We love to play this wonderful old standard made famous to us by the singing of the great Bessie Smith. We had a great reception when we played it at our recent event at The Old Picture House here in Bristol, UK. We hope that you enjoy it too.

All the best,

Natalie and Dave

I Need Some Sugar In My Bowl

Native American flute players often compose their tunes with reference to to the natural world, and the creatures, and elements within it. I took these photographs on a recent trip to New Mexico, and the tune seeks to celebrate the wild, wonderful, and sometimes even eerie and dangerous beauty of the light and the landscape. The piece itself uses three different flutes, one in C minor, one in G minor, and one in D minor,  though the piece is mainly in a major key and the emphasis tilts towards major pentatonic scales.  I feel honoured to have discovered these wonderful musical instruments and to learn from some of the amazing Native American musicians who make and play them.


On a personal level, this piece is dedicated to a dear friend of my partner and I, Alison Assiter, to celebrate her 70th birthday.

I hope that you enjoy this piece as much as I enjoyed making it.


Best Wishes,


Dave

David Merrick's Album

Light of the Sun

This is an improvised dance using Native American Flute, Bodhran (An Irish single skin drum), guitar and bass.  I try to fuse the two great traditions of Native American flute music and Irish dance.  I hope that you enjoy listening to it as much as I enjoyed making it. I feel very lucky to be able approach this great traditional instrument.

Flute Dance

It was nice to hear ourselves on KSFR Radio, Santa Fe's. Public Broadcasting Service Radio Station.  We love the station and also the particular show:  'Acoustic Explorations'.  Many thanks to KSFR and to the DJ Patrick Longmire.  We hope that you enjoy listening as much as we enjoyed appearing.

Extract from KSFR Santa Fe Radio - Misty, and God Bless the Child

This is a twenty five minute radio interview, with three live songs: 'Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out', 'God Bless the Child' and 'Ain't Misbehavin'', all of which are performed by Natalie Davis (vocals) and Dave Merrick (guitar).  We were invited onto the programme to discuss an upcoming event entitled: 'From Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday to Roberta Flack - Fifty Years of Classic Jazz and Blues' in which Natalie Davis and Dave Merrick perform classic jazz and blues from the 1920's to the 1060's and beyond. 

Ujima Radio, Bristol, 50 Years of Classic Blues and Jazz

An interview on Radio Somerset about the multimedia, spoken word and live music event which took place on April 30th at the American Museum in Bath, UK.  The event was entitled:  This Land is Your Land - A Tribute to Woody Guthrie.  The 120 seat venue was sold out.

Woody Guthrie Tribute Radio Interview

This is from our 'Tribute to Billie Holiday gig, and radio show on Radio Ujima, Bristol, UK.  We hope that you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it.

God Bless the Child (made with Spreaker) Natalie Davis

This a recent 'live track' 'Fever' we love to it live and we recorded it live.  Here it is. 

Fever

This is my own composition on Native American Flue and looped guitar.  I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it.

Flue Dream

01 Aint misbehavin

Natalie and I love to play this piece live and here we are doing exactly that.  We hope that you like it as much as we enjoyed making it.

Paper Moon

Paper Moon (Nat King Cole)

This is an album of us playing live in and around Bristol.  We hope that you enjoy listening to it as much as we enjoyed making it.  Please not that some tracks contain more than one sound.  This is simply in order to maintain thecontinuity of a live performance.

Anji, Summertime, Funny Valentine, I'm  In The Mood For Love, Black Coffee, Lover Man

During the summer we were busy promoting and presenting Love Music Hate Racism gigs. One of those was called: 'Jazz, Blues, Racism and Resistance - A Tribute to Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday'. Ujima Radio asked us to do the two hour presentation on their radio station. This is a second edited extract from that radio presentation. It deals with the tragic death of Bessie Smith, and the circumstances surrouding it, inclusive of racism and segregation.

We think it is an important story for all music fans and hence, we hope that you will give it some 'air time'.

Best wishes,

Dave, Natalie and Gael



Dave, Natalie and Gael

Ujima Radio and Love Music Hate Racism - A Tribute to Bessie Smith Part 2

Mike Forde (Mandolin), Dave Merrick (Guitar) (Airs and Graces).  This is a 'back-pages' piece.  Back in 2001 Mike and I took part in a memorial charity concert for the British pianist Russ Conway.  The event raised £17,000 for St Peter's Hospice.  I came upon a recorded fragment of our set - here it is!

Autumn Leaves Mike Forde and Dave Merrick (Live at the Colston Hall)

This is an instrumental version of a a famous calypso song, played by Mike Forde and myself.  Mike is in open D but with a capo on the second fret. Hence the tune is in the key of E.  I play chords in standard tuning, in E with no capo.  We hope that you like it.  Best wishes, Mike and Dave 

Jamaica Farewell

We play classic blues and Jazz from the 1920's to the 1960's and beyond - with our own new twist.  We hope that you enjoy it.  Best Wishes, Natalie and Dave We can be contacted at: dmerr9226@aol.com


Small Days

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