I'm learning how to play electric bass and drums. I picked a simple jazz standard to try recording them along with piano, clarinet, and glockenspiel.

Little Sunflower

I invited a bunch of musicians to play at my house, many of whom had never played together before. I set up mics around the room and recorded while we made music out of a book of jazz standards. Later I listened through, picked my favorite piece, and produced this.

Jazz Jam Session 28 Dec 2021 - St James Infirmary

I'm learning to play an alto saxophone. This was an experiment to try arranging a three-part jazz harmony and then record it one part at a time.

Saxperiment

Vocal: Julie Willis
Piano, Clarinet, Glockenspiel: Michael Willis

Lyrics:

Look toward the mountainside
blanketed by snow
The leaves have fled
No tears are shed
The brooklets cease to flow

But ere long comes a day
with warm sunlight aglow
Bringing new life
and watching it grow


Grow, little flower
though nights are still so cold
Look toward the sun
Your fears to shun
Your story to be told

For the time has now come
as in ages ago
Your kind may now bloom
violet, crimson, and gold

Bloom

This is a work in progress, inspired by the granite cliffs so common in the mountains around where I live.

Towering Granite - Rough Draft

My son will be attending a percussion class, so we bought him the required bell kit. The day after buying it, I came home to find that he and my daughter had created this duet with the piano and the bell kit. They called it Rainy Day and asked me to record it. My younger son wanted in on the action, so he is the announcer at the beginning.

Rainy Day

Killer Joe - Improv Session - 2019-08-23

Doxy - Jazz Improv Session 2019-09-06

Só Danço Samba, Improv Session 2019-09-13

A waltz that I composed as a sound test for my orchestra template.

The image is public domain:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ball_(dance_party)#/media/File:Wilhelm_Gause_Hofball_in_Wien.jpg

Pumpernickel And Periwinkle

This is a song about... a lot of different stuff. Sung by my love Julie Willis. I'm the clarinetist, and our friend Alan Sanderson played the guitar and bass.

Produced using:
* Ardour (http://ardour.org/)
* Dragonfly Reverb (https://michaelwillis.github.io/dragonfly-reverb/)
* DrumGizmo DRSKit (https://drumgizmo.org/wiki/doku.php?id=kits:drskit)

Michael Willis

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