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Recently, Cormack & Ross completed their long-unfinished work, "Horse of Stone." The project was recorded in 1974 at His Master's Wheels and Graham Nash's Rudy Records in San Francisco, and in 1977 at Wooden Sound in Beverly Glen. The tapes stayed in Barncard's garages until 1996, when they were remixed at A&M Studios in Los Angeles, and mastered in HDCD at Joe Gastwirt's Oceanview Digital. Now, this great work is NOW available on CD. TOM ROSS, a protégé of jazz guitarist Johnny Smith, has played and sung professionally since age 15. Inspired by the 18th century South Indian composer Muttuswamy Diksitar, he has written songs with world music influence for many years, nourished by three years' vocal study in India with Amir Khan and T. Viswanathan. JODY CORMACK's guitar expertise, together with her training in pop and world music, make her a unique talent. Also the disciple of T. Balasaraswati and T. Viswanathan, she is the foremost American exponent of South Indian vocal music, and has received critical acclaim both in the United States and India. She performs in concert with Viswanathan, and was lead vocalist in the dance troupe for Balasaraswati's daughter Lakshmi. Cormack and Ross have studied other traditions extensively: Gambian kora, Shona mbira, Venezuelan harp and cuatro, Philippine kulingtan, Korean court music, Balinese gender-wayang, and Javanese gamelan. CORMACK & ROSS have appeared on both coasts in concert and on television. Band performances include work with the band Shanti. Ross has collaborated with David Crosby in songwriting, and the group has elicited support and enthusiasm from Graham Nash and the Grateful Dead's Phil Lesh.

A highland tribe in Papua, New Guinea calls the soul the "seeds of singing."

Tom asked S. Ramanathan why we make instruments when we already have the perfect, God-given instrument, the human voice. He considered and replied, "To compete with God."

Johnny Smith finds good-sounding notes among the numerous choices on the guitar fretboard, avoiding those that he says sound "like kicking a drunk."

Kim had worked out tala patterns on a telegraph clicker, which he held behind his back while pretending to tap-dance with lightning complexity.

This music is dedicated to the memory of the master drummer and indomitable goof, our dear friend Kim Calkins.

Special thanks to David Crosby, whose enthusiasm and generous support made this recording possible.

Additional thanks to: Graham Nash, Phil Lesh, Mickey Hart, Paul Kantner, Therese and Charles Cormack, Thomas and Mary Ross, Diana Kaye, James Farber, and Krish Sharma.

Gratitude to our teachers:
T. Viswanathan, T. Balasaraswati, T. Ranganathan, K V Narayanaswamy, Ustad Amir Khan, T. Brinda, Dumisane Maraire, Nyama Suso, Usopay Cadar, Sumandhi, Suwardi, Ed Blackwell, and Johnny Smith.

They continue to inspire, together with recordings by Miles Davis, Wayne Shorter, Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Oum Kholsoum, Robert Johnson, Leadbelly, Siddheswari Devi, and Diane Schuur.

In addition to Jody's Martin D-28 and Tom's Gallagher, there are the Johnny Smith (Gibson) and Excel (D'Angelico) jazz guitars, David Crosby's Martin (converted) 12-string, and the superlative dreadnought made for him by Conry.

Besides Steve Barncard's bass, Tom sometimes played the Alembic bass loaned kindly by Phil Lesh. The tambura heard on a couple of songs was made by Prof. Haji Abdul Ismail Saheb and Sons of Miraj, India.