Early Leaves

First Light

Mars Raga
September Strut
Rejoice
Watermelon Rush
Bernadette
First Light

Gretchen Barton
Janet DeBar
Harrison Goldberg
Dave Jordan

dulcimer, oud
didjeridu
saxophones, percussion
fretless electric bass

All music performed by Early Leaves
Mars Raga written by G. Barton
Recorded, mixed & mastered by Dave Jordan
Cover design by PT Nunn
Copyright © and

2022 Early Leaves

Early Leaves: First Light (front cover)

Early Leaves

First Light, an album of previously unreleased recordings, includes some of the liveliest tunes from the early days (2004-6) of the formation of a group of musicians who eventually became known as Cloudfire. These tunes are presented as we played them, with no overdubs or multiple takes; the imperfections are part of the charm.

The album begins with Mars Raga, one of Gretchen's tunes, which she & Dave first played while members of Sofyan. Watermelon Rush grew out of a jam after eating watermelon -- you can almost hear the sugar rush. First Light & Rejoice were recorded the first time that Gretchen, Harrison & Dave played together. September Strut & Bernadette were recorded at Janet's house on The Sea Ranch.

Streaming & downloads at:

... & many more services

Ancient History

Back at the turn of the century, Gretchen and Janet were members of a musical group which played for the Rock Rose belly dance troupe in Point Arena, CA. That group, led by percussionist Kay Like and later joined by guitarist Raul Mier and bassist Dave Jordan, became Sofyan. After Sofyan broke up, Gretchen, Janet & Dave were joined by Harrison Goldberg. Playing music together for our own enjoyment, we recorded the tunes on this album.

Later, after Lynn Stoller joined the group, we chose the name Cloudfire. We played our first public performance as Cloudfire at the Arena Theater in 2009, accompanied by Chris Campbell on drums. Leon Schneiderman joined as our full-time percussionist, and sadly Lynn Stoller passed away before our second public performance.

contact: music@pacificwoodsstudio.com