American Dream

SSC1262 2010-06-08

Track List

Invocation: American Dream - 3:21
Theme from "Dead Man" - 2:33
Mustangs (Steve McQueen) - 4:26
Drifters - 6:18
Black Boxes - 8:18
No Regrets - 5:08
Pyramids - 2:02
Idlewild - 2:59
Everlong - 3:24
The Ballad of Michael Jackson - 6:11
The Monetary System Blues - 6:05
Johnsburg, Illinois - 1:39

Musicians

Taylor Haskins - trumpet, melodica
Ben Monder - guitar
Ben Street - acoustic bass
Jeff Hirshfield - drums

American Dream portrays the mindset of many of this generation’s young Americans. On this recording, trumpeter/composer Taylor Haskins broaches topics contrasting the idealistic and realistic United States through his depictive compositions and arrangements of modern American classics by Neil Young, The Foo Fighters, and Tom Waits. American Dream features Haskins backed by a sympathetic group of phenomenal musicians including guitarist Ben Monder, bassist Ben Street, and drummer Jeff Hirshfield. Haskins notes, “This album is a meditation on the concepts of: Breakdown – a collapse of a system of authority due to widespread transgression of the rules. Destruction – the action or process of causing so much damage to something that it no longer exists or cannot be repaired. The Ideal – existing only in the imagination; desirable or perfect but not likely to become a reality. Abandonment – giving up completely a course of action, a practice, or a way of thinking. Memory – the power of the mind to remember things.