe Zawinul and Weather Report, Chick Corea and Return to Forever, John McLaughlin and the Mahivishnu Orchestra, Stanley Clarke, Scott Henderson and Tribal Tech, Jeff Beck and Jan Hammer, Mike Stern, John Scofield, Pat Metheny, Emily Remler, McCoy Tyner, Bill Evans, John Coltrane, Jimmy Smith, Joey DeFrancesco, Larry Young, Buddy Guy, Santana and Earth Wind & Fire.   Former classical clarinet and piano player.  Unless noted, my music on SoundCloud was composed, recorded and performed using only keyboards.  An avid photographer.  Many covers here are my shots.  To see my photography look for Herbiejazz on Instagram or search for Herbiejazz on Google.  And a big thumbs up to SoundCloud and the SoundCloud community, and so many friends who have joined me to create.  Thank you all.