• New Music from Simon Dunson - Chicken Bridge

    Simon Dunson - Chicken Bridge

    BOSTON — Jazz mandolinist Simon Dunson has announced the December 22 release of his project of all original compositions entitled Chicken Bridge. He holds the distinction of being the first mandolin player admitted into the Jazz Department at the New England Conservatory where he graduates this December.

    About the recording, Dunson told us: "It's all live takes of original music played in a quartet with bass, drums and electric guitar with me running through a Girouard with a humbucking pickup. The music draws inspiration from people like Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Grant Green, The MG's and all sorts of stuff.

    "Over the last few years I had been putting a lot of thought into what my 'dream band' would be and I settled on a quartet with upright bass, electric guitar and drums. This gave me a lot of inspiration and steered my writing in a productive direction as I wanted to try to really highlight the strengths of all of the instruments in the band. Eventually I met Charlie Garnett (who played guitar on the album) and things just instantly clicked. He was the guitarist I had been looking for. Soon after I met Kurt Stracener (Drums) through Charlie. Kurt is really a rare drummer to play with as he can play with such energy even at very low volumes. Matt Laird (Bass) was the final addition. Matt is such an amazing person to work with as he consistently makes such inspiring choices in his playing to keep the band sounding great! In a lot of ways it all happened so quickly. I just happened to have written lots of music through the pandemic. I stumbled across these guys that were so fun to play with and I am so thankful that they put so much time and effort into learning my music."

    Track Listing

    • Sydney
    • Always Always
    • Dollar Shrimp
    • Bumble Bee
    • Gym Class
    • 53
    • Lullaby

    Listen

    From the recording, the track "Dollar Shrimp."



    Additional Information

    Comments 10 Comments
    1. Don Stiernberg's Avatar
      Don Stiernberg -
      i dig it!
    1. Cheryl Watson's Avatar
      Cheryl Watson -
      Very cool! Simon, your playing is very precise and flowing, love the band, and that Girouard with the humbucker sounds perfect for jazz. I find this type of jazz very relaxing yet uplifting while it also works the brain cells.
    1. John Soper's Avatar
      John Soper -
      Nice - the humbucker sounds great!
    1. Jozef's Avatar
      Jozef -
      Excellent!
    1. Greg Schochet's Avatar
      Greg Schochet -
      really good, nicely rooted, strong bluesy playing!
    1. Mandolin Cafe's Avatar
      Mandolin Cafe -
      Now available on Spotify for those that subscribe.
    1. Charlie Bernstein's Avatar
      Charlie Bernstein -
      =O]
    1. KR Strings's Avatar
      KR Strings -
      Simon! Sounds great man congrats on a wonderful project!!

      -Kilin
    1. JEStanek's Avatar
      JEStanek -
      Smoooooth! Nice!

      Jamie
    1. bigskygirl's Avatar
      bigskygirl -
      Wonderful! I took a class with Simon thru the Louisville Folk School this year and he is a fabulous teacher. Congrats on the new album!