In the immortal words of the late Neil Innes, “Ladies and gentlemen, I’ve suffered for my music, and now it’s your turn.”

The album begins with an instrumental fragment, the kind of musical note taking I do when an idea floats into my head (in this case the little rhythm guitar riff) and I rush to capture it on an iPhone or laptop.  In the case of “My Spell,” a very young daughter Kari follows me, and of course, she doesn’t stop talking.  As I hastily record the idea, she provocatively asks “How is than an idea?”  But as I keep playing, she starts to add her own musical vocal riff, drawn under the spell of the musical idea.

I will confess that at this age, I write almost entirely for myself.  But Kari’s innocent transformation from curious listener to fellow performer and composer in a few seconds is really what every musical magician hopes to conjure.