Composed and arranged by J S Kingfisher Produced by J S Kingfisher and Greg Townley Kingfisher: keyboards, lead vocals, synth bass, quartz bowls Martin Tillman: cello Tony B: guitars, balalaika, dulcimer, mandolin Gayle Levant: harp Olivier Clement: spoken word Bruno Coon: percussion, vocals, chant Roger Burn: vibes, chant Steve Tavaglione: EWI, clarinet Fritz Lewak: drums, percussion, chant David Sutton: bass, chant, percussion Steve Forman: percussion Geraldine Rotella: flute Chris French: 2nd flute Doug Livingston: pedal steel Chas Smith: pedal steel Pamela Neal: vocals Adam Jackson: chant, percussion Dani Lunn: chant, percussion Paula Mandros: chant, percussion Angel Sheppard: chant, percussion Vida Vierra: chant, percussion John Yoakum: oboe J S Kingfisher - Jeff - is a composer, recording artist, and author living in the Sierra Nevada mountains of Northern California. His first album, "floating upstream," was released in 1993, followed by "Vesica Piscis" in 1998. In 2002 he founded Philomuse, his own production company, and produced and released John Steiner's "Out of the Blue" under that label (also available on CD Baby.) Jeff has spent the last 4 years developing an oracular system – sort of a cross between the I Ching and the Tarot, with music – which will be available in stores and online on August 1, 2008. Jeff's next CD release, "Moon in the Mirror," will be out next spring. BIOGRAPHY J S Kingfisher - Jeff Siegel at the time - shot out of the womb like a cherry pit at 7:18 pm on July 23rd, 1958 in Sacramento, California (Leo Sun, Scorpio Moon, Capricorn rising.) Musically, he was influenced early on by the big band and country swing records of his parents, and by the records passed on to him by his older cousins: "Meet the Beatles" and "Rubber Soul," the Stones' "Aftermath," Cream's "Disraeli Gears," lots of Janis and Motown, and Gershwin's "Rhapsody in Blue." His high school years found him heavy into Bowie and glam with the shoes to prove it; in the meantime he discovered fusion, Joni, and THC. Jeff started playing piano and writing songs himself at age 12, and studied organ and classical theory throughout his teens. Kingfisher's first professional gig was as a pianist for the notorious Lee Garland Show, a raucous and bawdy review featuring Garland's female impersonations, comedy, and dancers. Throughout his early twenties he played in numerous rock bands, and in 1981 moved to LA. There he attended the Dick Grove School of Music for two years, studying piano, composition, and arranging, writing primarily for big bands. This led to a half-dozen years of active session work, often from his own recording studio, Electric Cat. Meanwhile he continued working on his own stuff, and in 1989 moved up to Northern Cal and began writing the material that would later become "floating upstream." Jeff worked throughout the nineties on several multimedia projects, composing for the theatrical productions "Both Hands," "Kelly's Dream in the Rain," and finally "Unity Gain," a well received Bay Area production based on "floating upstream" that included several musicians and movement artists floating behind a sixty-foot wide projection surface. Continuing in the multimedia vein, "Vesica Piscis" was accompanied by the interactive Vesica Piscis Labyrinth on the web (currently on the Philomuse site - please see the link on this page.) Kingfisher's music is heavily influenced by his other esoteric interests, which include dreamwork, mythology, eco-feminism, queer spirituality, and the Gurdjieff work. He lives in the Sierras with his longtime partner filmmaker Hugh Lawson and their dog Baba. -- Notes from "Vesica Piscis" "In the spring of 1993, I took my first trip to Glastonbury. I have always had an affinity for the English countryside, and a passion for British history. I had just finished Marion Zimmer Bradley's 'The Mists of Avalon,' and the idea of a different history, or herstory, that had always existed but never been told was fresh in my mind; I was excited to see the sacred isle at last. When I finally set foot there, though, nothing in particular happened. I found the place at once compelling and unsettling, and a good fit in an odd way. We stayed for a couple of days, and I vowed to return. As the next five years unfolded, the Vesica Piscis, an ever deepening symbol of the place between, became more and more of a touchstone: my anguish over human injustice and environmental destruction grew, and I delved into eco-feminist writings and pagan practices; I began a more serious study of mythology and folklore, especially of the British Isles; and I discovered an ancient, rich world of queer spirituality that sang to a part of me that had been kicked shut, intimidated into silence since I was a child. Friends died. I fell in love. My lucid dreams went off the map. And I wrote lots of music."