Album Notes

Accomplished trombonist/pianist David Dahlsten and the jazz troupe he calls Rainbow Dancing has released a thought-provoking and invigorating collection of eight original tunes on a CD entitled Study Your Own Heart that is by turns vibrant, breezy and ethereal.

David Dahlsten has spent over 40 years studying Jazz, Salsa, R&B and Classical styles and playing Trombone as a sideman with some of the greats such as Bobby Womack, Buddy Miles, Asukita and Johnny Martinez. Dahlsten started writing poetry while traveling with the Buddy Miles band in the 70’s as it made him feel good. He knew he also wanted to compose his own music so in 1996 he began studying piano with Lloyd Hebert, also a trombone player, and it opened the door for him to write not only musical lines but also chord signatures - now he had a home for his poetry.

Study Your Own Heart, Dahlsten’s second CD project, has a relaxed energy that serves to perfectly compliment its powerful musicianship. It's evident from the opening tune Damn If I Know, whose easy horns and tight harmonies set a tangible mood for all that follows. It melds into the insistent horns and catchy rhythms of Delirious Desire, the album’s second tune and is followed by the vigorous intensity of Lofted Winged Essence.

Study Your Own Heart, the title song, is permeated by an irresistible staccato beat while Can’t Stand the Violence is a memorably urgent call for sanity in a world gone mad that’s bolstered by passionate spoken-word vocal from Verrel Reed. By contrast, Princess of San Juan brings us back to paradise with its easy, smooth tempo that lap at our senses like a cooling summer notice of a group with undeniable breakthrough potential. The last cut of the CD, the only cover song, is David’s delicious version of the classic Secret Love written by Sammy Fain and Paul Frances Webster.

Besides Dahlsten - whose masterful musical command powers Study Your Own Heart - the Rainbow Dancing group features Don Littleton on drums and congas, Jeff Littleton on upright and electric bass, Sal Marquez on trumpet, pianist Rick Olson, Pete Varela on electric bass, Doug Webb on tenor and baritone sax, guitarist Rick Zuniga and Varrel Reed doing spoken word. Wayne Peet, recording engineer extraordinnaire, captured the true magic of the great musicians performing in Rainbow Dancing.

“It’s a wondrous, superbly arranged package - written and composed by Dahlsten, that’s infused with heart and soul in equal measure.”

- Ray Richmond