Album Notes

The music for The Cookie Jar was written and produced by Los Angeles-based composer, Doug Gurwell, a trumpet player & overall versatile musician. His wide range of experiences include engagements such as recording at CBS Studios( Radford St.) with Elmer Bernstein for movie tracks to rock & roll tracks with Great White & Jack Russell, as well as doing live & recorded TV programs. He has performed for shows featuring artists such as George Benson, the Wynans, & Tony Bennett, & at venues including Irvine Meadows, Dorothy Chandler Pavillion, Royce Hall (UCLA), The Roxy, Fox Studios in Century City, Warner Bros. Studios, Nickelodean Studios, Disney Studios, ABC & NBC in Burbank, CA., The Queen Mary in Long Beach & Disneyland. Doug is no stranger to the Hollywood scene, having done engagements featuring many well-known personalities, and has had the opportunity to converse with Ann Curry (NBC), Mel Gibson, Sally Fields, Maria Shriver, Brittany Spears, Peter Weller (Robocop), & Bill Walton, amongst others.

Some of Doug Gurwell’s favorite musicians include: Marvin Gaye, Brenda Russell, Jeff Lorber, Eric Clapton, George Duke, Stevie Wonder, Michael McDonald, Rob Mullins, Sista Robi, Phil Perry, Slightly Stupid, Roy Hargrove, Norah Jones, Victor Wooten, Donny Hathaway, Mary J. Blige, Los Lonely Boys, & the Brecker Brothers.
The music he composes is strongly rhythmic, yet allowing fluid melodies to flow on top. He enjoys combining R & B with a rock edge, especially exhibited by the guitar lines in many of the songs. Also, integrated into The Cookie Jar are elements of Latin, funk, island beat, & smooth jazz.
Musicians featured in The Cookie Jar are: Gary Ferguson (drums), Billy Trudel (vocals & vocal arrangements), Larry Giannacchini (guitar), Lori Stuntz (trombone), Yoshi Gurwell (mystery voice) & Doug Gurwell (piano, trumpet, flugelhorn, bass, plus string & steel drum synth patches ). Mike Sutherland & Yoshi Gurwell co-produced the project. The entire CD was recorded at Total Access Recording in Redondo Beach CA, engineered by Mike Sutherland, & mastered by Wyn Davis.