Legacy Music Project: Henry’s Gift

I am so grateful for the public libraries of this world for allowing people to sample, for free, all kinds of books, music, movies and more. I used to grab five or six CDs every time I went, artists and albums that I knew nothing about, but was intrigued by the song titles, or the band name, or the cover. It’s where I discovered a now favorite band, Explosions in the Sky, which led me to explore an entire genre of instrumental music that I was completely unfamiliar with.

All this to say, Gina had discovered, way back in 2004, an album by the band Lanterna called Sands at her local library. When our son, Bernie, was a little kid, he listened to this instrumental album every night to go to sleep by. (For me it was Aaron Copland’s Quiet City.) When I visited Gina for the first time in Knoxville, my ears were instantly drawn to the majestic beauty of Sands and Lanterna. And, if I hear something that moves me, I have to delve into the band or person’s whole catalogue and uncover some background information.

That’s when I discovered that Lanterna is an artist named Henry Frayne. I’ve immersed myself in his music for the past two decades and it has undoubtedly influenced my own. But on one particular day I started writing an instrumental piece that sounded, to me, a whole lot like Lanterna, like it would fit in nicely with one of their albums. I really grew to like the song, especially because it was Henry’s gift to me. You can see how happy I am playing this song in this video, beautifully filmed by that grown-up kid, Bernie, and edited by my more-talents-than-I-can-count wife, Gina.

Henry’s Gift

Music copyright 2024, Ned Andrew Solomon

Recorded at: Azalea Studios, Nashville, TN 

Recording, Engineering, & Production: Fett

Acoustic & Electric Guitars: Ned Andrew Solomon

Bass: Fett

Drums: RP Chester

Videography: Bernie Lynette

Executive & Video Production: Gina Lynette