jezsez

Untitled

2009-03-19T06:41:00.000-07:00

Seems like I never write blogs anymore so this will be my last on here for awhile anyway. I am very inspired and working on several musical projects that are really exciting to me, For more info you can keep up with me on Facebook and myspace as well as my regular website-www.jezgraham.com
I might post a few pix now and then but as for the rest, that's all folks,
Hope to see you soon,
Jez

Ronn Penn, Me and Bruce Hampton

2009-02-10T21:43:00.000-08:00

Bill sits in at Twains

2009-02-10T21:40:00.000-08:00

Moment To Moment

2009-02-10T07:55:00.000-08:00

One of my favorite cd's from 2008 is Moment to Moment by Don Discenza. It is available at dondiscenzamusic.com as well as cdbaby, itunes and the other online music outlets. I recommend buying the physical cd, both for the wonderful package,photo's and credits and also for the pristine sound quality which sounds best on the home stereo.

Don is a pianist/vocalist who I have known since 1994 when he mentored me in Unity keyboard service, and I am proud to call him a great friend. His album is rich with The Great American Songbook plus an original of Don's.

Much like the classic jazz vocal albums of the 50's that incorporated great jazz players and soloist's, yet with a sound and ambience perfectly in the Now, as we listen we are comforted by soothing melody's and meaningful lyrics, and exquisite musicianship. The record features the cream of the crop of Atlanta's jazz musicians.

Don's swinging piano and deep vocals are the center of the arrangements which also feature the percussive brilliance of Jerry Fields on several tracks including one of my favoites Don's original "Marianna" which is reminiscent of the early Latin Jazz of RTF to my ears.Don' piano is center stage on this one as well as, Eric South's beautiful flute playing.

Don is donating a portion of the proceeds to Music Cares which is meaningful as he put a whole lot of care into the making of this album and it shows in every detail from the beautifully played and recorded Piano to the choice of standards.

Other highlights for me are "The Second Time Around" which is anchored by the Bass legend Neal Starkey-bass and former Ray Charles drummer Scott Von Ravensberg, Charade, with Don's wistful accordion playing, and Love Is a very Splendored Thing which features the acoustic guitar of Felipe Coelho.

Tim Aucoin -bass and Keith Runfolo-drums provide swinging and creative swing and nuance throughout the bulk of the other tunes along with guitarist Dave Frackenpohl who shines throughout the record.A special shout out has to go to Jerry Fields for his important percussive contribution and to Don for his inventive and swinging piano playing. There are also guest performances by The South City Voices and Jennifer Hanson. I hear a lot of joy in this album, I think you will too. Make sure to listen all the way through, my favorite Moment occurs at the end of the last song thanks to Don's piano.

Funk Heritage Center

2009-02-03T13:50:00.001-08:00

I'm spending most of my time at home these days having fun on the mac recording lot's of new music. The tracks I cut with Mike Haid over 2 sessions in Nov. and Dec 08 are the basic tracks of Drums and keys. I'm building them up and orchestrating with more keyboards at home and eventually will add some special guest musician's like Bill Hatcher and the icing on the cake will be the horn arrangements that Bill Graham is writing for 4 Trombones-Harry Hagan and Bob Lewis will overdub twice.
Funk Heritage Center and The Lonely Frog are 2 of my favorite pieces I've ever worked on. they came out of improv's and are taking on a life that is beyond what I could have imagined. On the gig front, this Sat. I'll be back in Charleston and back for Sunday's annual Eddie's Attic gig with Francine.

Nicholas Alan, Del and Jez harmonizing on In My Room over the holidays

2009-01-26T14:34:00.000-08:00

Johnny Knapp, Janna and Jez

2008-11-29T09:55:00.000-08:00

It's A Wonderful Life

2008-11-24T09:27:00.000-08:00

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2008-11-18T22:08:00.000-08:00

2008-11-18T22:07:00.000-08:00

Where We're S'posed To Be

2008-11-18T21:25:00.000-08:00

That could be the name of the cd's worth of music Mike Haid and I recorded today at his mountaintop studio. We had been talking about doing this session for a long time and today was the day. It was a perfect Georgia day, still fall but feeling like Winter. I set up my keys and we began the first piece, the only rules for the sirst 2 peices were that there were no rules, All music would be improvised without any pre conceived idea's or plans.The 2nd piece came after a long and deep conversation that ended with the phrase where we're s'posed to be. For the final cut Mike suggested we do some Jazz so we played a song that I have been tinkering with for a few months called Mindy #21. Even though it's more of a straight ahead vibe, the last part where we take 4's got pretty modern, Some pictures from the day should be above before too long. Mike is a great friend and a wonderful drummer.

After the session we had a nice dinner at a place called Fatz, The peach cobbler was pretty good although not as good as Cafe Circa. I miss that peach cobbler but I do look forward to the bread pudding tomorrow night at Atlantic Seafood Company.

Anyway after dinner we went to check in with my old friend Kenny Aronoff give a drum clinic at Ken Stanton Music. Kenny gave me my first break in 1974 when he and Bob Williams put together the band Ball Of Confusion and gave a skinny 15 year old Rhodes player a chance. After the first gig I was hooked on the gigging thing and I haven't stopped since.

Ball Of Confusion used to play at The Great Riot Alley Memorial at The Music Inn which was in Lenox Massachusetts. The Music Inn is where I saw some of the greatest concerts of my Life- Weather Report, Mahavishnu, RTF, Herbie Hancock and The Headhunters, Bonnie Rait, Van Morrision, Bruce Springsteen, anyway after the concerts, They had bands playing in a couple bars and we were one of them. We played Sly, Aretha, Cobham, Hendrix and lots of other fun stuff for people to dance to.
Check www.kennyaronoff.com for news and updates. It's always great to catch up with him and inspiring to be around his great energy.
Check out the pictures above of the me and the mountain, Me and Kenny and Mike and Kenny from another great November day Where we're s'posed to be......

Jez runs into Darian and Nelson at Starbucks

2008-11-11T18:27:00.000-08:00

That Lucky Old Sun live in Nashville

2008-11-11T14:28:00.001-08:00

As much as I love the album it is true that this piece of music must be experienced in concert. It was an amazing night at the historic Ryman Auditorium, original home to The Grand Old Opry. There was a really nice pre-show get together around the corner at an Irish Pub and we had a chance to meet some serious Brian Wilson fans. It was really cool to talk about the bond we share and the energy and spiritual uplift that we get from the music.

When we had arrived in Nashville earlier with some time to kill before checking into the hotel, Mindy suggested we stop into a Starbucks downtown. We ran into both of Brian's keyboardists, Darian Sahanaja and Scott Bennett. It was great to be able to thank Darian personally for his years of service to Brian's music and to Scott as well and for his work on That Lucky Old Sun. Nelson Bragg also stopped through and we got a pretty cool picture which you can see above this post. Really nice people as well as musicians, always a good combination.

The venue had a magical feeling from the moment we got in and toured the perimeter with artifacts and memorabilia of Nashville's rich musical history.

The show started right on time. The first set was The Hits portion of the show. Every one a knock out. Starting with California Girls and ending with Good Vibrations the band sang and played their hearts out. The sound was superb so every nuance was heard and felt. One of the things that really impressed me was how well Brian kept the show moving, no lulls between songs, Not having seen Brian since the Smile tour in 04, it was such a treat to hear him and his amazing band play his catalogue with such precision and love.

So many highlights in the first set, off the top of my head, Add Some Music To Your Day, Don't Worry baby with Jeff Foskett handling the lead vocal, All Summer long, God Only Knows, Wouldn't It Be Nice, The Little Girl I Once Knew, Surfer Girl, In My Room and the most rockin version of Marcella I've ever heard. I like Scott Bennett's guitar playing on this one a lot. My favorite song though from the first set had to be Sail On Sailor. The band was on fire, Brian's vocal was so strong and soulful.

Brian made one of his great exits at the end of Good Vibrations and then it was intermission.

Set 2 was That Lucky Old Sun. I don't want to go into details because you really have to see and hear it in person for yourself. I will say that I loved every minute of it and that the emotion of the music/video montage, and spiritual message of That Lucky Old Sun moved me beyond words.

Check www.brianwilson.com for tour dates to see if the show is coming to your area. The encores were a whole lot of fun. I loved Johnny B. Goode, Surfin U.S.A.(with Brian on Bass), Help Me Rhonda, and the rest of the oldies and so did the rest of the audience who all sang along with abandon. It was that same feeling I was telling Mindy about on the way to the show that I first felt at my first Beach Boys concerts of the early 70's. This band has found and delivered Brian Wilson's sound now for the past 10 years, the same sound he sings about in Going Home, we felt at home last night at The Ryman in Nashville and all is well. Amen!

Stardust Memories

2008-11-06T08:32:00.000-08:00

I was so tired last night. the older I get the less I seem to sleep. too much to do and too much fun to have. the leaves are turning and it always gives me such a feeling of peace. I've been trying to get to the top of Stone Mountain for a couple months and on election day when I went to go drive people to the polls, I found out that it tuned out no one needed rides so the the job they gave me was in fitting with my job as marching band water czar, They just needed someone to give out water and snacks to the voters in line. Since the lines weren't that big after awhile they sent us home. Early voting really was a big deal here in Ga. Some have said don't you feel silly that you waited in line for 8 hours a week before voting day, and I say no it was an honor and a great experience. We met some old friends and made some new ones. Anyway back to Nov 4th, It was a beautiful day and I had the time so with my trusty mp3 player playing the new Todd Rundgren song Mountaintop to get me going, I made it to the top and now that I have I think I'll go back to walking around the mountain so I can see the sun's reflection on the lake.
I'll never forget the 10 second countdown to the election of our new President.
11.00 P.M. November 4th is a moment I will always remember proudly.

Got to the gig yesterday and lo and behold it was real crowded with happy people, Afterwords, though I was tired, I needed to hear my favorite Organ trio, so I stopped at Twains and was treated to the most sublime version of Stardust by Dave Ellington who is a master of the B-3 along with the soulful Sax of Mace Hibbard and the creative and inventive Justin Varnes on the drums. I love Stardust, I like to sing it and I love Woody Allen's Stardust Memories film, I also dig the Manilow version(I'm serious), and the recent Willie Nelson/Wynton Marsalis version as well as all the older renditions by the masters, but this was my favorite version of Stardust ever, why , because of Dave's brilliant inner changes that moved the harmony so sweetly while always keeping the melodic intent of the composition intact. I highly recommend that you go to Twains in Decatur on Wednesday's to hear these wonderful musicians.

Playing with David Marks and Nelson Bragg

2008-11-02T21:15:00.000-08:00

I went on an adventure yesterday morning. I had the first Saturday night off in a long time and was able to drive to Charlotte for the Endless Summer Quarterly event which was a fund raiser for the Cornelius animal shelter. E.S.Q. is the leading Beach Boys magazine of which I have subscribed for years. I used to get it at Tower records also.
E.S.Q. editor David Beard put on this event that was a celebration of the Dennis Wilson tribute cd that comes with the Pacific Ocean/Bambu double issue of E.S.Q.
So I was really looking forward to this and ready for an adventure I headed north on I 85. Once I got close to Charlotte I started to get hungry and lo and behold I saw a sign that said next exit Friendly's. Friendly's was a favorite and important place and still is in Great Barrington Ma. and during my high school years it was one of my main hang outs. I used to get an ice cream sundae with 1 scoop of Vanilla, one scoop of coffee, and one scoop of lemon sherbet. I haven't been to one in many years as they don't have them in Atlanta. Boy was it fun to go again. It was just like the one back home, except no more Lemon sherbet so I had orange instead after a nice fishamajig.
It was a great night, I got drafted and played piano along with David Marks and Nelson Bragg for most of their set and we had a blast. It was really something to play some of the early Beach Boys songs with the guy who played guitar on them. Check out his website http://davidleemarks.com/ to learn more about this fine musician. During the break and the auction I played a short set of my solo piano Brian Wilson material which was well received and then I took a break and enjoyed the duo of David and Nelson which included a beautiful lead vocal by Nelson on God Only Knows. Check out Nelson's fine cd here-http://cdbaby.com/cd/nelsonbragg

I joined them again for Love and Mercy and a few more and then the drummer and bass player from Chris English's excellent band joined us for Barbara Ann, and it was rockin and rollin just like a Beach Boys concert, then as the crowd disbursed,I played 2 more solo piece's, I Just Wasn't Made For These Times and Southern California. Thanks to David Beard, David and Carrie Marks, and Nelson Bragg for such a warm welcome and to David Marks again for the late night lesson on Dennis's song You and I, Thanks also to Miami Dan for the Heineken. I will post some pix soon.

Rhapsody and mp3 listening

2008-10-14T06:17:00.000-07:00

Inara George-An Invitation with Van Dyke Parks
This is the daughter of Little Feat founder and former member of The Mothers-Lowell George. The arrangements by Van Dyke Parks are out of this world.

Will Bernard- Blue Plate Special
My old friend and musical comrade has a new album on Palmetto records. It's an all star funk workout. My favorite cut is the beautiful version of How Great Thou Art.

The Grateful Dead- Wake Of The Flood/Blues For Allah-Rhino-re-issue.
Conventional wisdom says that The Dead were better live than on record,but these 2 albums make a strong case for the recorded work of The Dead,

Ben Folds- Way To Normal
I keep meaning to listen to check out Ben Folds and I'm a little late to the party but digging this album. Nice wurlitzer solo on Free Coffee, A strong nod to Bennie And The Jets on the opening cut.

Elvis Costello-Out Of Our Idiot-
A compilation from the 80's just out on cd again. features 2 of my all time favorite E.C. songs-Imperial Bedroom (The title song of my favorite E.C> album although it wasn't on the album) and Heathen Town which borrows a line from Frank Loesser's Sit Down You're Rockin The Boat from Guys and Dolls.

Todd Rundgren-Arena-
Lots will be said about this hard rockin laptop recording. What I am digging the most are the song Power Pop song Courage which would not have been out of place on Faithful (1976) and Weakness which blends Clapton/Hendrix Blues with The Philly Soul Todd sound that we know and love.

Herbie Hancock with Joni Mitchell- River- from Then and Now The definitive Herbie Hancock-This is a live version from the Yahoo/Nissan live set.

Bob Dylan Tell Tale Signs-
The 8th edition of The Bootleg Series focusing on 1989-2006 outakes which in some cases surpass the released versions.

George Duke- Feel- It's as good as Faces In Reflection and it features F.Z. as Obdewl X playing guitar on several cuts.

Thelonious Monk-Solo Monk
Simply the best.

O.K. that's all for now, Tonight is The Ascended Masters(Bill's prog/fusion group) show at Eyedrum gallery, Tomorrow is The Dave Ellington Trio at Twains, You've got to check them out, an great Organ trio with an amazing set list. See you there,

Recent Transcendent Gig Moments

2008-10-13T06:33:00.000-07:00

One of the highest musical moments of recent days fro me occurred yesterday at a barbecue that we played on the porch at St. Dunston's. It was when Rick Burgess played and sang the Robert Johnson song popularized by The Cream-Crossroads. We had Bill Hatcher playing his always amazing 6 string Bass Guitar and J.R. Miliken doing his best Ginger Baker. Some of the best guitar and bass playing I've been near and with the tree's Blowing in The Wind and turning colors it was perfection. I've been on a Robert Johnson kick so we also did Love In Vain, which I knew originally from the stones but recently i have been digging Clapton's version and all of his Robert Johnson versions from Me and Mr J. with Billy Preston, Chris Stainton, Steve Gadd among others.
Last Friday at Atlantic Seafood, someone asked for some Dylan, so me and Del did a medley which I sang of Blowin In The Wind (based on Stevie Wonder's version) that segued into Sam Cooke's A Change Is Gonna Come which I have heard was inspired by Blowin In The Wind. Sacred Tapestry highlights this week are the Little Feat grooves that Bill and I got into yesterday and the version of Eyes Of The World by The Grateful Dead which we also played on Friday to the delight of the bartenders. Playing the High Holy Holidays at Temple Beth David with The Rhine Family was also a wonderful experience. The harmony's that Melissa and Melody sang were music to my ears.

Jazz Piano Summit 08

2008-10-01T11:35:00.001-07:00

Jazz Piano Summit

On October 19th it will be my honor to participate again in the 2nd annual GSU Jazz Piano Summit. Last year I played in a Piano duo with the great Tyrone Jackson who you can hear most Tuesday's at Twains in Decatur with Joe Grandson. This year I am playing in a Piano Duo with the legendary Johnny Knapp who has played for Billie Holiday, Phil Woods, Toots Thielman,Barbara Streisand,Bob Newman, and even did gigs with my Uncle Hal back in the 50's. Needless to say I am really looking forward to this.. check out www.johnnyknapp.com for info on his amazing career.

Chips

2008-10-01T05:46:00.000-07:00

Anyone know why Kroger all of the sudden does not have Naturally Preffered Cracked Pepper and Sea salt Potato Chips? They have every other kind in the Natural section but not that one. they are the best and you don't gain weight on them. Oh well.

Trip to Charleston

2008-09-22T11:47:00.000-07:00

Actually the gig was on Kiawah Island, we played a beautiful wedding with our backs to the coast. It was so nice to be near the water.
On the way there and back I heard some great tunes on my trusty mp3 player. I have told before of the music keeping me awake and alert. One time it was Drivin Music by The Rubinoos that helped me get down a North Carolina mountain. This time it was a pino intro by Keith Jarret that precede his trio's amazing version of Body and Soul.Here are some of the other selections that got me home safe along with my trusty Filtron Cold Brewed Coffee-
Let There Be Love- Nat King Cole
Imagination-Keith Jarret Trio
It's Not Too Late- Dennis Wilson (with Carl Wilson)
Inner City Blues- Marvin Gaye(from the live version of What's Goin On-His falsetto has never sounded so pure, He starts the song over to get the groovy groove)
George Duke-Faces In Reflection
Which reminds me, I saw a DVD last week called the Gospel according to Jazz. It's by an artist i had never heard named Kirk Whalum. George Duke was on piano and it was this great Jazz music with some amazing players in a Church setting. It made me think about the fact that whenever I draw on the gospel side in my playing, it is because while I didn't come up in the church (or the Temple for that matter) I did come up in The gospel of George Duke. From the first time I heard him with Frank Zappa and The Mothers in New York when he was singing all those funny notes during The Be Bop Tango, through his amazing early solo albums, his work with Cannonball Adderley and Sonny Rollins, and his later stuff. He taught me about that thing that I still strive for, and don't get me started on his synth pitch bend abilities. He wrote the book on that and the name of the book is THE BLUES.

Piano Summit 08

2008-09-22T11:41:00.000-07:00

Jazz Piano Summit

On October 19th it will be my honor to participate again in the 2nd annual GSU Jazz Piano Summit. Last year I played in a Piano duo with the great Tyrone Jackson who you can hear most Tuesday's at Twains in Decatur with Joe Grandson. This year I am playing in a Piano Duo with the legendary Johnny Knapp who has played for Billie Holiday, Barbara Streisand, and even did gigs with my Uncle Hal back in the 50's. Needles to say I am really looking forward to this.. check out www.johnnyknapp.com for info on his amazing career.

Great Drum DVD

2008-09-18T07:00:00.000-07:00

Great Drum instructional DVD

Okay, one last thing on TLOS. Just keep listening to it, It will make you happy, The vibe is so great and the sound is pure timeless Brian Wilson. I do want to make one correction to my earlier blog. The feel on California Role that i said was a 2 feel is really more of a New Orleans fell on the first part as pointed out to my son Bill when he heard it. The great grooves on the album are played by Todd Sucherman who has an excellent DVD that I highly recommend to all drummers and really for all musicians. You can order it here-

http://www.msplinks.com/MDFodHRwOi8vQWx0aXR1ZGVkaWdpdGFsLmNvbQ==

On his DVD Todd demonstrates a variety of musical styles on the drum set including some great music with original Mahavishnu Orchestra Violinist Jerry Goodman and the music from his wife Taylor Mills debut album which he produced with Scott Bennett. As many of you know Taylor Mills has been an important part of the Brian Wilson band since it's inception. I particularly dig her vocal on I Wanna Be Around from Brian Wilson Presents Smile, and on Goin Home and Good Kind Of Love on TLOS.
If you have family members who are up and coming drummers, they need to hear Todd's advice about all aspects of the gigging and session biz. It is essential info and the DVD is really high quality with tons of extras.

More on TLOS

2008-09-02T08:59:00.000-07:00

Listening to the physical CD was a real treat. I highly recommend this disc for anyone who has ever been moved by the music of Brian Wilson and The Beach Boys. It's almost like the record I was always hoping The Beach Boys would make after Love You, in fact I hear it as the missing link between The Fairy Tale from Holland, Love You and Brian's solo material. The stand out songs for me are Oxygen To The Brain,Midnight's Another Day, Going Home, and Southern California. Chord-wise these progressions bring to mind elements also found in Till I Die, Don't Worry Baby, Ding Dang, Let Us Go On This Way, The Warmth OF The Sun and other Beach Boys classics. I love how the Roll around Heaven theme from That Luck Old Sun is interwoven into the fabric of the piece, particularly the Reprise. Oxygen To The Brain is destined to become a Brian Wilson classic. It's a subject he has written about through the years but this is like he took all those songs like Too Much Sugar and made them into a symphony. The arrangements on the album really add to the flow especially the string writing by Paul Von Mertens and the keyboard playing throughout of Scott Bennett, Darian Sahanaja, and Brian himself. I particularly like the Organ parts and the synth sounds that bring in elements of Holland and Love You. The contributions of each band member are remarkable, the array of sound colors and beautiful singing that brings this music to life has the collaborative spirit which shows. Produced by Brian Wilson, engineered by Mark Linett with songs by Brian Wilson/Scott Bennett, The title song is an old standard by Gillespie/Smith and the narratives are written by Van Dyke Parks. The songs are sung in a relaxed style by Brian who sounds great and now it's time for me to get to the piano and try and figure out Midnight's Another Day, See ya/.
update- The next morning, Still haven't figured out Midnight's Another Day- but-
We watched the VHI Classic show last night and it was such a treat to see and hear. One of the highlights was seeing and hearing Brian's piano playing and when Scott Bennett demonstrates Southern California and the money Chord that makes it a Brian Wilson Classic. As I have been telling all my friends, This album has those moments that we look for in Wilson music, and it has so many of them. Just this morning VHI classic showed the live video for Going Home, and it's so much fun. So glad to see Darian's Mini Moog playing that fit's so well with Scott's rockin piano part. I'm really loving the variations on the blues form that informs some of the songs, Going Home and California Role come to mind. It's what is done with these progressions, and the surprises that are a treat for our ears, but also for our hearts, because as Southern California segues into the re-occurring chant and then the great crescendo followed by the Roll Around Heaven reprise, I am filled with gratitude that in 2008 we are able to experience the healing sounds of this inspirational album. Oh by the way, I got the Best Buy version and if you haven't heard it yet, you are in for a major treat when you hear the 3rd bonus cut.

That Lucky Old Sun

2008-08-25T08:11:00.000-07:00

Here's my take on TLOS. I have been listening to the stream on and off for several days and I have noticed that everywhere I go when I'm on the way to work and back I have had these cool melodies popping in and out of my head. Such an end of summer treat for the ears and the heart. The arrangements and the musical colors are presented in full Technicolor. I am drawn into the keyboard textures in the narrative pieces. I love them all but especially Between Pictures and Venice Beach. While I am loving the first half, the segment starting with California Role is where it really comes together for me. The feel on the part where Brian's lead vocal comes in on is sublime. It's a 2 feel that you might have heard in songs of the 20's and 30's with a little swing but not too much. By the end fade with a little dixieland jam that has some excellent clarinet work by Paul Mertens, we have been on a musical tour of styles from Hollywood's golden era of song and dance. I also love the combined lead vocals of Scott Bennett and Brian Wilson on this. The sequence from Oxygen To The Brain through Midnights Another Day is mesmerizing.A big fan Too Much Sugar and all the other Brian health songs, this one has such a fun feel and the music like the rest of the album is so natural and organic sounding. This one is ripe with all the things I love about Brian Wilson music. reminding me a fully realized version of some of the Adult Child era material.I'm loving the horn and vocal arrangements and most of all Brian's relaxed lead vocal. This one has it all, The 2 feel makes another appearance and I'm intrigued when E major becomes E minor and then back to E major for another verse. This is a great musical device that is similar to the one used in Cry and in songs by Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, and George Gershwin. I don't know what I can add about Midnight's Another Day except that I love it and will be studying it for years.
That last Lucky Old Sun reprise is the one that really gets to me because of this brilliant chord sequence- Ab/Db Bb/Gb Ab/Db Bb/Gb Ab/Db Bb/Gb Eb-7 Bb-7 Bmaj7 Ab-7 Db/Gb Db Gb Gb/B
Now we get to hear Brian sing a blues number which is a real treat. Now most artists don't sing blues in the key of Gb but leave it to Brian and company to bring us home in the culmination of this trip to L.A. In addition to being in Gb, what set's this apart from other blues songs is the rich jazzy harmonic brilliance of the segment with the words (At 25) just try to follow the piano part that accompanies the breathtaking vocals.The track for this song is full of fun for us all. I love the references to the unreleased Proud Mary sessions ,the rockin piano, the quirky Love you-ish gliss that shows up a couple times,the measure of 7 before Brian sings Homesick,the harmonica,vocals,the kitchen sink, it's all here and it's all perfect. Southern California is a beautiful song and great way to end the record. I am particularly moved by simplicity of the production of this song and the final crescendo leading to the last chord, the vibes add such a nice touch as do the loving background vocals.