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Flower of Avalon features nine previously unrecorded songs by the late Dave Carter (1952-2002), plus one traditional tune rearranged and rewritten by Oregon professor William Jolliff. The basic tracks were recorded in December 2003 at Signature Sounds Studios in Palmer, MA. Over the course of 2004, overdubs were tracked at at studios in Oregon, Massachusetts, and Virginia. Mixes were finalized in Portland, Oregon on January 7, 2005.
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TRACKS:
1. shadows of evangeline
2. gypsy rose
3. laughlin boy (jolliff)
4. hard to make it
5. hey ho
6. mother, i climbed
7. preston miller
8. winter when he goes
9. phantom doll
10. any way i do

produced by tracy grammer & john jennings

musicians:
clark bondy: clarinet
jon carroll: keyboards galore, harmony vocals on 10
mary chapin carpenter: harmony vocals (3, 6, 10)
lorne entress: drums and percussion
jim henry: dobro, mandolin, electric guitars, vocals
john jennings: tenor guitars, electric guitars, electric bass, harmony vocals on 3
mike rivard: upright and electric bass
rob schnell: percussion
tg: violin, acoustic guitar, walkabout dulcimer, banjo, vocals

mixed by bob stark, kung fu bakery (portland OR) except for "hard to make it," mixed by bob dawson, bias recording studios (springfield VA).
mastered by dominick maita, airshow mastering (boulder CO).
release date: april 26, 2005
label: signature sounds recordings SIG 1292 / 800-694-5354

About the title
The title of the album is the unrecorded 11th song, written by Dave Carter as a gift for Tracy Grammer on her 31st birthday. The song was played only once and was never recorded, so the melody is lost except for a snippet of the chorus, which Grammer has held onto for years:

"If I were a bumblin' bee
I'd ride that wish across the sea
And fetch for you
The fairest flower of Avalon..."
- Dave Carter, "Flower of Avalon"

As Grammer deliberated over a title for this new project, she found this chorus coming back to her, begging the question: "What was Dave Carter's intention, in my 31st year -- to sail across to what is commonly known as the Isle of the Dead, and return with a living gift for me, this flower?" She realized that this was exactly the mission she was on with this album: to shed forever the veil of sadness and return full-force from Avalon in joyful celebration of the living music Dave Carter left behind, and her own emerging musical voice.

Early Praise for FLOWER OF AVALON:

"A musician and singer of dazzling versatility... [Flower of Avalon] unfurls as a portrait of an artist coming into her own." - No Depression (May/June 2005)

"Transcendent." - Rockzillaworld Magazine (rockzilla.net)

"What makes this CD special is not the songs but the production, which is so decidedly different from anything Carter would have done, suggesting the direction Grammer's music is headed -- a nice mix of folk, pop and alt-country." - Minnesota Star-Tribune

"While Tracy provides violin, guitar and banjo to the disc, it's her vocals that really stand out here -- her voice is warm and full of feeling and she's the perfect channel for the songs... [conveying] the stories and rich imagery effortlessly." - Fish Records (UK)

"Grammer was determine to honor Carter's memory ... she does a breathtaking job of it on Flower of Avalon, with bravery, grace and deep feeling.... The result is a batch of songs that sound fresh and timeless, reverential but not worshipful. You can almost sense Carter's approval." - Hartford Courant