Renaissance
for Sale

The 1996 Telecommunications Act killed the radio business. An act to deregulate telecommunications allowed the consolidation of station owners. A few large corporations could now take over an entire industry. Duplication of functions was eliminated. One disc jockey in Atlanta displaced thousands of disc jockeys throughout the country. One disc jockey controlled what music was played on multiple stations in multiple states. Local stations lost their autonomy and venues for local musicians’ songs shrank or disappeared.

Couple this with Napster and later Spotify, and musicians were/are left with few or no venues to sell their recordings. Performance being the only option, and a poor one at that. There’s still a lot of good music being produced — it just doesn’t get any air time. This will change over time as workarounds are discovered and exploited. But until then, the music industry is dead.

No doubt another renaissance will occur, but the musical renaissance that occurred in America from the 1920s through the early 2000s is over. And so, Renaissance for Sale.

The CD tries to capture some of the genres that represented the most popular and, at times, best music in history.

---

Eohippus starts off the set with a fusion-blues that taps the horns and funk of groups like Steely Dan, Chicago, and Blood Sweat & Tears. During the session Carl put on a master class on how to write horn arrangements… sweet!

Cowgirl Trilogy gives a trio of country, country blues and story-telling of those 40’s, 50’s and 60’s country ballads. Kudos to Clayton’s vocal on Lona Lee and to Cory’s steel guitar on Goin’ Back to Texas. Amazing local talent right here in New London. Plus, the Grade Arts Center, Eastern CT ST Symphony, the U.S. Coast Guard Band and yes, local talent. Amazing!

Papa Joe Fritch takes one back to New Orleans and the early jazz scene. The always on the edge of the groove dirge meter, horns, percussion and “old timey” vocals add the ambiance. The horns were recorded Ensemble and authenticate the genre. Hats off to the Pwop Horns for their arrangement and creating the vibe.

Estelle is a fine melody reminiscent of Jobim and the Latin influence of the swing, bop and popular music eras. Geoff Kaufman, former band mate of Pete Seeger and former director of music at the Mystic Seaport seals the deal with his concertina.

Walking on Water follows with a 40’s ballad. Carl’s vocal nails the genre here. The song then segues into a Latin anthem full of congas, bongos, and syncopated rhythms by Che Cartafalsa. Zinthia’s narration and Nichelle’s fine back-up vocal provide all the atmosphere that’s needed.

Under Joshua Trees hints at the Laurel Canyon sound and its inchoate country rock sound ala the Eagles, Gram Parsons and Jackson Brown.

Boomers is a Tom Waits, Randy Newman and maybe a little Dylan-esque song arrangement. Definitely no quantizing here.

Belfast is a protest song right out of the 60’s. The choir of Carl, Lisa and Nichelle hit it out of the park.

60’s Redux finds Carl doing a little Jimi. John actually did have a 1940 Chevrolet that he drove around town as a teenager. Susy Q refers to the CCR song and, yes, to a girl! The coda is an homage to Lennon.

Renaissance Lost — Sorry, one of us must be a Libertarian. Nobody’s perfect. The song echoes mid-sixties Dylan, Barry McGuire’s rendition of Eve of Destruction and later on Lou Reed’s Walk on the Wild Side. Also, going back a little further, anything by Roger Miller.

In 1949, four years before I was born, my father bought a used 1940 Chevrolet Master Deluxe 2 door sedan. In 1958 he bought a brand-new Chevrolet Belair 4 door sedan with a rare 348 cubic inch V8 engine with a 4-barrel carburetor. To help finance the purchase he sold the ’40 Chev.

In 1960, because he wanted a more economical car to drive to work, he repurchased the ’40 Chev. He was disappointed in the poor condition he found the car in just two years after he’d sold it, but bought it anyway, better the devil you know than don’t. He had the cylinders re-bored, replaced the pistons and rings, and repainted the car a light green with a white top. We named the car the Green Hornet.

When I got my license in 1969, I drove the Belair for a while. My father thought better of this and assigned me the ’40 Chev. The Belair could get up to 120 mph. The ’40 Chev could get up to a max of 70 mph. I know this because I did get the Belair up to 120 mph.

In the 20th century, having a car was a rite of passage for any teenager. Along with this came the responsibility to learn how to change spark plugs, re-gap them, set the points on the distributor, replace the rotor, change the oil, change a flat tire, check the oil, the water, the gauges, etc. If you didn’t learn this stuff and you got stuck — well, with no cell phones you were on foot and hitchhiking to the nearest place that had a phone. It happened, but you did all you could to avoid it. That meant learning how an internal combustion engine worked and how to fix it, or at least how to get it to a garage where it could get fixed.

The ’40 Chev had a 3-speed manual transmission. The shifter was on the steering column and the gears shifted in the shape of an H. Reverse upper left, first gear lower left, second gear upper right and third gear lower right. Neutral was in the middle of the H.

The gears were not synchro-meshed. If you missed a gear, you ran the risk of stripping the teeth on the gears and damaging the transmission. When shifting between first and second there was a jog in the middle of the shift as you passed the middle of the H to get to the upper right position where second gear was. In order to not miss the shift and not damage the transmission, often in the middle of the shift the driver would pause the shift, disengage and reengage the clutch pedal to facilitate a smoother shift. This maneuver is called “double clutching.” After hitting second gear it was fun to floor the gas pedal and rev up the RPMs, then drop — or rather slam — the shifter down into 3rd gear.

We sold the car in 2015. We had held onto it until my father passed that same year. He had done a ground-up restoration in the 1990s. By 2015 the car needed another paint job. I’m sure it’s still on the road today, putting smiles on the faces of those who see it.

Lona Lee (née Davis) was born in 1898 in Eden, Texas. She was married to Asa Lee in 1917. They were my maternal grandparents. They had three children, two boys and a girl. My mother, the youngest of the three, was born on her mother’s birthday, Dec. 21, 1923. She was named Lona after her mother. Unfortunately, my grandmother contracted tuberculosis about a year and a half later. She succumbed to the consumption, as it was called back then, on May 25, 1927. At just 28 years old she left a family heartbroken. Her husband, Asa, was so grief stricken he sold the ranch, left the children with relatives, and took off to find a reason to live. He found religion along the way and in 1929 married Pearl Seay (Cee) in Rabun, Georgia. That same year he finally returned to Texas to bring his children with him to join his new wife and new life as a Preacher in Georgia.

Asa was a tall man. He had a gentle disposition but his temperament, governed by 19th century discipline, was austere. After my grandmother had passed he lost all interest in the world. He devoted his life to his faith and took a vow of poverty — not a very good thing for his children. During the week he was a sharecropper and, on the weekends, he was the Preacher.

The drastic change in lifestyle from ranch kids to the Preacher’s kids was difficult for my mother and her two older brothers. When World War Two broke out the children left Georgia to help Uncle Sam. My mother was “Rosie the Riveter.” She had moved to Connecticut and gotten a job as a welder, helping in the war effort building submarines. For my mother home was always Texas, but as long as my Grandfather Lee was alive, she’d make the pilgrimage to Georgia.

When John Jensen first approached me about helping him realize his musical visions, I was still in the old studio on State Street in New London. He had written a plethora of songs, many about people in his family. He played piano but wanted musicians to play the other instruments and parts he was hearing in his head. He had no dreams of grandeur of becoming a rock star being a senior citizen enjoying a long career in commercial real estate. He just wanted to record them so he himself could hear them brought to fruition. If other people took a shine to his music, well that was a bonus.

Our collaborations ranged from me telling him “this is a solo piano song with you singing” to orchestrating horns and strings, singing on tunes that fit my style, playing drum, guitar, and bass parts where I could, and getting the best of local talent to fill in the gaps.

Producers rarely get the opportunity to work with such artists. When they come along you can’t just impose your ideas on them. It takes listening, talking, and talking some more. It takes trying grooves to see how they fit, and not being afraid to take another path when you reach a dead end. It was a truly wonderful collaboration, and I’ll never forget it.

— Carl Franklin

Songwriter & Executive Producer John Jensen talks about Renaissance for Sale — the songs, the stories behind them, and how this album came to be.

Amie Coffey

Amie Coffey is a singer from Alabama who transplanted to Westerly, RI and really made a name for herself with bands such Wheelhouse, Sunday Gravy, Hope Road, and the Franklin Brothers Band.

---

Ben Parent

Ben, along with his wife Nancy, front a local band called The Rivergods. Americana all the way. I actually met Ben when we were both boy sopranos in the Community Chorus of Westerly. We reconnected when he moved to New London and I had just opened my studio there. His talents as a singer, guitarist, and songwriter, are top notch.

---

Cedric Mayfield

Chief Musician Cedric Mayfield joined the United States Coast Guard Band in 2010 and serves as one of its distinguished clarinetists. A native of Houston, Texas, he holds degrees from Southern Methodist University and the University of Memphis. Prior to joining the Coast Guard Band, Cedric performed with the U.S. Air Force Band in Europe and the U.S. Air Force Band of the West, touring extensively as a soloist, ensemble member, and band leader. An accomplished performer, composer, arranger, and educator, he has appeared with artists including Wynton Marsalis, Chick Corea, Kirk Whalum, and B.B. King. Equally at home in classical, jazz, and popular music, Cedric remains active in performance, composition, and community service.

---

Che' Cartafalsa

While living in Africa Che' learned from the percussion masters and, using his authentic instruments, he passes this knowledge on to his audiences, helping everyone learn the traditional rhythms and sounds from Mali, Guinea and Nigeria. Besides a long stint with the Franklin Brothers Band, Che' famously jammed with the Grateful Dead at Woodstock.

---

Clayton Allen

Clayton Allen is a full-time singer/songwriter/guitarist from Eastern CT. His distinctive style adapts to many genres, including Blues, Country and Rock n Roll. He has a large repertoire of well-known and lesser-known classics as well as eclectic originals, and has released 2 albums.

---

Cory Dolinsky

Coming soon

---

Dave Cafro

Dave Cafro has been playing trumpet since age 7 and has been in such notable New England bands as Motown Review, Shaboo All-Stars, Greg Piccolo & Heavy Juice, Little Anthony Geraci and the Locomotives, Bobby Christina's Caravan, and as a guest artist with the Savage Brothers, Eight to the Bar, Ward Hayden & The Outliers, Jack Grace Band, The Hoolios, Glaucoma Suspect, the Coast Guard Cadets, String of Pearls, and more. Currently he is performing with Franklin Brothers Band, and his own band, the MetroMatics!

---

Gary Boigon

Gary Boigon is a multi-woodwind player who has performed with: Brecker Brothers, Martha Reeves, Solomon Burke, Gladys Knight, Screamin J Hawkins, Holly Cole, Sugar Ray Norcia, Gatemouth, Paul Horn, Liberty Silver, The Drifters, Gene Pitney, Pittsburgh Symphony Chamber Group. His is a current member of The Franklin Brothers Band, The Keepers, Jazz Alloy Q4, Marion Markham Cabaret, Perry Street Band, Mystic Horns, GLP Spa Band, Smokers, Wynd Jazz, and Kelly Mason Band.

---

Gary Buttery

Gary Buttery is an accomplished tubist, composer, educator, and conductor whose distinguished career includes serving as principal tubist with the United States Coast Guard Band. Holding bachelor's and master's degrees in music from the University of Kansas and University of Northern Colorado, he has performed worldwide at renowned venues including Carnegie Hall and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. A published composer and sought-after soloist, Gary continues to perform with ensembles including Alchemy, Finest Kind, Bez Granica, and the Boston Festival Orchestra, while presenting recitals, master classes, and annual TubaChristmas concerts throughout New England and abroad.

---

Geoff Kaufman

Over a performing career of more than fifty years, Geoff Kaufman has been leading audiences to find truth, humor, and beauty in folk music. Whether singing sailor songs with his group, Forebitter; or environmental songs on board the Sloop Clearwater in the Hudson River; or in solo performances at coffeehouses throughout the Northeast United States and festivals in Europe, Geoff has entertained and touched audiences near and far.

---

Josi Davis

Josi Davis is an award-winning singer-songwriter, vocalist, and multi-instrumentalist whose powerful performances blend elements of jazz, blues, rock, cabaret, and theatrical storytelling. Originally from the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area, she has earned acclaim for her distinctive voice, deeply personal songwriting, and captivating stage presence. Her acclaimed releases include The Evolution of Love, Love/Rain, and the 2023 collaboration with the Salt Pond Poets, which was named the #1 release of the year by Gramma's Attic Radio. Known for transforming life's joys, heartbreaks, and adventures into unforgettable musical experiences, Josi continues to enchant audiences with her authenticity, artistry, and emotional depth.

---

Julie Berman

Coming soon

---

Lisa Marien

Lisa Marien is a jazz vocalist and educator whose debut album, Just For Once, features collaborations with renowned jazz artists including Grammy-nominated pianist John di Martino. Known for her warm, expressive voice and sophisticated interpretations of classic and contemporary songs, Lisa draws inspiration from vocal legends such as Sarah Vaughan and Anita Baker. Throughout her career, she has performed with a variety of jazz, pop, and contemporary ensembles, including the New World Jazz Orchestra, The J Hunter Group, and the New London Big Band. In addition to her performing career, Lisa is dedicated to music education, inspiring young musicians through the Arts Magnet Pathway in the New London, Connecticut public schools.

---

Mark McCormick

Mark McCormick is an accomplished bassist whose versatile career spans classical and jazz performance throughout the United States, Canada, and Japan. A member of the United States Coast Guard Band since 1996, he has performed for three U.S. presidents, numerous foreign dignitaries, and audiences across the United States and Asia. Mark has appeared as a soloist at the Texas International Double Bass Symposium and has performed with esteemed ensembles including the Manhattan Chamber Orchestra, Prism Chamber Orchestra, and Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra. A graduate of the Manhattan School of Music, he is also an active educator and serves as Assistant Director of the Thames Valley Youth Orchestra at Connecticut College.

---

Martha Hurley

Coming soon

---

Matt McCauley

Matthew McCauley is a versatile bassist, vocalist, educator, and certified improvisational music teacher whose career spans classical, jazz, theater, and world music. A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory, he has performed with ensembles including the Peruvian National Symphony Orchestra, Eastern Connecticut Symphony Orchestra, Wallingford Symphony Orchestra, and Salt Marsh Opera. Equally at home in the orchestra pit, concert hall, and improvisational settings, Matt is active throughout the region as a performer and arts advocate. He serves as a Board Trustee of Salt Marsh Opera, is a founding member of Artists for World Peace, and has been a faculty member at the Community Music School since 2004.

---

Nichelle Rollins

I met Nichelle when she was suggested as a female singer for the Franklin Brothers Band, a 10-piece band which I host with my brother, Jay Franklin. She was a natural fit. Her background is in theater and choir singing.

---

Rob Funk

Rob Funk has been playing trombone professionally for over 40 years in original bands, cover bands, jazz big bands, small jazz combos, and has spent more than 15 years as a member of the mighty Franklin Brothers Band. He considers himself fortunate to have hooked into the Rhode Island Blues scene many years ago, and he enjoys playing with many talented musicians from a huge variety of backgrounds.

---

Steve Sigel

Steve Sigel has been practicing violin since 4th grade and practicing running the Garde Arts Center since 1988. He studied at Peabody Institute and with Daniel Kobialka and has won awards for theater musical scores and direction.

---

Timothy Fioravanti

Tim Fioravanti is an accomplished percussionist, bandleader, educator, and administrator whose career spans performance, teaching, and music leadership. He leads the Tim Fioravanti Jazz Orchestra and has performed with numerous jazz and symphonic ensembles, as well as acclaimed artists including Chita Rivera, Jiggs Whigham, and Roger Ingram. A graduate of the University of Delaware, the University of Connecticut, and Southern Connecticut State University, Tim has served as Music Department Chair at Waterford High School since 1993 and as Music Curriculum Leader for Waterford Public Schools since 2017. Under his leadership, Waterford's music ensembles have earned numerous state and national honors, reflecting his enduring commitment to musical excellence and education.

---

Tom DeFaria

Tom is the drummer for the Franklin Brothers Band, and was a natural for doing drum parts that were over my head. Originally from New York, he came to New London to work for Pfizer in the 90s. While in NY he toured with Blood Sweat and Tears among other popular bands.

---

Zinthia Rodriguez

Zinthia is married with four children. For 25+ years she’s managed the traffic and counter at a local restaurant in SE CT. She’s a natural… and yes, bilingual. She graciously agreed to provide the narration on Walking on Water and nailed it!