After playing organ for almost as long as my father is alive, the resident nonagenarian at church decided to hang up the Hammond M-3 and retire, leaving a musical void during the prelude and communion. As possibly the only musician willing to play up front, I was asked to provide those moments of reflection. Play some old hymns, how hard can it be? Well, it turns out that I have short-term memory issues when it comes to figuring out melodies and remembering how to translate them to guitar. How do I get around that? The obvious answer for a church setting is to play rubato, throw bebop lines between the melodic phrases, and wrap it up with a Joe Pass progression, just like the saints prefer. I haven't been asked to stop yet, mostly because I'm the only musician in the house. It pays to have a distinct niche. According to 1 Corinthians 12: 21, the eyes of the Body of Christ cannot tell the hands that they aren't needed, even if they hammer out ii-V-Is and altered 5ths willy-nilly.

The following tracks are just quick, one-take sketches of what was played in service after the fact, recorded for posterity of what I've played before and how I did it because I will forget within a week. More tracks should pop up sporadically as I work through a repertoire. If the mistakes bother you, keep in mind that it was probably worse in front of people when it was practiced less.