St. James Infirmary (American Traditional). Recorded November 2020. I came across this piece in a guitar school book. Playing the tune from the score I thought, this is one the melodies that make you think: I know it - even if you actually never heard it, which was the case with me. Without listening to any existing recording I decided to play my own version. Doing so I created the intro / outro chord changes. Then I came up with that slightly strange theme that follows everytime the main melody is through. To me that sounds as if the composition has been exactly like that. Fits perfectly. I figured out the accompanying chords for this additional somewhat weird theme and used these also as a backing for the solo. Nice thing for me was to create the bass lines. I played them on the guitar instead of the bass, and they are also an important part in terms of the mood of this arrangement. Ahoy, Mario Stresow.