Bruce Abbott Music

Inside the Music: Sunlit Sea

3/1/2025

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Sunlit Sea - Frederick Judd Waugh (c.1908) Oil on canvas. In the permanent collection of Newport Art Museum, Newport RI

Frame Drum

Pangi Seed Pod Shaker

Native American Style Flute

Art inspires art. An art creation in one form (music, dance, visual art, literature, etc.) can inspire a new creation in the same form (such as music inspired by music) or another form (such as art inspired by dance).

A couple of years ago my wife Lisa and I visited the Newport Art Museum in Newport, Rhode Island. It's a small museum packed with lots of history and variety. A painting on display from the museum's permanent collection mesmerized me, "Sunlit Sea" by Frederick Judd Waugh. I returned to it several times during our visit and its effect on me only got stronger.

When I began recording music for my second album of music for Native American style flute, Light on the Leaves, I decided to create a song inspired by Waugh's painting. First, I recorded two percussion tracks, one with a frame drum and the other with a pangi tree seed pod shaker. Next, I improvised a melody with my Native American style flute. The result is Sunlit Sea, inspired by the painting of the same name.

See below for a fun and educational eight-minute video from the Kennedy Center about dance inspiring music inspiring art.

Also, an article from Daily Art Magazine - The Sound of Colour: Music Inspired by Visual Art.

Listen on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music,
Pandora, iHeart Radio and all streaming platforms.
Digital audio files available for download at iTunes, Amazon & BandCamp.
Publishing at SheetMusicPlus and SheetMusicDirect.
Click the image below to listen to the song on YouTube.
Free to listen, no account or subscription required.

From the Kennedy Center an eight-minute educational video of dance inspiring music inspiring art.

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Inside the Music: After the Dust Has Settled

2/1/2025

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"The Donbas" by Michael Stricklin. (Acrylic on canvas.) Click the image to visit the artist's webpage.

I composed After the Dust Has Settled in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine three years ago this month on February 24, 2022. Although that event was the impetus for this composition, in a larger sense it is a musical response to all violence, whether on an international or domestic stage or in our own neighborhoods.

In 2007 the United Nations established the "International Day of Non-Violence" which is recognized annually on October 2nd, the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's birthday. You can learn more by clicking here to visit the UN's website.

On this track I am playing soprano & alto saxophones and flute. As I was working on the recording I felt that the melody as played by the woodwinds needed more depth and strength. To accomplish that I decided to fill out the orchestration with strings. Let's not forget that there is strength in numbers!

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From the album After the Dust Has Settled.

Sheet music for After the Dust Has Settled is available for free at the Original Music page.

Available on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music,
Pandora, iHeart Radio and all streaming platforms.

Click the image below to listen to After the Dust Has Settled on YouTube.
Free to listen, no account or subscription required.

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Inside the Music: "This Masquerade" Album Release

1/1/2025

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Bruce & Jim at the Red Inn, Provincetown MA

"This Masquerade" is an album that guitarist Jim Robitaille and I recorded in 2005. At the time, we were playing weekly at the Chatham Wayside Inn on Cape Cod and decided to record an album we could offer for sale on our gigs. Now, some 20 years later, we have re-released it and made it available on all streaming platforms.

We selected the album's songs from the repertoire we were performing at our gigs. Jim had introduced me to several of them including "Creepin'" by Stevie Wonder, "Love Theme from Cinema Paradiso" by Ennio Morricone, and "Angel" by Jimi Hendrix. Other tracks are "Samba de Orfeu" by Luiz Bonfá, "Things Ain't What They Used To Be" by Mercer Ellington, "A Child Is Born" by Thad Jones, and the title track "This Masquerade" by Leon Russell.

Jim is a virtuoso guitarist and award winning composer. I have always marveled at his mastery of multiple styles and this album offers an opportunity for you to hear that mastery for yourself. Whether it's pop, jazz, classical or blues, Jim gets it exactly right!

Visit Jim's website at www.jimrobitaille.com to learn more about his projects and performances.

Best wishes to everyone for 2025!

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From the album This Masquerade.

Available on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music,
Pandora, iHeart Radio and all streaming platforms.

Click the image below to listen to the title track This Masquerade on YouTube.
Click here to listen to the entire album on YouTube.
Free to listen, no account or subscription required.

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Inside the Music: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

12/15/2024

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Cape Cod Bay

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was composed by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine for the 1944 film "Meet Me in St. Louis" featuring Judy Garland. Since then it's been recorded by many artists, from the original by Judy Garland to a version by Twisted Sister that's, well...twisted!

In 2002 I wrote an arrangement of the song for the album "Mistletoe Sax" by the North Star Jazz Ensemble with the Hawthorne String Quartet. As a jazz arranger I added some twists of my own to the original chord progression that accompanies the melody. Using a technique called "reharmonization", I changed some chords and added others in my quest to bring complexity, interest and a more jazzy sound to the original, simpler chord progression.

Reharmonization offers the opportunity for a new perspective on a familiar piece of music. Each week I walk several times on the beach along Cape Cod Bay. Although my steps follow the same route, on each walk the beach is different due to shifting sands, storms, tides, etc. My familiar walk is made more interesting by these changes of perspective. Comparing that to reharmonization in music, my steps are like the melody and the beach is like the reharmonized chord progression that supports it.

As you listen to this recording of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" you'll notice the melody follows its familiar path and stays true to the original throughout. But beginning with the second verse, if you focus more closely on the reharmonized chord progression supporting it, you might notice that the melody sounds or feels a bit different in its new setting. I hope you enjoy this different perspective!

Happy Holidays one and all!

A music lead sheet for this arrangement is available to view and/or download for free on the Original Music page. Also viewable below to enable following along with the recording.

Many thanks to my musical colleague, guitarist Fred Fried, whose amazing spontaneous reharmonizations inspired this arrangement. Visit his YouTube channel to view his discussions about some of his own arrangements for solo jazz guitar.

Streaming on all platforms. Click the image below to listen to the arrangement of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas on YouTube.
Free to listen, no account or subscription required.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas by The North Star Jazz Ensemble
Bruce Abbott, arranger, soprano saxophone
Ron Fournier, piano
Marty Ballou, bass
Paul Mason, drums

With the Hawthorne String Quartet
Si-Jing Huan, violin
Ronan Lefkowitz, violin
Mark Ludwig, viola
Sato Knudsen, cello

Use these links to explore the entire album.

Mistletoe Sax by Bruce Abbott & The North Star Jazz Ensemble with The Hawthorne String Quartet

Amazon Music

Apple Music

YouTube

Spotify

Pandora

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Inside the Music: Oatmeal

11/10/2024

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As a kid my favorite breakfast cereal was Kellogg's Sugar Frosted Flakes. During my teenage years I switched to my Dad's favorite, shredded wheat biscuits. Sometime in my 20s I tasted Frosted Flakes again after many years and could not believe how sweet they were. It seemed like they were more sugar than corn flakes! Now, nearly 50 years later, oatmeal has become my go to breakfast. Sweetened only by the berries and bananas I add, they are a much healthier option.

They also come with an unexpected benefit: the cardboard container they are packaged in makes a lovely hand drum! I discovered that, after preparing my oatmeal each morning, I was tapping out rhythms on the container as I returned it to the pantry. The container can also be shaken and the oatmeal inside creates a sound similar to maracas. What a plus! I decided to record some of those oatmeal container hand drum rhythms, then added a pair of alto saxophone tracks improvising along with them. The resulting music, "Oatmeal", was released as part of my album "Pop Songs, Poetry & Other Flights of Fancy". It falls solidly in the "other flights of fancy" category! Hmmm, I'm hungry.... Hope you enjoy "Oatmeal"!

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From the album Pop Songs, Poetry & Other Flights of Fancy.

Listen on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music,
Pandora, iHeart Radio and all streaming platforms.

Click the image below to listen to the song on YouTube.
Free to listen, no account or subscription required.

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Inside the Music: Butterfly Dance

10/5/2024

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Photo by Gabrielle Hensch on Unsplash

When I was in high school in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, there was a patch of goldenrod and milkweed that grew between the railroad tracks and billboard signs along an industrial highway. I passed by it each day on my walk to school. In autumn there would be monarch butterflies feeding on the goldenrod as wisps of silky milkweed seeds floated into the air. Back in 1972 that scene inspired me to write a poem called "Butterfly Dance". In 2020, during a certain lengthy global health incident, I found that old poem and decided to set it to music.

The first half of the composition is for piano and spoken word, but it could also work as a solo piano piece. The second half is a piano solo which is essentially a repeat of the first section but with additional notes to thicken the harmony and flourishes in the upper register that are meant to depict the butterflies and milkweed as they seemingly dance together.

My thanks to pianist and Trio Vivo colleague Lucy Banner for her assistance with the piano part.

Click here to learn more about monarch butterflies.

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From the album Pop Songs, Poetry & Other Flights of Fancy. Printed music for this composition is available to preview at Sheet Music Plus and SheetMusicDirect.

Listen on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music,
Pandora, iHeart Radio and all streaming platforms.

Click the image below to listen to the song on YouTube.
Free to listen, no account or subscription required.

Follow the score!

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Inside the Music: Simpático

9/1/2024

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Cape Cod Sax Quartet, left to right: Nick Suchecki - baritone, Bruce Abbott - alto, Berke McKelvey - soprano, Ryder Corey - tenor.

The initial melody for Simpático visited me as I was practicing my soprano sax. Once that melody was formed I started to compose a piano accompaniment for it but quickly realized that the new soprano sax melody was asking me to create a saxophone quartet instead. I listened and followed the melody's advice! Along the way it settled into a mambo rhythm style with solo features for each of the four saxes.
For this composition I use the standard saxophone quartet instrumentation of soprano, alto, tenor and baritone saxophones. These four siblings get along so well that I decided to call the piece Simpático. It is dedicated to my former student Nick Suchecki and the Cape Cod Saxophone Quartet in which we played together.

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From the album Beneath The Stars: Music for Saxophone Solo, Duet & Quartet.

Listen to this and other albums on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music and all streaming platforms.

On this track I overdubbed all four saxophone parts.

Printed music for this composition is available to preview at Sheet Music Plus and SheetMusicDirect and can be purchased and downloaded there for $14.99. Also available in arrangements for string quartet, woodwind quartet and flute quartet/choir.

More info available on the Original Music page.

Click the image below to listen to the song on YouTube.
Free to listen, no account or subscription required.

Follow the score!

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Inside the Music: Eleanor

8/1/2024

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Our family portrait (circa 1957). My parents, John & Eleanor Abbott, and their four sons. My brothers and I in order of age: John, Jr. (2nd row, far right); Arnold (2nd row, 2nd from right); Dennis (2nd row, far left); yours truly, Bruce (1st row with hand on Eleanor's shoulder).

My musical life had its beginning thanks to my mother, Eleanor, who signed me up for saxophone lessons when I was 10 years old. Both she and my father were encouraging and supportive parents who were always in the audience at my little league games and band concerts. My mom played the violin in elementary school. Years later, when I was growing up, she had an organ in our living room that she loved to play and sing along to. She also sang in our church choir. It was always a treat to listen to her!

In 2022 I sat down to write a song for my mom, striving to create a piece that reflected her gentle, loving and thoughtful disposition. The result was "Eleanor" which was released on my album "After the Dust Has Settled".

This month my mom would have turned 105 years old. Thanks Mom, and Happy Birthday!

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From the album After the Dust Has Settled. Sheet music for Eleanor is available for free at the Original Music page.

Available on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music,
Pandora, iHeart Radio and all streaming platforms.

Click the image below to listen to Eleanor on YouTube.
Free to listen, no account or subscription required.

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Inside the Music: America

7/4/2024

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CommonGround (clockwise from left): Marty Ballou, bass. Peter Calo, guitar. Ron Fournier, piano. Paul Mason, drums. Bruce Abbott, saxophone & flute. (Photo by Steve Mason)

Album cover for Homeward Bound: An Instrumental Tribute to the Music of Paul Simon. Click the image to listen on YouTube.

Our nation's Declaration of Independence was issued on July 4, 1776. In addition to declaring our independence from Great Britain it also declared that every person has unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Just over 190 years after that amazing document was released Paul Simon wrote and released a song called "America" which he recorded with his musical partner Art Garfunkel. The lyrics tell the story of a hopeful but restless young couple hitch-hiking and busing their way around America in the pursuit of happiness, perhaps the most subjective and elusive of those unalienable rights.

In 1987 our group CommonGround released the album "Homeward Bound: An Instrumental Tribute to the Music of Paul Simon". Drummer Paul Mason and I wrote an arrangement of "America" which was included along with 13 other tracks on the album. In the arrangement we created an interlude section that features pianist Ron Fournier's improvised solo. Insider tip: if you listen closely during the interlude you'll hear the strings playing a hint of "America the Beautiful".

Thanks for listening, and may all of our elusive unalienable rights survive in the years ahead!

Streaming on all platforms. Click the image below to listen to the arrangement of America by CommonGround on YouTube.
Click here to listen to the entire Homeward Bound album on YouTube.
Free to listen, no account or subscription required.

"America" by CommonGround
Bruce Abbott, soprano saxophone, co-arranger
Peter Calo, guitar
Ron Fournier, arranger, keyboards
Marty Ballou, bass
Paul Mason, drums, co-arranger

With guests
Mike Turk, harmonica
Cenovia Cummins, violin
Mary Rowell, viola
Stephanie Cummins, cello

Recorded by Jack Gauthier at Lakewest Recording

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Inside the Music: Fred's Tune

5/17/2024

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I composed Fred's Tune for 8-string guitarist Fred Fried, with whom I have been making music for more than 30 years. We are both "washashores" on Cape Cod (Fred from New York, I from Rhode Island) and from the first time we played together I found a musical home in our collaboration. Together, we've played venues from noisy restaurants and bars to pristine concert halls. No matter the setting, we have always enjoyed exploring repertoire and developing arrangements, all the while delighting in the musical conversation between our two instruments.

Our first album, 'S Wonderful, was released in 2008. We have just released our second album entitled Maybe in Spring, a collection of six standards and two originals. Fred composed the title song, Maybe in Spring. My contribution is Fred's Tune, written for and dedicated to Fred.

Fred is a master of harmony who is skilled, insightful and adventurous in his use of chords and chord progressions. His 8-string instrument greatly expands the guitar's usual range, allowing for a full and rich palette of sound. Add to that his ability to weave contrapuntal lines through chords and around melodies, and the result is a flow of endlessly delightful musical creations.

For the recording of Fred's Tune I asked him to play the song solo and freely the first time through. He created a simple and beautiful two-chord intro that is followed by the melody, self-accompanied and displaying his harmonic and contrapuntal artistry.

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From the album Maybe in Spring. Sheet music for Fred's Tune is available for free at the Original Music page.

Available on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon Music, Apple Music,
Pandora, iHeart Radio and all streaming platforms.

Click the image below to listen to Fred's Tune on YouTube.
Free to listen, no account or subscription required.

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Author

Bruce Abbott

I am often asked questions about my music such as "What is this composition about?" and "What inspired this piece?"
To answer these questions I have created a blog feature called "Inside the Music". Each entry includes a photo or two, some information about the composition, and a link to hear the music. I hope you enjoy them.
As always, thanks for listening!
Bruce

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