Dan Lamaestra, Musician, Composer/Arranger: News

We are very excited about the progress being made on Sarah Croker's debut CD, still as of now unnamed.
I will be starting some pre-production on the auxiliary musical parts this week in my studio, and all tracking should be done by the middle of May!
There are four cover songs, and six originals on it, and the original stuff is already sounding very musical and complete.
Sarah's voice, influenced by singers like Alison Krauss, Eva Cassidy and Sarah Mclachlan, among others, has a very haunting and sweet quality, capable of a broad dynamic range.
The writing on this record is also very strong for a "pop" record, with not a single "filler" in the ten song set.
More news as it develops.....
If you want to be notified when it is available, please sign up for my email list, and we will let you know the day it comes out for sale/download.
You can also check out her website, in the links section of my site.
Also, take a moment to sign my guestbook, and let me know what you think of my new site.

Til next time!
Dan

Just got back from the Expo in LA. Turns out they are going to make it an annual thing. No surprise there, it was a huge success for all involved. I met many interesting people, musicians and also folks mainly on the business side, including luminaries such as Louis Bellson, John Clayton, George Duke, Johnny Mandel, among others.
The interview with Tom Petty was very dynamic and unexpected in it's twists and turns! I'm glad I went..

Re: my site be sure to check my Mp3 section for some unreleased "website only" tracks for listening,
as well as some starter info in the store section regarding my CD, and also arranging for hire.
I will have a secondary website up very soon dedicated to the details of how to hire me to arrange music for your next project....stay tuned!
Enjoy!
'til next time,
Dan

I am in LA for a few days at the first ever ASCAP Expo, and learning a lot about the business end of things.
From publishing, to performance royalties, to innovative website business models, to great clinics on subjects ranging from film composing to country writing, this is the place to be, for sure.
I met Johnny Mandel today...very cool.
more later,
Dan

Well, we finally did it! After months of preparation and gigging, Sarah and the Band layed down tracks for what will be her debut cd. The songs are all very fresh sounding, and her voice was quite spectacular, and they were just scratch tracks!
I have written two new songs for her for this record : "Name", and "Show". I am excited to be working on a pop music project of this quality....I still love jazz, but Pop will always be where I came from, and plus I love playing guitars for a change!
We have tenative release party set on June 29th, at Jammin Java in Vienna, VA.
More news as it develops!