Album Notes

Mark Dvorak\'s 11th CD, What a Wonderful World, is a 22 song compilation assembled from over 16 years in the recording studio. The material is family friendly and aimed towards younger listeners, but the music will resonate with listeners of all ages. The arrangements are simple, well thought out and musical.

Eleven of the tracks are form Dvorak\'s 1995 award-winning CD Old Songs & New People, three are from 1996\'s Just Something My Grandma Used to Sing, three from 2000\'s Weavermania! LIVE, and one track from Use It Up, Wear It Out, released in 1992.

All of the previously released material has been digitally remastered for this project and Dvorak has added four new tracks with Chicago\'s The Sons of the Never Wrong, to complete the collection. The result is a 57 minute trip through Dvorak\'s wonderful world where the breadth and beauty of American traditional music finds its rightful context in a variety of creative settings.

Songs are from everybody from Woody Guthrie to Lead Belly to Malvina Reynolds to Irving Berlin to The Sons of the Pioneers to The Weavers as well as traditional songs Dvorak has been singing for live audiences for the better part of two decades. The list of musicians reads like a Who\'s Who in Chicago folk music. Appearances by Michael Smith, Barbara Barrow and Tom Dundee are on the live Weavermania! tracks. Rick Sherry from Devil In a Woodpile blows blues harp, old-time fiddle master Steve Rosen performs on two tracks and John Williams plays whistle and button accordion on two others. Sue Demel and Deb Lader from The Sons of the Never Wrong accompany Dvorak on four tracks and a host of other local performers make appearances including Byrdie Sue Zwit who believe it or not, adds some very lovely sounding bird calls on one song.