This week, we’re featuring episodes from our DocuTunes.TV Live Music Cafe. This is the first of several performances we’ll be uploading this week.

The first summer Carrie Tree came to the island was the summer in episode 4. We spent a lot of time that summer with Carrie Tree, David Saw and Ben Taylor as they worked on some incredible music. On the last day before she had returned home, she met us on this beach in Aquinnah for a final swim. It was a perfect day in August on the island, and I remember thinking then it was too bad we didn’t have a camera on the beach to film it.

This summer when we learned that Carrie was coming back to the island, we vowed to not let the chance for the beach sessions slip away this time. On Carrie’s last day, she came up to Aquinnah, and we went to the beach and filmed Carrie singing this and several other of her songs.

Actor Mary Steenburgen has written a song as a gift for her friend Wendy Jenkinson, who recently had been diagnosed with brain cancer. We follow her to Mike Benjamin’s studio in Edgartown, as she meets up with Isaac Taylor to work out the vocals, and then follow both of them as they surprise Wendy with a moving rendition of the song.

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Sometimes having house-guests can be challenging, but in the Simon household, sometimes those house guests become extended family and musical collaborators. This was the case for England native David Saw, who came to the island as a guest of Carly’s son Ben Taylor at their Vineyard home (see Vineyard Scene - Episode 4). Since arriving on this side of the Atlantic, Saw not only has recorded an album on Ben’s independent label Iris Records, but he’s also had his songs recorded by Carly Simon, in addition to playing guitar and singing back-up vocals on her latest projects, he has collaborated with her in writing the song featured in this episode, “How Could You Ever Forget?” which is on Carly’s latest release, “This Kind of Love”.

Buy David Saw’s new CD, Broken Down Figure

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Singer/songwriter Ben Taylor tempts some of his friends from London to come to the Vineyard for the summer to create and record music. First we see Ben artfully explain to his mother Carly Simon the imminent British invasion and then we follow him as he hosts David Saw, Carrie Tree, Rumor Joyce, Amity Fletcher, Jonathon Quarmby and his family.

Aside from being a gifted musician, Ben Taylor co-owns his own independent record label, Iris Records. Since this episode was shot, Iris Records has released David Saw’s latest CD, “Broken Down Figure”.

Pre-Order Ben’s new CD The Legend of Kung Folk: Part I Ben Taylor and David Saw.

Read an article about Ben’s forthcoming album and indie label Iris Recordson CCN Money.
Connect with musicians from this episode on MySpace:
Ben Taylor on MySpace, David Saw on MySpace, Carrie Tree on MySpace, Carly Simon on MySpace, Rumer Joyce on MySpace, Iris Records on MySpace

Born in New England and raised in North Carolina, Kate Taylor’s dual musical heritage is one she shares with brothers James, Livingston, Hugh, and her late brother Alex. In this episode of “The Vineyard Scene”, Kate talks about spending summers on the island as a child, and brings us back to the Vineyard of the 60s and 70s with stories about the music scene past and present, and about setting up a life on the island.


See CDs by Kate Taylor

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