Clearly, March is the month for new projects. On Monday I had the opportunity to be part of a small ensemble recording music for the audiobook version of songwriter Josh Ritter’s first novel, Bright’s Passage. Erstwhile collaborator Zack Hickman composed the themes and played his usual half-a-dozen instruments; I played violin and mandolin; other members of the team were Charlie Rose on banjo and Dan Fram on fiddle, guitar and vocals. Near the end, the incomparably sweet-voiced Rose Cousins dropped by to sing on one of the tracks — if you’ve not done yourself the favor of listening to Rose sing, I really don’t know what you’re waiting for.

Then on Thursday it was down to Jersey City, NJ, to rehearse for Red Molly’s new album, the sessions to be held in New York next week. The Fretful Porcupine — half of whom also resides in Jersey City only a few blocks from Red Molly — took advantage of the opportunity to stage a fierce, caffeine-fueled co-writing session today, and continue to close in on an album’s worth of repertoire.

Playing music with friends is about as good as it gets in this business. Great to hear some of the music soon to make its way into the world.

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