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This one went through several different versions before I refined it to this
version. This was the most difficult one to get down with the rhythm
section in the studio but I`m pretty happy with it. I enjoy the blend of
sophistication with reckless abandon that we got on this track.
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This is one of the jazz quartet tunes on the album. I wanted to do
something that was very dark and intense but also very light and delicate.
It`s one of my favorite straight ahead compositions and a direction I hope
to explore more in future work. Of all the tunes, this one has the most
emotional content for me and may be closest to what I`m really about.
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This is just a fun little blues. I wanted to write a funky head with some
feel and time changes that was really fun for everyone in the band to play.
We had a blast recording it and playing it live is a riot.
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This is a little Latin flavored tune with some nice changes. It`s pretty
mellow and features some expressive playing by Eric Baumgartner on piano and
Mike Sharfe on fretless bass.
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This is named for the subject of a Carl Sagan book I was reading when I
wrote the song. As far as the music, the melody features a lot Hendrix
style double stops against some unpredictable bass pitches that imply some
extended and altered chords. For the solo, I wanted the changes and piano
to sound sort of like vintage Pat Metheny Group but with more of a rock
guitar thing going on over it.
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Toby is my miniature Schnauzer and this one is for him. He was my baby
until we had a real baby but now he gets ignored a bit. At least he has his
own song. Anyway, the tune is a jazz waltz that cruises through about four
or five different keys and is very fun but tricky to play on. I was very
impressed with what Eric played during his piano solo.
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I`ve always been a huge Mike Stern fan and this obviously shows his
influence on my writing. The head is an angular bop melody with me playing
in unison with saxophonist Dwayne Irvin. The stuff behind the melody that
the guys played was killer. The drum groove and piano hits during the heads
make the song for me. For the solo I departed from the Stern model with
some Frisell-ish chord melody and some rock guitar.
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I`m not really sure where this came from. I wanted to do a solo guitar
thing but I felt that the jazz standard things I do on gigs would be to much
of a departure for the disc. I also wanted to add something like Oz Noy or
Bill Frisell would do with loops so I came up with this. That`s where the
name comes from. It uses some loops and it starts and ends in D minor.
When I was recording this I was suffering from some tendon problem in my
right hand that`s known as `trigger finger`. That really affected my
fingerpicking and made for a frustrating experience recording it. I`m
pretty happy with how it turned out but I wish I would have waited until
after I got the cortisone shot in my hand to play it in the studio.
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