Album Notes

A splendid time to end one chapter...

For BOZO allegro's last album, Relentlessly Cheerful, we cleaned out the Marx Music library. We recorded all my favorite original compositions, most of which we had been playing for the past five years. The next album - this album - would require brand-new material. And the thought of new music for the band led me to thoughts of new conceptions of the band.

A splendid time to begin another...

I decided to explore a Horace-Silver-meets-Jimmy-Smith-meets-
The-Jazz-Messengers-meets-Booker-T-&-The-MGs synthesis, all filtered through that inimitable rock/latin/jazz BOZO thang. So I downsized the instrumentation from a nonet to a sextet. I kept three of the horns, and reorganized the rhythm section to better serve the new direction - now it would be Hammond organ, bass, and drums.

A splendid time for inspiration...

The first tune - "Little Wonderland" - was completed on 09/09/00. Four more September songs followed in quick succession. (I was obviously onto something...) I finished one composition in October and two others in November. The last arrival - "Erotica Sympathy" - showed up for the party on 12/18/00.

A splendid time for new beginnings...

BOZO allegro (the sextet) had its first rehearsal on 01/14/01, played its first gig Memorial Day weekend, and recorded its entire first album - this album - live in the studio over two days in the middle of August.

A splendid time to enjoy the results...

A splendid time is guaranteed for all.

---Mark Browning Milner