"Yonder Shore" is a collection of 8 original songs and 4 traditional tunes. Jim's interest in world music and literature is supported by some good musical friends who contribute on a variety of instruments that include; Hawaiian slack key guitar, Turkish cumbus, zils, Hammond B3 organ, piano, wooden spoons, acoustic bass and percussion.
"Come Along," one of 7 new vocals opens the album with a melody created after Jim was playing the Appalachian dulcimer and harmonica for a patient in the ICU at the University California San Francisco Cancer Center where Jim has worked for 20 years performing original and traditional music for patients who are recovering from surgery, receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatments and for staff and visitors. You can read more accounts of Jim's experiences with music and healthcare in the "stories" section.
"The Heart and the Feather," a new vocal, featuring the Turkish Cumbus and Middle Eastern zils is inspired by a story in Egyptian mythology; when a person dies their heart is weighed on a balance scale with a feather. The outcome is recorded by the sacred bird Ibis, a reincarnation of Thoth and precursor of Hermes. Other new vocals include the title track, "Yonder Shore," exploring a search for Paradise; and "Dusk & Dawn," a tune about... Heliotropism? Actually Helios, the Greek sun god had a chariot which was pulled by 4 horses: Pyrois, Eos, Aethon and Phlegon. In this version, Dusk & Dawn offer us encouragement when we may not feel like turning toward the light... " Lovely Little Marley," the true story of a yellow canary features the Hammond B3 organ and a drum and percussion rhythm section with an accordion solo inspired by Marley's antics.
"La Reine De La Salle," "The Queen of the Dance Hall," is a traditional Acadian tune from the 17th century, before the Acadians arrived in Louisiana from Nova Scotia. Jim adapted this song for solo accordion from Les Blank's documentary of Cajun and Zydeco music, "J'ai Ete Au Bal," "I Went to the Dance." Wooden spoons and acoustic bass accompany the accordion, an instrument on which Jim has performed for 30 years playing a repertoire of tunes from around the world at festivals and fairs up and down the west coast.
"The Lakes of Pontchartrain" features the Hawaiian slack key guitar and B3 organ. It is a traditional song set in Louisiana near New Orleans. Its origins are pretty vague but seem to depict the plight of a confederate soldier who is broke and stranded at the end of the Civil War until he is taken in by a creole girl.
Three songs feature Jim on piano. "L'Amour du Moi" is a traditional French Canadian song from the 16th Century. It has been recorded by Paul Robeson and later as a jazz instrumental by Hank Jones and Charlie Haden. "La Ruisenor, The Nightingale," is an original composition in the style of a Flamenco song and the third, "Mother of Beauty,' is a new vocal with piano accompaniment inspired by Wallace Stevens' poem "Sunday Morning." "Yonder Shore" concludes with an accapella version of Steven Foster's "Oh! Susanna."