Songs and Symphoniques: The Music of Moondog
1. Theme
2. Be a Hobo (feat. Rufus Wainwright)
3. High on a Rocky Ledge (feat. Marissa Nadler)
4. Caribea
5. Why Spend a Dark Night With You? (feat. Joan as Police Woman)
6. Enough About Human Rights (feat. Karen Mantler)
7. I’m This, I’m That (feat. Jarvis Cocker)
8. Speak of Heaven
9. The Viking of 6th Avenue
10. Down is Up (feat. Petra Haden)
11. Coffee Beans (feat. Karen Mantler and Brian Carpenter)
12. Behold (feat. Sam Amidon and Aoife O’Donovan)
13. Choo Choo Lullaby (feat. Brian Carpenter)
14. Fog on the Hudson
15. See the Mighty Tree (feat. Petra Haden)
16. Bumbo
17. All is Loneliness (feat. Joan Wasser)
Songs and Symphoniques: The Music of Moondog is the fifth album from Ghost Train Orchestra, this time in collaboration with the trailblazing Kronos Quartet, now in their 5th decade. The album features brilliant new re-imaginings of the music of Louis Hardin aka Moondog, the blind composer who lived on the streets of Manhattan and became a fixture on 6th Avenue, dressed in striking Viking attire while selling his records and reciting poetry. His beautiful and haunting madrigals, songs, and symphoniques inspired the minimalists Philip Glass and Steve Reich, who called Moondog “the godfather of minimalism”. Featuring a diverse cast of special guests, Songs and Symphoniques showcases the work of five arrangers from Ghost Train Orchestra revisiting Moondog’s vital and uplifting music for a new generation.
GHOST TRAIN ORCHESTRA
Brian Carpenter - trumpet, arranger
Curtis Hasselbring - trombone, arranger
Ron Caswell - tuba
Andy Laster - alto saxophone, flute, arranger
Matt Bauder - tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, arranger
Colin Stetson - bass saxophone
Dennis Lichtman - clarinet
Sara Schoenbeck - bassoon
Brandon Seabrook - guitar
Chris Lightcap - double bass, bass guitar
Rob Garcia - drums, percussion
David Cossin - marimba, percussion
Maxim Moston - violin, arranger
KRONOS QUARTET:
David Harrington - violin
John Sherba - violin
Hank Dutt - viola
Sunny Yang - cello
Produced by Brian Carpenter
Engineered by Zach Miley, Aaron Nevezie, and Marc Urselli
Mixed by John Kilgore and Brian Montgomery
Mastered by Bob Ludwig
Lure Design - design and layout
Cantaloupe Music 2023