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A
colourful collection of thought
provoking music featuring
classical and steel string guitar
along with mandolin, dulcimer,
harmonica, accordion, autoharp,
cittern, keyboards, electric
& acoustic bass and
percussion.
All songs - SOCAN Made in
Canada
EXECUTIVE
PRODUCER: Barry
Lubotta
PRODUCED BY:
Kirk Elliott and Michael Jack
ENGINEERED / MIXED
BY: Michael Jack @ Power
Plant (Barrie) & Phase One
Studios (Toronto)
ADDITIONAL
ENGINEERING: Kirk
Elliott
MASTERED BY:
George Seara @
www.phaseonestudios.com
(416)291-9553
PHOTOS BY: Donna
Griffith Photography
GRAPHIC DESIGN:
Jason Sansalone
THE PLAYERS:
Kirk Elliott: Classical, Steel string and electric
guitars, Mandolin, Mandola, Cittern, Accordion, Dulcimer,
Autoharp, Psaltery, Keyboards, Percussion
Garth Vogan: Electric bass, Double
bass (5)
Steve Heathcote: Drums, Congas, Percussion
Grant Slater: Hammond B3 (1,4 &
8)
Don Rooke: Dobro
Carlos del Junco: Harmonica
Pat Collins: Double bass (4,8 &
11)
Rick Gratton: Drums (4)
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Oskar
Graf for his fine guitars
(1,2,12), Bram Morrison for the
loan of his Contreras Spanish
guitar (11), Twelfth Fret for the
mandola, Barry and the lads at
Phase One, Michael Jack for
musical remedies, those who make
and repair musical instruments
(Tim, John, Rick & Steve at
Heinl's), also Philip Davis, Ray
Nurse, and my friends who smile
and look politely into the
distance when I
babble.
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1.
UP FROM THE GROUND
· All sorts of good things
coming up from the ground
&endash; things to eat, water
to drink, trees to make
instruments from. All those
endangered things.
2.
PAPAGAYO COWGIRL ·
We went to Costa Rica. "Let's go
horseback riding", said Donna -
"on the beach!" Being the
greenest of greenhorns, I was
given a sleepy old nag named
Dolce, which I believe means
'comatose' in Spanish. Donna's
horse was named, well, Camaro, or
Firebird, maybe. After plodding
through the backwoods, Dolce
lingering as if at an
all-you-can-eat salad bar, we hit
the beach, where Donna
metamorphosed into some kind of
Amazon and streaked across the
sands at about warp 9. Inspired
by such an equestrian display, I
spurred Dolce onwards to the
lobby bar for a margarita or
two.
3.
THE NEIGHBOR'S CAT
· Our neighbor's cat's name
is Max, but we call him Spike
because he is missing an upper
canine (feline?) tooth, giving
the lower one a decidedly upward
thrust. He often appears in the
late afternoon, commandeering the
wicker chair with the best shade.
We stroke his chin, rub back and
tummy, play
attack-the-evil-string, and
occasionally offer a small saucer
of milk. In return, he tolerates
our presence. Political alliances
have been based on
less.
4.
NOBODY KNOWS THE TROUBLE I'VE
BEEN · Nobody knows
but Jesus ... and my parents, I
guess. My teachers & Donna,
that's for sure. Internal
Revenue? Oh, yeah. Rogers Cable
& well, you get the
picture.
5.
HELL CREEK · Creek
Formation lies in the badlands of
eastern Montana. A treasure trove
of dinosaur fossils, it is where
Barnum Brown discovered the first
Tyrannosaurus rex. Other T. rex
skeletons, the world's largest
duck-billed dinosaur, and over 50
Triceratops remains are there,
the previous tenants of this land
from a time when the world's
largest mammals were the size of
field mice.
6.
LITTLE PINK SOCK ·
The comic strip MUTTS (Patrick
McDonnell, King Features
Syndicate), features Earl the dog
and Mooch the cat. Mooch is
hopelessly in love with a little
pink sock. "Somewhere there's a
cold tootsie", he declares, "but
I DON'T CARE!"
7.
DIFFERENT EVERY TIME
· Waking up. Food. Driving
somewhere. Playing music. Sitting
on the back step. Making
love.
8.
THE MAN FROM CEREAL
· My good friend
Michael James Baker was an
important figure in Toronto's
arts community, writing music for
dance, concerts, and film. During
a lengthy wait for a bus one day
in Burnaby, B.C., he told me
about growing up in Cereal,
Alberta, where once upon a time
he sold his horse to buy a
trumpet.
9.
FOOL'S PARADISE ·
At the turn of the millennium, I
phoned my Aunt Wilma and Uncle
Ken in Victoria, B.C. I asked
Wilma how things were going. "Not
so good," she said. "Since I had
my cataracts removed, I can see
my wrinkles." "Kirkie", said
Uncle Ken, "she was livin' in a
fool's paradise!" I know I live
there, too &endash; Aunt
Wilma has no wrinkles, I am a
world class tennis player, and
all of our elected officials are
doing a bang-up job.
10.
PILLOW TALK · Well,
this originally had a slightly
naughtier title, but the idea is
the same. Intimate moments -
inspired by Rock Hudson and Doris
Day, perhaps. I think I'll stop
right here.
11.
SEE YOU ON THE FLIP SIDE
· Some people believe that,
when you die, you are taken to a
room in heaven that contains
everything you have ever lost (in
my case, this would be a
warehouse). If I ever get there,
I hope there is a corresponding
cocktail lounge, full of laughter
and real music, where some
missing friends will be
waiting.
12.
ROMANZA · A little
tune I wrote a long time ago,
when my friend Geri went to
Mexico and loaned me her
guitar.
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Jazz USA
Your Beacon to Jazz on the Internet since 1996
Kirk Elliott "Up From The Ground" CD Review
Kirk Elliotts third CD "Up From The Ground" released
in 2005 by Marshmellow Records. This folk/jazz mix is a colourful
collection of thought provoking music featuring classical and
steel string guitar along with mandolin, dulcimer, harmonica,
accordion, autoharp, cittern, keyboards, electric and acoustic
bass and percussion. Kirk plays all instruments listed except
for bass, drums and harmonica.
Overall, "Up From The Ground" is an eclectic, warm,
listenable album.
Green Man Review
The third album is described as "a colourful collection of
thought provoking music featuring classical and steel string guitar
along with mandolin, dulcimer, harmonica, accordion, autoharp,
cittern, keyboards, electric and acoustic bass and percussion."
It sounds so dry described like that. Kirk Elliott's own liner
notes are much more entertaining, and his playing is superb. Oh,
by the way, he plays all the instruments in that list except for
harmonica (Carlos del Junco), bass (Garth Vogan and Pat Collins),
and drums (Steve Heathcote and Rick Gratton). He is also joined
by Grant Slater on Hammond B3 and Don Rooke on Dobro.
The music here is a bit less obscure and exotic than that on the
Rooke and Manx CDs, but it is every bit as interesting and well
played. Elliott provides notes on each track to give the listener
a way in. Up > From the Ground is both the album title and
the first song. "All good things come from the ground,"
Elliott says, "--things to eat, water to drink, trees to
make instruments from. All those endangered things." And
there's an earthy quality to the music. Elliott's rhythmic guitar
playing, the solid rhythm section, overlaid with del Junco's bluesy
harmonica, and a touch of Rooke's slide. Very tasty.
"Papagayo Cowgirl" describes a trip to Costa Rica. "'Let's
go horseback riding on the beach,' said Donna . . . I was given
a sleepy old nag named Dolce (which means comatose in Spanish.)
Donna's horse was Camarao or Firebird, maybe. After plodding through
the backwoods, Dolce lingering as if at an all-you-can-eat salad
bar, we hit the beach, where Donna metamorphosed into some kind
of Amazon and streaked across the sands at about warp 9. Inspired
by such an equestrian display, I spurred Dolce onwards to the
lobby for a margarita or two." The music tells the story.
Try to imagine it!
Kirk Elliott's album is more mainstream, not as abstract as Manx
or Rooke, and yet it feels very much a companion to the others.
Again, the recording is luscious. You cannot ask for better duplication
of sound than these three CDs provide. The guitars are in the
room with you. It's a bonus when the playing is as good as the
sound, and Harry Manx, Don Rooke and Kirk Elliott have no problems
with technique or feel.
A trio of thoughtful, melodic, inventive albums, each featuring
acoustic guitars on a journey of discovery and imagination.
[David Kidney]
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