UKE AND HARP

This first entry features vocals by my professional singer-songwriter son Tom Freund. A maestro on guitar and bass (plus a little mandolin), Tom has lately taken to the smallest of stringed instruments, the ukulele, and that’s what he’s using here to accompany himself. And – pleasant surprise for this old guy – he asked me to play a little backup on the smallest of wind instruments, the harmonica, which I was delighted to do.

             Three of the first four songs that we did together were by Paul Simon: 

• “Slip Slidin’ Away”

• “The Only Living Boy in New York”, and

• “Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard”.

  The fourth song, written by Tom, is one of my favorites:

•  Old and In the Way.

  Then, so that you can hear Tom and his uke on one of his professional recordings, here’s his song, “Next Time Around” from his Two Moons album.

I’m closing this entry by playing solo harmonica on short excerpts from four songs:

•  “Early Morning Rain” by Gordon Lightfoot

• “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” by Bob Dylan

• “The Last Thing on My Mind” by Tom Paxton, and

• “Ramblin Boy,” also by Tom Paxton.

  Hope you enjoy this family medley.