Album Notes

Lee Tomboulian is the leader of Circo, composer, accordionist and pianist. Raised on Mozart and dixieland, Lee has played with Kenny Wheeler, Benny Golson, Nat Adderley, Pharoah Sanders, Eddie Harris and Andrea Bocelli, to name a few. He has attended the Naropa Institute and UNT where he was the weirdest pianist the world-famous One O'Clock Lab Band ever had (Lab 1997). He's now teaching jazz piano and improvisation at Lawrence University Conservatory of Music.

Elizabeth Tomboulian (AKA Betty Elkins) sings in Portuguese on this release, as well as scat on Lee's melodies that soar into the stratosphere. She sings Brazilian standards in a smoky alto that has been likened to Astrud Gilberto (Arkansas Democrat-Gazette). She plays keys, guitar and percussion.

The heart of the band, native Uruguayan percussionist Ricardo Bozas, played with Eduardo Mateo, Vinicius De Moraes (co-writer of "Girl from Ipanema"), and also the UNT One O'Clock Lab Band. He sounds like a whole samba school, covering surdo, repinique, whistles, etc. all at once.

Ricardo and polyrhythmic genius Dennis Durick (Joe McBride, Cafe Noir, Quartet Out, Brouhaha) on drums drive the Circo rhythm machine.

Brian Warthen is one of the busiest bass players in the DFW area, performing and recording in a wide range of musical styles from Jazz to Pop, Country, R&B and especially Latin music. In addition to his live performing schedule Brian does sessions and also writes and arranges music for bands and solo artists, and has a full-time job in church music ministry. All that, and he also finished mixing the new release, Return to Whenever!

Pete Brewer, flutist and saxophonist, has his own mainstream jazz recordings and toured with Woody Herman's Thundering Herd. His solos have a different personality on each instrument he plays. Check out his website at www.petebrewerjazz.com.