Jim Duffy Music
This is the official site for the musical activities of Jim Duffy, a Brooklyn-based composer, keyboardist, electric bassist and occasional melodica player.
Music Available
You can find Jim Duffy's music on Bandcamp.
And on Apple Music.
And on SoundCloud.
And on Spotify.
And on Pandora.
Some music tracks are available on YouTube, both here and here.
And on the music page of this blog.
For music licensing inquiries - usage for videos, webcasts, podcasts, corporate uses, films and commercials - please go here or here.
Mailing List
jimduffymusic.com
Hello, this is Jim Duffy Music, the official site for the musical activities of Jim Duffy.
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“Field Report” to Be Released Jan. 8, 2027
Hello, friends and listeners, my fourth album of instrumental pop music, “Field Report,” will be released on Jan. 8, 2027, and it's unlike anything I have released so far.
Like my first three records, “Field Report” strives to conjure the mood of an earlier, analog era, but this time, I played all the instruments and mixed all the tracks, in my small apartment. (If you care to know, I did not intend it to be this way. I thought I was making multitrack demos for a band recording, but as I got into issues such as microphone placement and mixing techniques, the “solo” in “solo recording” became the project, and I got really into it.)
The main voice is once again a 1970 Wurlitzer electric piano, joined this time by a jittery analog synthesizer. And I was thumping more bass guitar than I had in years. For percussion I played toy instruments and kitchen utensils instead of using drum machines (though I realize that some people make good and even great music using drum machines).
Each tune is tightly composed. “High Beam,” the first track, gets there in a hurry. Other tunes stretch out on a 6/4 beat. “The Bailiff’s Tale” may be the result of listening to too much medieval music. “Sight Unseen” uses an actual 14th century melody.
So now you are the first to know. (The CDs are actually still at the pressing plant in Tennessee!) When we all get on the other side of the new year, “Field Report” will be available on Apple Music, Bandcamp, Pandora, Spotify and other places. Hope to see you there.
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Recent blog posts:
“Burning,” Rods and Cones, 1986, Live at CBGB
From the Archives: Link Wray at the Village Underground, 2002
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Jim Duffy -- that's me -- is a Brooklyn-based composer, keyboard player, electric bassist, session musician and occasional melodica player.
Mostly I focus on composing, recording and performing original instrumental music, usually playing a mid-1960s Wurlitzer electric piano. My first album of original tunes -- I still call them albums -- was "Side One," which was released in 2004. It received radio airplay on KCRW in Santa Monica, Calif., among other places. My second album, "Mood Lit," was released in 2009. The third, "Pale Afternoon," was released in early 2016. The next release, to be titled “Field Report," is expected to see the light of day in late 2026.
In the 1980s, I co-founded and played bass guitar in the Boston band Rods and Cones, which was known for quirky grooves and for the uninhibited performances of singer Chris Kelley.
In the 1990s, in New York, I co-founded and played keyboard for the band Martin's Folly, along with singer and guitarist Chris Gray. We explored many forms of 20th century U.S. music.
In the oughts, I started recording original instrumental tracks, playing Wurlitzer electric piano and acoustic piano along with Dennis Diken on drums, Paul Page on bass and Lance Doss on guitar and lap steel. This group sometimes performs live as the Jim Duffy Combo.
Instrumental tunes are the main thing right now. Lately I have been composing a lot of short pieces for solo acoustic piano.
From 2011 to 2019 I was part of a group called Mitra Sumara, which is led by vocalist Yvette Massoudi. We performed Persian pop music from the pre-revolutionary Iran, music from the 1960s and 1970s. Yvette sings these tunes in the original Farsi. Mitra Sumara performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., and at the Freer Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute, also in Washington. I played on the group's debut release, “Tahdig.” Yvette continues to lead Mitra Sumara with a rotating cast of musicians,
In 2016 I participated in Karl Berger's Creative Music Studio, and I have performed with the Karl Berger Improvisers Orchestra, a 25-piece group.
I have also played on records by the Bottle Rockets, Sour Jazz, Greg Trooper, Reid Paley, the Fleshtones, Speedball Baby, Florence Dore, Eric "Roscoe" Ambel, Joe Flood, the Damnwells, Jim Koeppel, Will Rigby and many others. And I have performed on stage with rock and roll pioneer Freddy "Boom Boom" Cannon, rockabilly queen Wanda Jackson and many others.
Meanwhile, I've been composing and recording the next full-length release of instrumental tunes. Also, playing some acoustic piano. And some melodica, and occasional bass guitar.
Again, thanks for visiting. Please have a look around, and a listen.
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Selected archive blog posts:
Byrd Lives! or Harpsichord Fever!
Accordion Story: My very brief career as an accordionist and how it ended.
Ragas Live in Red Hook: Indian classical music, 24 performances in 24 hours.
Go to Blazes - "Out on the Side": A memorable recording session from 1995.
Embracing Imperfection: No one has ever made a perfect album, and no one ever will.
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(Jim Duffy on Broadway, 2014. Photo by Amy L. Anderson)
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Thank you for visiting, and welcome. To hear some tunes, please visit the expanded "Listen" page.
To read the latest posts and essays -- and to comment -- please go to the Blog section. For updates on upcoming events, please see the Calendar page. To buy CDs or downloads, please go here.
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The instrument of the future:
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Assorted posts and essays:
Embracing Imperfection: No one has ever made a perfect album, and no one ever will.
Dealing With the Dead, Part 1 and Part 2: Is it possible to hear the Grateful Dead without absolutely worshipping them or despising them?
Rocking With Wanda: Rock and roll pioneer Wanda Jackson is finally getting her due. Here are some reminiscences from my brief stint as Wanda's piano player.
"Education in Love": Rods and Cones' greatest hit.
Herm, Part 1: Time-traveling to a Saturday afternoon in 1981 when we tried to write an album.
The Early Rods and Cones, 1982: When you try to create something, you often end up with something quite different.
The House of Hits: How my old Boston band Rods and Cones met a high-rolling starmaker, with world-shaking consequences -- but not for us!
Last Call at the Lakeside Lounge: Notes on a rocking little venue's 15-year run, and its closing.
The Elliot Mouser Floating Blues Band: Thirty years after this band blew my mind, I started playing some gigs with them…
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Photo by Valeria Hermida in San Isidro, Argentina.
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