“Winds of Bodhgaya delights and surprises the listener by weaving a musical tapestry of simplicity, power and acoustic integrity”
– Atlantic News

“Eloquent and broad-shouldered music that is from the heart.”
 - Jon Dalton, jazz guitarist, John-Paul Gard Trio, UK

“Very pure phrasing and tasty playing !” – Yannick Robert, jazz guitarist, Paris, France

“Very lyrical and so much feeling” - Seiko Akita, jazz pianist, composer, New York City.

Here's a roadmap, by track...

1. SAMURAI CHITLINS - A short but raucus, East
meets West confrontation, this opener is edgy and a
bit bombastic. But stay with it... peace soon breaks out.

2. WINDS OF BODHGAYA - Over 2500 years ago,
while western civilization was still in its infancy, a disillusioned prince in Northern India was trying to
solve the riddle of human existence and suffering.
While meditating under a tree in what is now the city
of Bodhgaya, he experienced a clarity of vision which opens the door to liberation from the cycle of life, death and suffering. As if blown by the winds, that philosophy has spread to the far reaches of the planet and is increasingly relevant and meaningful today, as a force for peace.

Winds of Bodhgaya

1. SAMURAI CHITLINS
2. WINDS of BODHGAYA
3. HOBO NEWS BLUES
4. SEPTEMBER AND SMOKE
5. SAMBA DO, SAMBA DON'T
6. WE NEVER EVEN SAID GOODBYE
7. DON'T LOOK BACH
8. COMES THE DAWN
9. SAMSARA
10. THE NEARNESS OF YOU

Bill Barnes - guitar
Bob Falk - drums
Michael Dufresne - bass

Producer: Julie Powers
Engineer: Alan Johnson; Static Shack Studio,
Indianapolis, IN

Photography: Marisa Barnes
Cover Art: Cassandra Barnes
Graphic Design: Julie Powers

3. HOBO NEWS BLUES - During the Great Depression, the Hobo News was a periodical written and published by transients. Within its pages one
would find essays and poetry, soup kitchen
information and other useful tips for rail riders and
the dispossessed. This is my Homage to the spiritual triumph of that creative endeavor.

I think it would be great if everyone could be homeless
for a few days at some point in life, to possibly gain a
bit of understanding, humility and compassion for those less fortunate. Here's to the potential hobo in all of us.

4. SEPTEMBER AND SMOKE -  We may never know
the whole truth about the events of September 11,
2001 but one thing is clear- the people of the city of New York stood tall and defiant and, for a brief time,
the rest of the world stood with us.  I remember the pangs of overwhelming sadness and anger, while seeing the images of lower Manhattan with columns
of smoke rising from the footprints of the Twin Towers for days after the attack.  A few weeks after the event,
I wrote this tone poem as a tribute to the indomitable spirit of America's greatest city. 
  
I lived in New York for 13 years, my children were
born there. When I feel homesick that's where I want
to be.  A part of me will always be a New Yorker.

5. SAMBA DO, SAMBA DON'T- An upbeat Latin
romp, for a bit of comic relief.

6. WE NEVER EVEN SAID GOODBYE - Everyone has regrets about something. This is a ballad about losing someone, before you had a chance to... well, you get
the idea.

7. DON'T LOOK BACH - My shameless rip-off of a
Bach harpsichord concerto, bent to the jazz idiom.
Yes, I know, it's been done before. One might suggest
that, while some musical works are timeless, others
should perhaps get a time-out. I don't care. This was
fun.

8. COMES THE DAWN - This came to me in a late night dream. When I woke up, I wrote it down, just as the sun was rising. I'm not sure of the significance.

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No jazz musicians were harmed in the making of this site.

9. SAMSARA - Joni called it the Circle Game, that
infinite cycle of birth, desire, pleasure, pain and death we call existence. Buddha called it Samsara, the understanding of which became one of his four noble truths, the foundation of his philosophy.

10. THE NEARNESS OF YOU - In 1937 Hoagy Carmichael wrote a ballad of timeless beauty, per- formed by many jazz artists over the past decades.
Here we play it, not as a traditional ballad, but as a slightly edgy latin piece, suggesting perhaps an unrequited longing. I chose to end the album with
this classic in order to bring the musical journey home
to a world in which all people are now closer than ever.

Noted biologist and philosopher Elisabet Sahtouris has redefined the Darwinian mode and says that the time
has come for the human race to share this planet not
as fierce competitors, but as cooperative neighbors.

We should learn to respect and appreciate the
nearness of everyone.

Bill Barnes
August, 2006

© 2006-2007 Bill Barnes Trio. All rights reserved
Artwork by Cassandra Barnes; Graphic & Web Design by
Joie de Vivre Industries