RECORD OF THE WEEK: “Steinbeck Found the Valley”—On this month in 1937, John Steinbeck published his touchstone book, OF MICE & MEN, the oft-retold novel which has been made into films and plays. For me, Steinbeck is "pure California." Of his writing he said, “These words dropped into my childish mind as if you should accidentally drop a ring into a deep well. I did not think of them much at the time, but there came a day in my life when the ring was fished up out of the well, good as new.”

My composition “Steinbeck Found the Valley” is an “Americana instrumental,” prompted by a lyric from The Beach Boys's "California Saga": "Have you ever been down Salinas way where Steinbeck found the valley, and he wrote about the way it was, and his travellings with Charley..." The music bed was inspired by an obscure Beach Boys instrumental called “Trombone Dixie” (from the PET SOUNDS sessions). On this track I played accordion and piano with cellist Kim Osterwalder (from the band Flophouse; she also gigged with mutual friends, Buddy & Julie Miller) + trombonist Richard Marriott, who improvised his parts in two takes. Richard is an accomplished composer and veteran of big bands, orchestras, fringe music, and film soundtracks (check out his site http://www.richardmarriott.com).

https://johnnyjblairsingeratlarge.bandcamp.com/track/steinbeck-found-the-valley

day 15 — bonus track #2

130. Trombone Dixie

(Brian Wilson)