SONGS FOR WEARY SPIRITS...Liner Notes

I'm feeling very pleased in many ways about the release of my latest album, "Songs for Weary Spirits".

For one, the gestation period from conception to release has been perhaps the longest of my career, and I'm glad to have finally made it to the birthing stage. The music itself was recorded from Winter through the Summer of 2024, the finished masters were ready to go by the Fall, and the plan was to schedule the release during the Holiday season. Then the 2024 US presidential election took center stage...

What happened at that point for me was a matter of reassessing my priorities. For the first time in far too long, I sensed a spark of hope for my country and the world, and I felt deeply motivated to help that spark catch fire. I made the decision to put the album that was nearly ready to go on the back burner, in order to address with my art the crucial event that was at the forefront of everyone's minds. For this I desperately needed to use words and my voice, and I did so with a single that virtually wrote and recorded itself..."People of Love" was written, recorded and released in record time, just before the 2024 election. My feeling of hope was strong, and that single mirrored my heart and soul. Alas, when the shocking reality of the election results sank in, I became as numb and frozen as the Winter that followed. In February of 2025 I released another vocal single to match the melancholy..."Slower than Flowers". The heart was still heavy, but despite all the soul was undiminished...

By the time Spring rolled around, I was feeling renewed, and ready to pick up the fight for sanity and reason. Again, I still needed to use the power of words and my voice to say what music alone could not. "Now is the Hour", a three song EP of inspirational vocal recordings dating from 1982 to 2025, was released this past May. The lyrics to all three of these songs, written decades apart from each other, come from a deep and enduring part of me. The words still ring true, and they stand as the best expression I can currently offer you using the English language.

Now, I can finally say, is the right time to share "Songs for Weary Spirits", and in many ways this collection could not have felt completely ready to share before now. While the individual tracks were done a year ago, the playing order was not yet established, and the collection lacked a title. In fact, many of the pieces themselves had only working titles. It wasn't until this past October that the concept became clear to me...these were indeed Songs for Weary Spirits. Now the choice of song titles, playing order, artwork, and album title all made sense. As someone who rarely creates music with an intentional connecting theme, I am beyond pleased with the cohesive qualities of this release.

"Songs for Weary Spirits" is a spiritual journey of World Jazz, taking the listener through joy and sorrow, mystery and marvel, tension and release, despair and hope. The world as we know it today is in a state of flux, and many are feeling many things as we attempt to navigate the future. It is my hope that this music might help provide a steady compass...

Roger E., December 2025