I am listening/recommending...guitar music and more...D-Squared!

[Larry Pattis]

If you need vocals/lyrics then you can stop reading now. However, if you can get-off on terrific acoustic instrumental music, well then, by all means do read on...

I am listening to D-Squared's (Don Charles & Deb Gessner) brand-new all-instrumental album titled "The Garden Wall"...

Oh my goodness, this thing is a total work of magnificent beauty. Stupidly great and beautiful.

If you love instrumental music featuring acoustic guitar, folk/celtic harp (not celtic music, mind you), along with a host of other instruments (including percussion), well, this one is definitely for you.

I mean, it's quite eclectic - the list of instruments beyond the above includes; accordion, bass accordion, concertina, wee harp (a small harp!), tenor banjo, mandola, bass harmonica, mouthbow, bodhran, balzac, triangle, cymbal, dumbek, djembe, brushed box, tambourine, and other percussion...and despite the long list, the music and arrangements are typically sparse...that's the way Don & Deb roll...with beauty of and in-between the notes.

This is all-original stuff, except for for one rather dark sounding traditional hymn. The rest is pure D-Squared...and that is something that is hard to define for you here, because all they do is to create some of the most beautiful and unique melodies, rhythms, and accompaniment harmonies ever heard in "folk" music.

You can find D-Squared on the world wide interwebs right here.

You can preview the NEW album here.

You can find D-Squared on Facebook here.

You can find their music (songs w/lyrics and instrumentals) tucked away in the most precious places in my heart.

EDIT:

More on D-Squared:

The first studio recording - "matter of life & death" (1993) - was released under the names Don Charles and Deb Gessner and reflected their deep connection with the land.

They became known as D-Squared upon release of the second recording -"Big Sky Full O' Dumb Stars" (1997) - a personal cosmography with an expansive universal focus.

The third CD - "Accidentally Live"(2006) - captured a single performance honoring the Great American Desert and sponsored by the Smithsonian.

The most recent release, "The Garden Wall" (2014), is a collection of all-instrumental tunes featuring folk harp, guitar, banjo, mandola, percussion and a saucy array of free reeds (accordions, concertina, harmonica) wandering down the garden path.

Arizona harp and guitar duo, D-Squared, weaves a tonal fabric of poignant lyrics, earth-rooted melodies and stark, hypnotic rhythms. Combining guitar, mandola, banjo and a low, resonant voice with the folk harp, concertina, accordion and beguiling vocals, Charles and Gessner lead listeners through a landscape that is arid and lush, sacred and desecrated, arrogant and innocent.

Attending a show is akin to joining a gathering of friends around the kitchen table. Natural storytellers with a sly wit, D-Squared enchants audiences with tales of their beloved Southwest and the rocks, plants and animals that share it.

Honed on a backcountry ranch where they met, married and developed their music, D-Squared's spacious sound reflects a life lived beneath high western skies. Their music is a like a cool drink of water after a long walk through the desert. The songs are hymns to the canyons promising rain to the willows, cowboy pagan spirituals flung at the night sky like so many stars.

Charles' song "Row" was included on "Song and Stories From Grand Canyon", produced by Smithsonian Folkways. Many D-Squared compositions have been featured in films, PBS documentaries, theater, compilation CDs, and other commercial audio projects. D-Squared's song and video, "Little Iraq", charted on Neil Young's Living with War Today website.

Charles' debts to the many songwriters and bands that influenced him include Leonard Cohen, John Stewart, Bert Jansch, Trapezoid, Metamora, and the public domain. Gessner was influenced by Eric Satie, French dance music, Irish airs and traditional Jewish melodies.

D-Squared has toured North America playing concerts, coffeehouses, festivals, and private venues. They have shared the stage with Greg Brown, Robin and Linda Williams, Mary McCaslin, Bryan Bowers, Bill Morrissey, Peter Yarrow, John Denver, Chuck Pyle and Don Edwards.

They have performed for thousands of K-12 students through school assembly and artist residency programs and conducted classes on songwriting, arranging and performance.

[Larry Pattis]

You guys are missing something good...

No, I mean really good.

[billgennaro]

Just went through previewing the songs. Its an acoustic smorgasbord! I like all the different acoustic instruments and layers/textures they create.

[jeanray1113]

Great stuff! I'll be getting this! Thanks!

[Guitarfish]

Very nice. Both great players.

I found myself trying hard to see what he's playing. Sometimes looks like a maple Guild, sometimes like a D-40 in mahogany.

Good lyricist for sure.

Thanks for posting.

This is the kind of stuff I used to listen to "Hearts of Space" to hear. Sadly, HOS no longer airs in my area. D2 reminds me of Acoustic Eidolon, very enjoyable.

[Malcolm Kindnes]

Sounds lovely, thanks Larry, I will be ordering this.

[Larry Pattis]

Thanks for noticing, folks.

Don & Deb have penned some of my favorite songs, their album "Big Sky Full O' Dumb Stars" is simply my favorite album of all-time...

...and now "The Garden Wall" is an all-instrumental masterpiece/showcase as a delightful display of their diverse music talents.

A great "listen"...

[Tone Gopher]

Thank you for this, Larry. I hope we can get it soon enough to enjoy over the holiday break. Music is best gift that one can give, get or share.

"Big Sky..." is one of our family fav's too - although our Larry Pattis collection gets more play.

All the best to you and yours,

George and Family

Originally Posted by Larry Pattis

Thanks for noticing, folks.

Don & Deb have penned some of my favorite songs, their album "Big Sky Full O' Dumb Stars" is simply my favorite album of all-time...

...and now "The Garden Wall" is an all-instrumental masterpiece/showcase as a delightful display of their diverse music talents.

A great "listen"...

[Larry Pattis]

Originally Posted by Tone Gopher

Thank you for this, Larry. I hope we can get it soon enough to enjoy over the holiday break. Music is best gift that one can give, get or share.

"Big Sky..." is one of our family fav's too - although our Larry Pattis collection gets more play.

All the best to you and yours,

George and Family

We had a time, way back when...didn't we...?!?