Number 41 May 11, 2010

Last Friday I saw George Winston at Grace Cathedral    Emily Palen, who we recorded At Grace in January, attended the concert with me, and was very inspired.  After the concert our friend Brian Martin introduced us to George.  During the show George spoke of his influences; Vince Guaraldi, all the great stride pianists, and The Doors.  He played pieces by Vince, and ended the concert, before the encore, with Riders on the Storm.  He also played a solo harmonica piece, and a slack key Hawaiin piece on acoustic guitar.  His demeanor is very warm and humble. He invites a local action group to each of his events to raise money, for San Francisco it was St. Anthony's.  While my tastes lean toward the more adventurous, he is very inspiring in that he has followed his bliss, to paraphrase Joeseph Campbell, and plays from the heart. 

Emily Palen at Grace Cathedral

I first met Emily a couple of years ago busking in front of Niman Marcus. Her playing was extraordinary, and it seemed very brave to me for a beautiful young woman to be playing in the middle of Union Square with all the traffic and bustle. We exchanged cds, and I mentioned that I would like to work with her some time. As she was classically trained, and then moved into rock, her improvisations are very fresh to me. I saw some of her gigs with her band Dolorata, and in duo with Katie Colpitts, also of Dolorata. Emily played with my band at Yoshi’s, and was spectacular. I thought my rhythm section might intimidate her, but she was fearless, and was a big hit. And then I heard her play a solo gig at a wine bar, and was stunned. I realized that in playing in all these different settings, each song she played was a complete composition in and of itself, that could stand alone, even if the other musicians were removed. I realized it would make a beautiful recording. When I mentioned it to my producer and engineer Cookie Marenco, she was immediately enthusiastic, and suggested Grace Cathedral for a live recording.

I live about ten blocks from Grace, and walked up there several times. I wasn’t sure it would be quiet enough with the cable cars and road noise, but when we finally checked it out after hours with the doors closed, Emily sounded wonderful, and there was no discernable street noise. We booked two nights, Monday January 11, and Wednesday January 13. (There was another event on the 12th). We had to set up before 5:15 service, and could only record from six to nine PM each night. We were using the Sonoma DSD Recorder, which has phenomenal sound, and a great array of microphones.

I knew from the moment Emily starting warming up that we would get great performances. It was a very emotional first night for Emily, but she played beautifully. The second night was more relaxed, as we knew we already had a great recording, and Emily’s violin and the Cathedral became one instrument. We were using the vestry as a control room, and on the second night we were shocked to hear a piano and choir practicing above us. Fortunately the sound didn’t bleed into the Cathedral, and Emily couldn’t hear it. When we finally tracked the choir master down, he offered to not use the piano. (It occurred to me he’s probably paid by the rehearsal). It remained an irritant to those of us in the control room, but fortunately didn’t interfere with the recording, or Emily’s brilliant playing.

It was so lovely to walk from my house in the afternoon to Grace, take the crew to dinner, and then hear Emily play for a few hours, that for days afterward I wanted to walk up the hill and repeat the experience. It could be the coolest thing I’ve ever been involved in.