"And Now The Bad News" is a collection of songs primarily written in 1992 while recovering from the first bout of throat cancer. These compositions are deeply connected to that experience and was an attempt to communicate the experience through sound. Many years later while living in Tokyo, I was able to take my band into the studio and finally get these tunes recorded.

All songs composed, arranged and produced by Neil Stalnaker (BMI)

Neil Stalnaker - trumpet
Yuichi Inoue - piano
Tsutomu Kuroda - bass
Mike Reznikoff - drums

Sunrise
While living back in my hometown in the early 1990's, I lived with my wife and kids in my dream house on top of Kelly Mountain. It was truly a special place. The energy on that mountain is unusually good. A great place for watching the sunrise and thinking about life.

Give Me Space
Sometimes we go through heavy experiences in life. It's always great having support. But, even the most well intentioned help can sometimes crowd our space.

Bossa For Ariana
This is a song written for my beautiful daughter. Of all the songs I've written, this is my favorite one to play.

And Now The Bad News
This song was written about the day I sat in the doctors office and was told I had cancer.

No Way Out Of This
After being told I had cancer, the first 48 hours was the most difficult mentally. I felt trapped inside my body. No way out...

4am
During this whole period, I had a lot of trouble sleeping every night. I often sat up until 6-7am. I think this song really was written around 4am.

November Bossa
I remember writing this tune in the fall as it was starting to get colder. I really wanted to keep the tempo slower than most bossa novas. I've always wanted to have more of a soulful groove. Maybe a little darker vibe than most bossa novas.

louie@midfield
A composition for my son Louis. He's been a great soccer player for many years. His soccer playing was the inspiration for this free improvisation between drummer Mike Reznikoff and myself.

Why Me? Why Now?
People have often asked me how I got cancer at the age of 32. I've never thought there was any point in the "Why Me?" questions. I prefer trying to stay in the now and looking towards the future.

PS
A year or two after recovering from cancer, I started doing a lot of concerts for young people with my band. This song was written with a particularly lively young listener in mind who attended one of our concerts.

Sunset
The whole cancer experience in the 1990's was extremely mentally draining. Also, going into the studio for this session and trying to recreate the emotions that actually inspired these compositions in the beginning was draining. This song was done at the very end of the session. Just an improvisation based on the chord changes to Sunrise. But the real inspiration came from the incredible view of the dream house on Kelly Mountain and the often breathtaking sunsets.

***Bonus*** FREE DOWNLOAD (eBook)
Cancer? Now What? by Neil Stalnaker

On December 16, 2013, I sat in a cafe in Tokyo thinking about
the ordeal with throat cancer over the past two years and the
lingering effects from my first experience with stage IV throat
cancer in 1991. The following is stream of consciousness writing
from an afternoon in Shinjuku (Tokyo).

I hope this gets into the hands of those who can use it immediately...

You will get a PDF (3MB) file.