Master Of His Universe

Early on, Marcus Miller supplied the low-end to The Soundtrack Of My Life, ever present on records by Tom Browne, Dave Valentin, Dave Grusin, David Sanborn, Bobby Broom and Sadao Watanabe. I'll have more down the road, but for now, check out my interview.

Berks Jazz Festival

Just got back from Berks, only got to spend two days, but the concerts I did see, Brian Bromberg, Kenny Blake Quartet, LA Chillharmonic (Richard Smith, Brian Bromberg, Greg Adams, Michael Paulo, Greg Karukas and Joel Taylor) were outstanding! Made some great new friends, talked Jazz, shared the Soundtrack Of My Life!

A Different Kind Of Drummer

I moved to Southern California in early 1985, ending up in San Diego, renting a condo perched on the edge of a canyon, looking over what at the time was known as Jack Murphy Stadium, now known as Qualcomm Stadium. There was this local Jazz station that played something that I had never before heard; jazz from a steel drum - blew me away. I remember heading down to the Fashion Valley Mall and hitting the record store and searching out Slow Motion by Andy Narell, and ended up buying his first three releases. I haven't missed a release from Narell since, and don't ever plan on doing so! Guitarist and saxophonist come and go, but this steel drummer will always be a part of The Soundtrack Of My Life.

Listen to 'Two Tone Shoes', 'Slow Motion' and 'Another Drum For Oskar'

boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com

A Night Of Latin Jazz

It was early 1988, may have been February or March, I can't remember the exact month, but I was in NYC for a few days, visiting a friend of mine who was doing some consulting for me. She lived on Water Street, maybe she still does, I don't know. Anyway, she had this really cool apartment not far from the Futon Street fish market, we had met for a drink at some bar that was frequented by brokers from Wall Street and later walked to her place, where I spent a couple of nights. One of the nights we went over to the Blue Note in The Village, it was a Latin Jazz Extravaganza held in the memory of Jorge Dalto; Michele Camilo opened with his trio, that included a young Joel Rosenblatt on drums, pre-Spyro Gyra. But it was the headliner that I was there to see, Dave Valentin, a central player in The Soundtrack Of My Life. We were practically sitting on the stage, it was a two drink minimum - that wasn't going to be any problem for the two of us; he was incredible, of all the concerts and artists I've seen over the years, this night stands out as one of the best performances I've ever seen. Besides his band, he had Jerry Gonzalez sit it on both trumpet and congas - outstanding; I remember Valentin admonishing the crowd to not talk while he and the band played! Later that year, I was thrilled when GRP released Dave Valentin-Live At The Blue Note, hoping it was from the performance that Gisela and I had seen, but it was from a date a few months after I had been in the City - it doesn't matter; whenever I listen to this disc, I think back to that night; the bar, the apartment, the Blue Note, Gisela - it was a good couple of days.
Listen to 'Cinnamon and Clove', 'Shamballa' and 'Afro Blue'
boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com

Kind of a Special EFX

It's 1992 and I'm in Raleigh, NC, tooling around in my new Infiniti J30, listening to George Jinda's solo release, 'World News'; I remember the day like it was yesterday, cool, sunny, just a beautiful Autumn day in the South. It was October, was married for about a month, everything was still new, and unbeknownst to us, my wife was carrying our son; a significant part of The Soundtrack Of My Life. Being a fan of Special EFX, I picked up Jinda's album without hesitation; looking back over the years and listening to Chieli's and George's individual releases.....these guys were magic together; makes you think what could have been had Jinda not passed away as early as he did.

Listen to 'With A Message' and 'Luscious Rebecca'

boomp3.com
boomp3.com

Lost Love

This one's not that easy to write about.......for all my misgivings, there are only two regrets I have in my life, and both of them have to do women (what a surprise, huh?). But not for the reason you might think; the regret is for what I didn't do, what I didn't pursue, not for anything I did. This one  doesn't know, the second.......we've discussed it and she knows. I met her in 1987, she was dating a friend of mine, we were both in a relationship; over the years we became close. 1993 I moved back to town, married, we ran into each other, and continued to do so, over and over again. There was attraction, there was desire, there was definitely electricity.......it was The Soundtrack Of My Life; we would meet on Thursday nights at the Crash Club on Elmwood Ave. I lent her Ronnie Jordan's Quiet Revolution to listen to in her convertible Cadillac Alante, on her way up to Alexander Bay; one night she leaned over and kissed me....I just couldn't pursue her, looking back, I should have. After that night, over the next few years, we would run into each other, work in the same office and go out with the same group of friends - always with that energy sizzling under the surface. It's been 11 plus years since we've seen each other, although we each know where the other is.....it makes you think. FYI, took me about a year to get Quiet Revolution back from her!
Listen to 'In Full Swing', 'Slam In A Jam' and 'Come With Me'
boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com

Power and Passion

1985, late Summer, LaJolla - I had been married for a few months, moved into a great townhouse in an incredible area and The Soundtrack Of My Life was developing daily! My parents came from back east to visit the two of us, after all these years, I'm pretty sure it didn't go too well. In any event, Tower Records on Sports Arena Drive gave up this treasure, a GRP imprint, so I felt confident in slapping down my $8 - looking back, a pretty cheap fix! I was familiar with BC, but mostly from his contributions on CTI, so this Power and Passion along with the African undertones were new to me - I liked it. Over the years, I think back to that townhouse, the bedroom overlooking the street, the light shining through, smooth pale 24 year old skin shimmering in the moon light - a true blonde - nothing lasts forever, especially that relationship; but over the years Billy Cobham's Warning has filled the void.....
Listen to 'Mozaik' and 'Dancer'
boomp3.com
boomp3.com

Groovin'

1988, looking back, it was a very good year.....for contemporary jazz. Of all the years that I remember, 1988, at least for MCA Records, was a stellar year for releases; it seemed as though each week brought 4 or 5 new releases, now, we're lucky if we get that many in a month, and certainly not from a 'major' record company. One of the best and most interesting releases I picked up that year was Missing Links-Groovin', which might have as well been a Special EFX side project; with George Jinda, Omar Hakim, Robbie Kondor, Bernard Wright, Don Blackman, Najee, Bill Evans, Lenny Pickett, John Scofield and a number of other fine musicians contributing to this CD of Soul and R&B covers. I was in a major transition that year, bought a lot of music which defined and set the path for The Soundtrack Of My Life, but of all the years, 1988 was one of the most significant for me.......in many ways. To be continued..........

Listen to 'Walk On By', 'Everyday People/Thank You.....', 'Don't Hold Back' and 'Dancing In The Street'
boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com

Spring Of Discontent

It was the Spring of 1988, I had moved back into my parents house, been there for about four months or so, the divorce wasn't final yet; still not over the old, and having far more fun with the new than I probably should have been.......oh well, after all, it is The Soundtrack Of My Life! Thank God for GRP, they had plenty of new releases that Spring, but one in particular, along with mass quantities of Absolut & tonic with a lemon, got me through that Spring, Double Feature by Special EFX. Something about cranking the volume on 'Thy Kingdom Come' after about three vodkas, it didn't get any better than that - except maybe visiting the new and firing up some Michael Franks, but that's best left for another time.

Listen to 'Thy Kingdom Come' and 'Jamaica, Jamaica'

boomp3.com
boomp3.com

The Mother Lode

You never know when you're going to hit pay-dirt, and come across that unknown treasure while working the bins at the record store, you know the one - the one that helps define The Soundtrack Of My Life; well, I hit the Mother Lode in the Summer of 1991, when the home-town record label released Cool Running by Jeremy Wall. As I've already confessed, it was usually the Wall compositions that were the first ones I listened to whenever Spyro Gyra released a new album, so to have a full CD of them........I barely made it home to toss the CD in the player; I hadn't felt that much anticipation since that night parked off the side of Shimerville Road! Cool Running, for me, might have just been a SG release, with trumpet and french horn, replacing Jay's sax; although other than Wall, Dave Samuels was the only other Spyro on this album, it was pure SG/Wall composed magic. Grant Geissman, the rhythm duo of Mark Egan and Danny Gottlieb along with Alex Acuna, Chip Jackson, Lew Soloff and Jerry Peel lay it out - top notch! The album was even recorded by Larry Swist at Bear Tracks. On this day, at least, the Summer of 1991 was pretty sweet.

Listen to 'Out Of The Blue', 'Riverrun' and 'Cool Running'

boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com

The Best Spyro Gyra Album, Not Recorded By Them

I had discovered the beauty and quality of CTI early on, as I did later with Tappan Zee and GRP as well - record labels that defined a genre, stood for a certain level of quality, represented a 'sound' and above all, have played a very large part in The Soundtrack Of My Life. Now, my affliction for all things Gyra (just look at the tattoo) is well documented, so I was thrilled to come across the CTI release, In A Temple Garden by Yusef Lateef. I can't exactly remember when I picked this LP out of the cut-out bin, but I know I was still in college when I did. Jeremy Wall, Spyro Gyra co-founder, co-producer, composer and one time keyboardist produced this date for CTI in 1979, the same year as their breakout recording, Morning Dance. I had no idea who Lateef was, and really didn't care, I saw Wall's name attached to the credits, the fact that he composed all but two of the songs recorded, and when you took a look at the list of players on the LP; Wall, Tom Schuman (SG's other and current keyboardist), Eric Gale, the Brecker Bothers, Will Lee, Steve Gadd - this could have just been another early SG session! The only thing missing was Jay Beckenstein's butterscotch alto, replaced by Lateef's grity and course tenor. Chances are, you'll never come across this recording, although if you search hard enough, there are some keepers of the flame (thank you Smooth) who have made it available. Find it, listen to it, you owe it to yourself!

Listen to 'In A Temple Garden', 'Confirmation' and 'Morocco' all composed by Jeremy Wall

boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com

Guitar God

The one place that I could always go to, whether I felt happy, sad, confused, angry or on top of the world- was the 'record store'; where all troubles melted away and everything could be made better, a place where all the problems of the world were solved - kind of like eating comfort food - like mac-n-cheese. So it's 1986, been married a little over a year, pretty sure I was already bored, but I won't get into that story just yet; anyways, not sure what time of year it was exactly, but the weather was nice, so it had to be late spring, early summer. I needed a fix bad,had that need to just get away, me and my thoughts, so I headed to the 'record store', which actually was just down the street and around the corner in a plaza. It was a pretty damn good record store too, great selection. So I'm working the bins, and I come across this Lp by some guy named Russ Freeman, and by the looks of the liner notes, he's playing just about everything, except the sax, which is handled by Brandon Fields, already had one of his albums, so I score. Over the years, not too many artists, upon first listen, have blown me away, but that afternoon in 1986, Russ Freeman blew me away! I couldn't get enough of that album, Nocturnal Playground, played it all the time. I had just moved back from Southern California, and in all honesty, really didn't enjoy my time there, but for some reason, what few good memories I had of the place - Nocturnal Playground brought back. To this day, I'm still amazed that this was Russ Freeman's first album, sure, it's nothing compared to the Ripps latest, but the compositions,playing and production, for a first release are incredible.

When it came time to search down Freeman's next album, Moonlighting, an effort he was releasing under the moniker, The Rippington's, I already had an idea what I was in for, or so I thought, so I waited until I found the CD - no small fete in early 1997. Well, I might have thought I knew what I was in for, but in all actuality, what I purchased that cold snowy January, eleven years ago, stands, to this day as one of the most perfect Contemporary Jazz recordings of all time. I know that's a pretty bold statement, but it's mine and I'm sticking by it! Kenny G, Brandon Fields, David Benoit, Gregg Karukas, Steve Reid, Dave Koz (who by the way has never sounded as good as he did on this album playing EWI) - and Freeman's guitar and compositions - wow! All I'll say is that this CD has been with me through good and bad, up and down, and three major relationships - no need to say anymore than that. This is The Soundtrack Of My Life. If you don't have it, you need it; if you do have it, you know what I'm talking about!
Listen to 'Nocturnal Playground', 'Jamaican Nights' and 'Amelia' from Nocturnal Nights and from Moonlighting, 'Dreams', 'Open All Night' and 'Intimate Strangers'

boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com
boomp3.com