Recordings

Live performance by the Duke University Chapel Choir and Orchestra directed by Rodney Wynkoop. Live in Duke Chapel.

This was the first recording I ever played on. Recorded in Bloomington, IN in 1976. Stellar cast though all were unknowns then: 

• Produced by Mark Bingham
• Singer/Songwriter Bill Wilson
• Caroline Peyton of Screaming Gypsy Bandits fame
• Ken Aronoff – drums
• Randy Handley  – keyboards
• Jeff Foster – mandolin, guitar
• Steve Harlos – keyboards
• and others

This recording session was memorable for me because (besides being my first time in the studio) I had just come from hearing George Crumb’s “Voice of the Whale” performed and was intrigued by the seagull sounds in the cello part made by doing an artificial harmonic glissando. When they asked me to play some sound effects for Bill’s song “Lighthouse” I immediately thought of that. They liked it and had me record it over and over again. Never having done that before I quickly wore through the callous on my thumb and after the 6th or 7th take I had blood all over the strings. The sessions were also unusual for me in that they started at midnight and went on until 6:00 AM. Fortunately, there was a donut shop around the corner that took fresh cinnamon rolls out of the oven at 6:00. The line had already formed by the time I got there.

From Danny:

repast is a double CD. I spent about two years on it; it is a special project to commemorate turning sixty and being (more or less) in one piece. I have a huge supporting cast, and the music reflects my eclectic tastes: An original mandolin waltz, a Puerto Rican cuatro piece, Count Basie’s “Down for Double”, a solo ukulele rendition of “Something”, you name it. The one real departure for me on this album are the tracks featuring some good friends doing lead vocals. Thirty-two tracks; about an hour and forty three minutes of music. If “Guitarheel” was my magnum opus, this is a double. A very filling “meal”….Guaranteed.