Old and New began as a means of gathering some of the loose ends of my musical history, going back to tunes like "Sugar Blues" that were part and parcel of my childhood and leaping forward randomly through time all the way to "Ishmael's Song", which was written about a month before I recorded the album. My collaboration with Joe Allen, fingerstyle guitar man extraordinaire, inspired me to include "Young At Heart" and "Fly Me To The Moon". Several of the songs were written during my marriage and musical adventures with Donna Darling, who, even from a very great and sorrowful distance, continues to be a guiding light in my life journey.