Nine Minutes

Nine Minutes is a spontaneous composition, featuring Matt Thomas on tabla drums and bell. It was recorded at Shattered Wings Studio, Ottawa Ontario. I arrived at the session with the acoustic guitar part in mind, but nothing else. Out of thin air, Norm conjured up the pick scrapes, wavering saws, and Indian solos.

This is one of my favourite B&Z pieces. On it, I'm playing my great old Yamaha acoustic guitar. This guitar was stolen once from my house. During the robbery, the thieves were interrupted and chased away by the police. I asked the policeman if the guy had been running with a guitar (you can't hide it) and he said "No". So I checked around out back and sure enough, there it was, in the bushes. It was raining hard all day and the guitar was soaked. I left it to dry for a week, didn't touch it or play it. Somehow it survived and still sounds wonderful.

Norm's playing his burst strat through a Fender twin. The twin is a cool amp with a very distinctive sound. I love the fact that Norm doesn't solo in the conventional sense until two or three minutes into the piece. It's a masterful performance.

"Nine Minutes"
 
Nine Minutes (9:03 seconds, 8495K)