1947: I was born in Santa Monica during the middle of post-war dreams, black and white TVs, two-car garages and cocktails at five. No one was a musician in our family, but music was constantly happening as the vinyl perpetually turned. My father and mother kept the volume high and it felt like Keeley Smith, Frank Sinatra, the Andrew Sisters and Mary Martin were part of the Morning family.
Late Fifties I saved enough money to buy my own record player! A musical genius! Memorizing every lyric I could keep in my head, I attempted to sing along with Gordon MacRae, Julie Andrews and Glen Yarborough. Attempted.
By this time, my family had become involved in ski racing which meant that almost every weekend, our station wagon was crammed with people driving to the mountains for a ski race or training camp. My mother had created little black notebooks filled with hand-written lyrics of her favorite songs. She would distribute these treasures to all her passengers and confidently expect us to sing instead of fight. Group therapy. If my memory serves me well, it worked.
Early Sixties: The owner of Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, Dave McCoy, took us under his wing along with a troop of about twenty other kids. Fantasy ruled. We lived and breathed for being on that mountain. I found a friend, Wendy Allen, who was as obsessive as I was about memorizing lyrics and the two of us almost drove the other ski racers crazy with our incessant singing.
Mid-Sixties: The National Ski Team was infiltrated with ski racers from Mammoth. We raced in Europe, South America and all over the USA. I bought a nylon stringed guitar and two songbooks... Peter, Paul & Mary and Joan Baez.
1968: Grenoble, France, the Olympics, the day before the opening ceremonies. I broke my leg in a downhill training run. From a bed in a French military hospital, I watched Jean Claude Killy, Nancy Green and Peggy Fleming win, but that's another story. Nancy brought me her roses. Wendy, who was also on the team, brought me chocolate. Sgt. Pepper ruled, and life was "groovey" if you didn't think about what was really happening in the world, and that was impossible.
Eighties: In response to our neighbor orchestrating a Halloween talent show, my husband Bob Gilholm, Tom Pearl, Ron Cheney and I formed a band called The Spoons (Bob was using wooden spoons to play his drums). That experience was a new definition of fun. I'll never know how our kids slept through rehearsals.
Nineties: I didn't do divorce well, but the long thin line of recovery eventually wove me into the threads of the San Diego acoustic music scene. This was an amazing place to be. If the world could take lessons from Amos and Emma Radcliff and their extended bluegrass clan, it would be a happier place. Souls thrive and people actually welcome, support and encourage each other. Robin, the closet songwriter, started singing bits and pieces of her works of primal therapy in front of people. It was like pulling teeth.
Bob Page somehow talked Paul Hormick, Rick Barlow and myself into forming a band. We frequented the coffeehouses, calling ourselves Swing and a Miss. These guys taught me a lot about music.
I got a crazy whim to record some of my songs with Dan Connor, then a crazier whim to send this recording, Wisteria, to the San Diego Folk Heritage Society. They invited me to open their annual festival! WOW!!! The Robin Morning Band came into being with Steve McHenry, Don Nelson. Kathleen Wheatley and later Pat Chin . We laughed a lot and the San Diego coffeehouse scene welcomed us for our choice of gigs which were few and far between. Late nights and day jobs are a little like oil and water! I disguise myself as a high school teacher in real life.
During a long moment of inspiration, my friend Donny Nelson impressed upon me that my new songs should be recorded. I can't help but listen to this man and so the two of us went to Peter Sprague. Summer of '99, Leucadia take-out lunches and our bodies permanently imprinted into the furnishings of Peter's studio, Spragueland...
Peter worked his magic on the songs and brought in some of his fellow jazz musicians to do the same... Bob Magnusson, Duncan Moore, Sara and Sean Watkins, John Rekevics, Steve McHenry, Elizabeth Burkett, Richard Tibbitts, Marcia Bookstein and Rob Whitlock... that's a lot of magic!!!
Here we are, somewhere down the road with a CD called COBALT BLUE. The summer and the take-out lunches are gone, but the magic continues to rule.
I hope you like it!
The Musicians
Peter Sprague - Peter is one of San Diego's premier jazz guitarists. He has received international acclaim, touring with such famed jazz artists as Chick Corea and David Benoit. He has been described as brilliant, a rare musician who sounds fabulous but makes everything around him suddenly look better. With nearly flawless technique, quicksilver speed and rich tone, he uses delicate shadings and subtle voicings in both his accompaniments and his solos. Peter has self-published nine of his own songbooks and was the chief organizer and transcriber for Chick Corea's music books. He has been an integral part of hundreds of recording projects, contributing his skills as guitarist, producer, arranger and recording engineer. He lives with his family in Leucadia where his recording studio, Spragueland, continues is constantly in high demand. His passion for playing guitar is quite alive and he feeds this passion by playing in several bands, including Brasilia and Blurring the Edges. Peter's latest recording of his own compositions, Soliloquy, is available on SBE records. Hopefully, he will be releasing more of his own work soon. Psprague@adnc.com and/or www.mp3.com/blurringtheedges
Duncan Moore - Duncan's name is listed as the drummer and percussionist on most of the top recordings that emerge out of the San Diego music scene. His exquisitely tasteful and creative musicianship has accompanied many players of diverse styles, including such legends as Mose Allison, Joe Farrell, Bobby Shaw and Rickie Lee Jones. He has performed on numerous national jingles and movie soundtracks, has recorded extensively for the national Disney on Ice shows, has taught privately and at San Diego State University and has been the guest artist and lecturer at many jazz camps and clinics for various schools and universities. Drumz@home.com
Bob Magnusson - Bob is one of the top bassists in Southern California. His extensive musical career includes hundreds of recordings on CDs, records and films. When he was located in Los Angeles, he toured for three years with Sarah Vaughn as well as with Buddy Rich, Art Pepper Quartet, Benny Goldman Quartet and Joe Farrrell Quartet. He has recorded with Bonnie Raitt, Madonna, 10,000 Maniacs, Neil Diamond and on Linda Ronstadt's second and third recordings of standards with Nelson Riddle. He had just returned from playing a series of concerts with Linda when he came to Peter's studio to record COBALT BLUE.
Steve McHenry - Steve is very active in the local San Diego music scene, playing both harmonica and guitar as an accompanist for several singer/songwriters and with his family and friends. He is currently music director for the contemporary service at Pacific Beach Christian Church. His years in the sixties working as sound and equipment manager for the east coast group, Thunder Chicken, must have helped prepare him for this position. Steve and his wife, Kathleen Wheatley were part of the Robin Morning Band and his music was always one of the highlights of the shows.
Don Nelson - Don has been involved in the local acoustic music scene for years, playing guitar and singing in bluegrass jams. He was part of the Robin Morning Band and cowrote the song The Jasmine Prayer with Robin. It was his energy that made the CD, COBALT BLUE, come to be realized. dnelson2@san.rr.com
Elizabeth Burkett - Elizabeth has been active in music all her life, singing in choirs and small groups. When she married a bluegrass musician, Richard Burkett, she decided to expand beyond singing and learned not only the acoustic bass but also all the rules and regulations of bluegrass harmony and arranging. She has performed with several different bluegrass bands and currently performs with Richard as part of the popular group, Hwy 52. San Diego Bluegrass Club adores Elizabeth because she has been the driving force behind much of their expanded success. They have just released an CD, Live at the Carlton Oaks, featuring local bluegrass bands. Elizabeth is the background vocalist on COBALT BLUE. http://members.aol.com/hwy52
Chris Vitas - Chris is a violinist/fiddler well known around the San Diego area. His latest project is called Keltic Kharma, a duo with guitarist Fred Benedetti. This CD is a departure from the traditional Celtic music that Chris and Fred usually play as most of it is original music written by outstanding musicians from San Diego. Chris has performed with the San Diego Chamber Orchestra, Starlight Theatre, Old Globe Theatre, the San Diego Rep Theatre and the Grand Ole Opry. He has performed on numerous CDs, sound tracks, radio and television commercials and has shared the stage with such celebrities as Lyle Lovett, Smokey Robinson, Dionne Warwick, the Moody Blues, Johnny Mathis, Barry Manilow, Frankie Lane and Tony Bennett. Although Chris did not play on COBALT BLUE, we are excited to have him perform with us in our February 12 CD release concert. www.keltik-kharma.com
Sara & Sean Watkins - Members of the nationally known band, Nickel Creek (also including Chris Thile), award winning musicians Sara and Sean are a sister/brother team who have been playing together for eleven years. This summer, Alison Krauss and Sugar Hill records produced a CD for Nickel Creek which will be released on March 21. The Watkins combine instrumental prowess with familial harmonies, performing a variety of styles of music, from bluegrass, folk and Celtic to swing. Sara sings lead and plays classical violin and many fiddle styles while Sean, who writes some of their material, plays guitar and mandolin. Sean is currently self-producing a CD of his own material and has recently enjoyed the honor of accompanying the internationally famous violinist Mark O'Connor. Unfortunately, Sara and Sean are unable to be at the CD release concert because they are being showcased at the International Folk Alliance Festival on that same week-end. CWatk64687@aol.com
John Rekevics - A San Diego freelance musician, John has been involved in many local theatre and music projects as well as national projects including playing with Steve Laury, Evan Marks and a reggae group called Big Mountain. He has accompanied such celebrities as Natalie Cole, Lou Rawls, the Temptations, Mel Torme, Johnny Mathis and Robert Goulet. He has composed music used on A&E and PBS and has recorded on movies, CDs, TV shows and numerous jingles. John played clarinet and alto flute on the title track Cobalt Blue, although he most often is called upon to play saxophone. Unfortunately for us, John will be out of town performing in Cancun during our February 12 CD release concert. johnrsax@aol.com
Rob Whitlock - Rob is a local keyboardist whose credits include a tremendous potpourri of musical projects ranging from an on going CD recording with vocalist and wife Amber Whitlock to this year's tour with Atlantic recording artist Giovanni. Rob has performed with Eddie Harris, Tom Scott, Mundell Lowe, Fattburger, Peter Sprague, Bud Shank, Lani Morgan, Joe Sample, Steve Laury, the Drifters and an endless list of others. He has recorded with Wayne Johnson, Max Bennet, Tom Scott, Joe Sample, Evan Marks, John Archer and again, an endless list of others. His father, Bob Whitlock, an accomplished and respected jazz and studio guitarist in southern Florida who has played with such greats as Henry Mancini and Nancy Wilson, has been a major influence on Rob. Rob continues to be involved in recording projects in San Diego, LA and abroad.
Richard Tibbitts - Although Richard earned a master's degree in music from University of Michigan in flute performance, he has expanded his repertoire to include both the penny whistle and the wooden irish flute. He has remained very involved in ethnic music, studying in Germany as well as performing with several traditional music groups including Electrocarpathinians and Primasi. His performance schedule has also included the Flagstaff Festival Orchestra, the San Diego Rep Theatre, the San Diego Opera and the Jackstraws. He is the principal flutist with the Orquesta de Baja California. Richard has completed many recording projects including session work for Network Music. He has taught music at both Southwestern and Palomar Community Colleges. fltnspir@cts.com
Marcia Bookstein - Marcia plays cello with the San Diego Symphony. She will be joining the Camarada Chamber Music Ensemble in a performance called Tango! on February 6. www.mp3.com/camarada
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