Album Notes

"Way back when," grins singer/songwriter Gary Jensen, " I spent more than a few moons chasin' the spirits of Guthrie and Kerouac, town-bouncin' and job-jugglin'. Actually, wanderlust probably infected me even earlier, as a kid in Sunday School, when Jesus advocated takin' no thought for tomorrow, or maybe during a harmony hunt on 'Poor Wayfarin' Stranger'. Anyway, whatever else it was all about, I spent years gatherin' song seeds and learnin' my craft." Jensen has just released his first CD, "transition", a collection of tunes steeped in experience and in the landscapes of the American west. "Genre-wise, it's Americana/new folk...plenty of acoustic guitar and mandolin, occasional dobro and fiddle, with an eye out for lyrics," he says. "Some really fine musicians chimed in". The album features Jensen on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Richie Reinholdt on mandolin and lead guitar, Jeff Farias on up-right bass, Bodie Dennis on electric bass, Ivan Rosenberg on dobro, Shanti Foster and Ellie Nuno on fiddle, with back-up vocals by Rechelle Malin and Julie Hill. The album, co-produced by Jensen and Vinny Constantine of Lost Dog Productions, wears the marks of a labor of love. A tumbleweed history combined with a literary bent and an affinity for acoustic music proves a good recipe for "transition". These days Jensen can be found playing house-concerts, coffeehouses and folk festivals. "Listening is pretty much a lost art," he says. "So for a songwriter, a listening audience is always much appreciated. That's what's so great about acoustic folk...it can sustain a healthy measure of intimacy. And isn't that what the Muse is all about?"