Album Notes

From 2006 till 2009, I lived on Sugar Hill “way up in Harlem” – right off the 145th
Street stop of Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn’s legendary ‘A’ Train.
On the other side of the street was St. Nick’s Pub, a small historic jazz club that has
hardly changed since the 1940s.
Sometimes when I got home late at night, after a long day at the university and a gig
in the evening, I would stand outside and watch the people on the street or have
a chat with my neighbors. Especially in summer it was a cool scene:
People sitting on the stairs in front of the buildings or on the sidewalk, others walking
to and from one of the several 24-hour Delis around the block to grab a bite to eat in
the middle of the night, and others standing in front of St. Nick’s Pub to get some
fresh air. Emanating from St. Nick’s open door, an energetic saxophone solo would fill
the streets with music, delivering the nightly soundtrack to my neighborhood.
I often thought about my family and friends on the other side of the ocean who were
sleeping at this time, or had already started their morning. Many of them came here
to visit, and at times people would crash at my apartment on a weekly basis.
But many friends have never been to New York, including my parents. I often thought
about how I could tell them about my exciting and wonderful time living on Sugar Hill
in Harlem, New York City.
With this album I want to share some of my experiences and influences from that time
– my little stories from sugar hill