Pam Swan

Pam Swan		In Memory of Paul Pena		find out about
Home Contact Pam Schedule Bio Traditional Music Concerts & Festivals Dances & Weddings Classes & Workshops Sound Samples & CDs Travel Writing Dance to Your Shadow Excerpts Scotland Arctic Canada Georgia Sea Islands Wildlife Programs Museum Programs School Programs Photography Classes Research Projects Wildlife Quiz Buy the CDs..... WILD WOOD Celtic fiddle, piano percussion & voice DANCE TO YOUR SHADOW Mouth music around the world IN HARMONY'S WAY Great chorus songs		Eshten charlyyry berge....... It's hard to lose a friend. Dear Friends, With great sadness we note the passing of a wonderful musician, composer, Tuvan throatsinger and force of nature, Paul Pena. He died at his home in San Francisco on October 1, 2005 after a long illness. I have many warm memories of Paul as a teacher, mentor and friend. I share a hope with many who loved Paul, that his music and the effect he had on people's lives will live on for a long, long time. Born with congenital glaucoma, Paul went to Perkins School for the Blind from the time he was five years old. In 1967 he graduated and went on to Clark University. In 1969 Paul played in the Newport Folk Festival in the Contemporary Composers Workshop with such people as James Taylor, Joni Mitchell and Kris Kristofferson. Over the years Paul performed and recorded with Bonnie Raitt, B.B. King and T-Bone Walker, opened for Frank Zappa and The Grateful Dead, and wrote the 1977 hit "Jet Airliner" made famous by the Steve Miller Band. His family, immigrants from Cape Verde, Africa, raised him with a love of powerful music. Paul never lost touch with those roots, becoming a master of traditional morna, the beautiful Cape Verde Blues style he loved so much. Paul was a great blues and flamenco guitarist, soulful singer and talented composer. He was constantly curious, and eager to share whatever he discovered. When he discovered Tuvan throatsinging in the mid-80's, his life took a new direction. In 1995 he traveled to Kyzyl, Tuva where he placed first in the kargyraa competition and won the audience favorite award. Paul was the first westerner ever to compete in Tuva. The ground-shaking depth of his voice inspired Tuvan fans to give him the nickname "Cher Shimjer" -- Earthquake. The movie Genghis Blues documented his trip and won the 1999 Sundance film festival audience award for a documentary. It was nominated for an academy award in 2000. The CD Genghis Blues features Paul with his friend, Tuvan throatsinging master Kongar-ol Ondar. Paul's own album New Train was released in 2000. Paul was my Tuvan throatsinging teacher, and a friend who kept me motivated to travel and seek out tradition bearers from cultures around the world as I researched my current CD of cross-cultural mouth music, Dance To Your Shadow. I am honored that Paul wanted to sing a track with me on that project. You can hear a sound sample by clicking on the "Dyngyldai" link below. I sent the finished album to him just a few weeks before he died, and he called me several times to say how much he liked it. I'm very grateful that he got to hear it, and very proud to have been his partner in this labor of love. Paul will be greatly missed and warmly remembered by all those whose lives he touched. I wish him peace. Pam Swan October 2005 *Sound Clips of Conversations with Paul* Magic Moments (14 sec.) Paul's comments on a great afternoon of improvising harmonies together... *Don't Set Your Drink Down* (1 min. 2 sec.) Paul and Pam talking about kargyraa and Paul demonstrates.... *Let's Try It In Sygyt* (21 sec) Paul experiments with the same melody, producing the sound in Sygyt throatsinging style... *How About Khoomei?* *(34 sec)* Just for fun he wanted to do it again using the Khoomei technique... *There's a Place in Pasadena* (1 min 42 sec) Paul (blind since childhood) talks about getting dizzy from sound... Relative Minor Harmonics (1 min 45 sec) A throatsinging tip from Paul during a lesson... *Recording with Neumann Microphones (26 sec)* We almost knocked over a very expensive microphone during a recording session... *Good Days and Bad* (21 sec) Days without pain were rare for Paul, and he always wanted to get together and sing... *Before I Die* (3 sec) I hope Paul got his wish.... Dyngyldai (45 sec) Paul helped arrange this soundscape using field recordings from the steppes of Tuva. It features a traditional Tuvan riding song interwoven with his brilliant khoomei, sygyt and kargyraa. This is a sample from the album Dance To Your Shadow: Mouth Music Around the World. *Links to More Information About Paul* www.paulpena.com Paul's official website, maintained by a student and faithful friend. *www.genghisblues.com* Website to order the movie or CD featuring Paul's trip to Tuva. *www.fotuva.org* Friends of Tuva website-- also friends of Paul's *www.clarionmusic.com* Host of the memorial concert for Paul on October 23, 2005 in San Francisco		Mouth Music Rhythmic traditional a cappella from around the world Book a Presentation And demonstration of mouth music for your group or event Travel Writing Music as a passport to explore cultures around the world