It’s a Musical Monday again here on Robert Frost’s Banjo, so get yourself a nice hot morning beverage & kick back! Today’s tune dates back a few years, & to a much different musical incarnation for Eberle & myself—this was recorded when we were performing as Five & Dime Jazz—a loosely conceived duet that could go from playing “Stars Fell on Alabama” on melodica & tenor guitar to a middle eastern hoedown on bowed psaltery & 6-string bouzouki. It should be added that we didn’t make such transitions within any given show—maybe we should have!
“Plum Blossom Serenade” is a song we wrote in 2006, & I’m pretty sure it was about this time of year. I came up with the chord progression & the guitar part, & Eberle came up with her melodica part to go on top—it may be an unusual way to write songs, but it’s the way we always did when we collaborated. This particular recording of the song—made back in our minidisk days—was used in the soundtrack for a play called Rootabaga Country, based on Carl Sandburg’s excellent books, Rootabaga Stories. If you’ve never read them, I recommend them very highly!
Hope you enjoy the music.