This track features Margaret Slovak on electric guitar, Harvie S on bass, and Michael Sarin on drums.

This song is about being too shy to let someone know one’s true feelings.

Ballad for Brad

Will You Ever Know?

Will You Ever Know

This song features Margaret Slovak on nylon-string guitar, Harvie S on bass and Michael Sarin on drums.

Written in my 33rd year, when I lived on 33rd Avenue in Portland, Oregon. 

Thirty-Three

Thirty - Three

This song features Margaret Slovak on nylon-string guitar, Harvie S on bass and Michael Sarin on drums.

For my dear husband Brad, a beautiful writer of words. He is kind-hearted and possesses great enthusiasm for life and creativity. We are truly soulmates. 

Ballad For Brad

This song features Margaret Slovak on electric guitar, Harvie S on bass and Michael Sarin on drums.

An homage to the carrot cakes that I bake for friends, family and fellow musicians. You get the carrot cake blues when the cake is all gone! 

Carrot Cake Blues

This track features Margaret Slovak on nylon-string guitar, Harvie S on bass and Michael Sarin on drums.

For my sister, a talented visual artist and poet, who suffered from mental illness and substance abuse issues. 

Song for Anne

Song For Anne

This song features Margaret Slovak on nylon-string guitar, Harvie S on bass and Michael Sarin on drums. 

I lived in New York City twice: initially from 1988-1993, and the second time from 2008-2012. This song, written about the second move, reflects my sense of hope as I returned to NYC and settled into a little guesthouse in the backyard of the home of a Russian family in Coney Island. 

Again

Credits: Margaret Slovak - electric guitar, composer; Fred Hersch, piano; Michael Formanek, acoustic bass; Michael Sarin, drums. Recorded in NYC, Nov. 20 & 21, 1989. When I was 20 years old, I worked as a teacher’s aide at a day care center. This song is dedicated to a little 5-year-old student there named Charissa; she had a very gentle spirit and was wise beyond her years. I used to play my guitar at nap time to lull the kids to sleep...

Charissa

Margaret Slovak: nylon-string guitar; Chris Maresh: acoustic bass.

Chris and Margaret go Deep Renaissance in this carol of adoration, set to the melody of “Greensleeves.”  Margaret recalls: “When we first rehearsed this song, Chris said, ‘Let’s pretend it’s the 15th century. Imagine candlelight. You’re playing a lute and we’re in monk’s robes, drinking goblets of grog.’ ”

What Child Is This

Margaret Slovak: nylon-string guitar; Chris Maresh: acoustic bass.

“I was moved by these Alfred S. Burt songs the first time I heard them,” says Margaret. “In rehearsal, Chris felt the same way. And when we found out they were written by a trumpet player who, sadly, left us early at age 33 because of cancer, it brought a more special meaning. Alfred Burt was in the last days of his life when he wrote this song, and he knew it. These songs were an offering from him to his family and the world. His melodic and harmonic construction of the songs: They’re gems. They are perfect.”

The Star Carol

Margaret Slovak: nylon-string guitar; Chris Maresh: acoustic bass.

Alfred S. Burt, a jazz trumpet player, composed 15 original carols between 1942 and 1954 – sharing them with friends, annually, like Christmas cards. This 1951 carol deals with diversity, how children of different cultures might imagine the baby Jesus – “lily-white” or “dark as they,” “almond-eyed” or “bronzed and brown.” Can you hear Chris breathe as he connects with the song’s higher poetry? “The way he plays with his breathing and his body: It’s all one,” says Margaret. “Nothing is forced. He’s totally involved.” 		

Some Children See Him

Margaret Slovak: nylon-string guitar; Chris Maresh: acoustic bass.

Margaret and Chris explore the essence of journey, of weight and wandering, light and hope, step by step by step. Do you recognize a trace of John Abercrombie’s “Timeless” in this rendition of the 19th century Appalachian carol? “We were aiming for a circular, modal feel,” says Chris, “rather than just soloing over the chord changes.”

I Wonder as I Wander

Margaret Slovak: nylon-string guitar; Chris Maresh: acoustic bass.

This holiday standard was introduced by Judy Garland in the 1944 musical “Meet Me in St. Louis.” Says Margaret: “In my playing for people in cancer centers, hospice, elder care centers – and in particular the Bronx VA Hospital in New York – I found that veterans and elders who lived during those difficult World War II years were often moved to tears when I would play this song. It seemed to take them back to that time, and they felt an emotional connection to the music.” 

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

Margaret Slovak: nylon-string guitar; Chris Maresh: acoustic bass.

Although it’s not a traditional Christmas song, “I love the way “Hallelujah” welcomes people of all faiths to listen, to enjoy, to take comfort from it,” says Margaret. While Margaret and Chris tend to play an extended rendition of “Hallelujah” in live sets, Chris suggested a shorter arrangement for this album – wanting to end with music that felt “like a little prayer.” “Chris’s solo is just gorgeous,” says Margaret. “It instills, in just four measures, the whole beauty of the song.”

Hallelujah

Margaret Slovak: nylon-string guitar; Chris Maresh: acoustic bass.

“I remember, when I was little, there was this magical, mysterious thing about Christmas, regardless of any spiritual or religious feeling you might have about it,” says Margaret. “With this record” – and this tune from the 1965 Charlie Brown Christmas special – “we wanted to do something that would allow people to re-enter that part of childhood that they may have lost with the commercialization of Christmas.”



Christmas Time Is Here

Margaret Slovak: nylon-string guitar; Chris Maresh: acoustic bass.

This Peter, Paul and Mary tune – released in 1969 – is all about sharing, a tale of two lonely strangers who share a simple Christmas meal of bread and cheese by candlelight. With elegance, Margaret and Chris transcend the literal/lyrical message of the tune – slowing tempo, allowing space for reflection, imbuing it with aching tenderness.

Christmas Dinner

Margaret Slovak: nylon-string guitar; Chris Maresh: acoustic bass. 

Margaret and Chris imbue this classic carol with a sense of joy, elevating the mood with a gentle sense of swing. This is a happy manger, with more “smile” than solemnity. “The swing, the bounce, makes it more fun,” says Chris. “But it wasn’t talked about in advance. It was just birthed that way! . . . There was a lot of serendipity on this record.” 

Away In a Manger

This is an instrumental jazz duo track featuring Margaret Slovak on nylon-string guitar and Chris Maresh on acoustic bass. This beautiful song was written by the great trumpet player and composer Thaddeus (Thad) Jones in 1969 for the Mel Lewis Orchestra. Although it is not specifically a “Christmas” song, it evokes the hope, beauty and promise that one may experience when a new baby is born into the world. Margaret and Chris recorded this track in April 2024, at the same time that they recorded the 11 tracks that appear on their acclaimed 2024 Christmas/Winter Solstice CD, “A Star’s Light Does Fall.” Although “A Child Is Born” did not appear on their CD album, they have released it in December 2025 as a digital-only single.

Bandcamp

A Child Is Born

Margaret Slovak is a jazz guitarist and composer currently living in Austin, TX. Margaret's original music combines elements of jazz, classical and world music styles. Margaret received a BFA in Music from the Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, WA, and studied with John Abercrombie, Dale Bruning and Ralph Towner. Margaret lived and performed in NYC for many years, and has also toured in Europe, Canada and throughout the US. She has released 4 CDs featuring her original music. Margaret is also a visual artist, and creates the cover and CD package artwork for her CDs. In addition, Margaret performs for patients in cancer treatment centers, hospice and hospitals.

Margaret Slovak

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