Be the light,
And you will merge
With all light.

"Tree of Light" is one of the last compositions I completed in 2020 (hence the silver Christmas tree in this video: https://youtu.be/mEfmaoWAQ0U) and the very last one Akiko and I filmed and recorded from our apartment in Sunnyside (Queens, NY) before moving to Reykjavík (Iceland) for a few months. Two of our friends, namely Dominique Muzeau and Thibault Perriard, joined us remotely from the Île-de-France (Paris Region) in this transition, contributing amazing bass and drum parts from their homes and lifting our spirits in the process. I'm sure their playing on this track will lift yours too!

music by Jim Funnell

Akiko Horii - percussion
Thibault Perriard - drums
Dominique Muzeau - bass
Jim Funnell - piano

Recorded in Paris and New York in November/December 2020.
Mixed by Dominique Muzeau in January 2021.

Sheet music for this tune is available from the following websites:
🎼 Sheet Music Plus: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/tree-of-light-digital-sheet-music/22552717
🎼 Sheet Music Direct: https://www.sheetmusicdirect.com/en-US/se/ID_No/1365578/Product.aspx

Tree of Light

This tune began as an assignment for a class I took on the topic of George Russell's "Lydian Chromatic Concept of Tonal Organization" (LCCTO). The idea was to use a harmonic sequence that would oscillate back and forth between F Lydian/D Dorian, and every other Lydian chord/mode (or their relative Dorian tonic station) available on the circle of fifths. As such, the composition is a literal exploration of the Lydian sound throughout the whole spectrum of what is commonly known as "12-tone equal temperament" in music. Hence its title: "Full Circle."

Music by Jim Funnell
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Max Jesion at Bopcity (Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, France)
Photo of the Hudson River by Jim Funnell
Cover design by Akiko Horii

Nino Wenger - alto saxophone
Jim Funnell - piano

New Dream

Full Circle

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An unusual blues with a funky New Orleans groove, Greenpoint Graffiti feels like walking through the gritty, sunstruck, streets of Queens and Brooklyn. A stroll Jim used to take monthly to visit his landlord’s cab business. There, he would spend all of his hard-earned cash on rent! That, too, is part of living the dream...

Music by Jim Funnell
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Max Jesion at Bopcity (Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, France)
Photo of the Hudson River by Jim Funnell
Cover design by Akiko Horii

Jim Funnell - piano
Chris Jennings - double bass
Jeff Boudreaux - drums
Akiko Horii - percussion

Greenpoint Graffiti

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This playful, corky composition is a musical depiction of the large-scale patterns known as “crop circles,” sometimes mysteriously created in fields by flattening cereal crops... Surely, the phenomenon will boggle your mind and the tune make your ears crackle!

Music by Jim Funnell
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Max Jesion at Bopcity (Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, France)
Photo of the Hudson River by Jim Funnell
Cover design by Akiko Horii

Jim Funnell - piano
Chris Jennings - double bass
Jeff Boudreaux - drums

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