Album Notes

When I first came to New York in 1950, I was a valve trombone player and a singer. But when I took up the string bass, I decided that, while I was developing a career in jazz, I wouldn't be a singing bass player. I didn't think I could do either task well if I was doing both at the same time. So for about fifty years, I only sang for my own amusement. Lately, though, the desire to sing in public has come over me again, and at a few performances around the New York area, I've been singing the blues and a few old favorites, and have received approving responses from my audiences. So I decided to record some songs that I like to sing, without the bass, just accompanied by a good guitarist. The partner I found for this project is Armand Hirsch, a young New Yorker (born in 1990) who is a wonderful musician and an empathetic accompanist. We spent a couple of evenings in the recording studio that he and his dad built in their home in Manhattan, and had a good time together making this music. We hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we did creating it.