It's finally time to reveal the identity of my mystery collaborator.  It's been far too long!

In December of 2006, I received a message on my cell phone that sounded like this:

"Hey Bruce, this is Jon Anderson.  I really enjoyed your work.....   very,very good stuff.  Very beautifully arranged and , well, organized, that's all I can say.  And the idea is, I'll send you a couple of pieces and you can work on them, evolve them, develop them whichever way you want, and we'll see where it goes.. "  (yes, I saved the message)

My heart skipped at least a few beats, and then went into overdrive.  I wouldn't have believed it, but I recognized the voice.  There was no denying it.  It was the voice I'd been hearing since I was teenager.   Jon Anderson's music with Yes made such a profound impact on my life and my music.  Songs like "And You And I,"  "Wondrous Stories,"  "Awaken," ""Starship Trooper," "Gates of Delirium," and on and on, have informed my musical appetites and ideas for as long as I can remember.  And here was Jon himself, telling me he liked MY music!  Even just knowing that he'd HEARD my music was a thrill.  And he wanted to work with me.

I had sent in a musical sample from a call for orchestrators I'd found on a website.  I composed a less-than-one-minute piece specifically for the purpose (see "Wishes Fulfilled,"  to hear the actual piece).  I had a such good feeling about it, but I never really expected to hear from Jon.

My phone conversations with Jon were like a whirlwind.  He is so full of ideas!  He told me that he had hundreds of unfinished musical ideas that he wanted a collaborator to help fully realize.   Sure enough, the music came, two CDs full.  And later on, MP3s in emails.   The music was meandering and nebulous like a cloud forming, but there were lovely melodies and intriguing chords lurking in there.  Much of it was played on layered-up keyboards..   I had to listen and listen and listen to pick out the individual notes and melodies.  Music that Jon sent me later included harp and even vocals.  I felt like a was getting access to some long-lost bootleg recording.  Awesome.

Jon has a kind and generous spirit.  As I worked on the pieces and emailed him the results, I was consistently amazed at the quick response through email and phone calls.   Jon was always excited about the music, always complimentary of my work.   The only piece he asked for changes on was the very first one I did.   I think his suggestions gave me a good idea of the kinds of development he was looking for.  After that, everything else he loved right away. 

There are a total of seven pieces that I completed for Jon.   The final versions include quite a lot of my ideas.  Truly, I had complete musical freedom to arrange, orchestrate, develop, et cetera.    I gave them voice, structure, and harmonic development.  But their heart and soul is still Jon's.  As you hear them, I think you'll be hearing both of our identities loud and clear. 

The majority of the pieces I created using Cakewalk Sonar and Synful Orchestra.  A couple of the pieces contain live or electronic percussion.  Oh, and one guitar concerto, on which I played acoustic guitar.   Some of the pieces involved more hours of work than I can count. 

Over the years that we've communicated, Jon has told me about many ideas he had for this music: films, videogames, webcasts, even a  ballet!  Jon's a man of many ever--changing ideas.   So far I'm not sure what the future of this music is, but with Jon's energy, I look forward to amazing things.

Since it's been a long time in the making, so exciting, and so much effort, I've been eager to share this music with the world.   I recently contacted Jon and got the okay to put a piece or two up on the Internet.  Thanks, Jon!  The first two I'm putting up are called "Far Reaching" and "Elizabethan Garden" - I didn't actually know the names of most of these pieces while I was working on them, but Jon tells me these are the titles!   The arrangements may sound a bit like an orchestra, but it's really a small ensemble - strings, horns, oboe, and percussion.  These were the first and fourth pieces that I orchestrated for Jon.  They were completed during 2007.  Please go and listen on www.myspace.com/bruceandjon and come back here and make comments. 

Oh, and if you're visiting my site for the first time, I hope you'll consider listening to some of the other music here, much of which is free.  My band with my wife, Ascent, is the process of recording our new CD, which I think Yes fans might like.   Check it out!

As Jon might say,  zoooooooom......