Album Notes

This CD was literally years in the making. I'd been thinking about making a CD of my original compositions since 2000, but I could never quite find the right time, the right musicians, or a good unifying theme for such a project. In 2004, I started playing bass regularly at local jazz jam sessions, and met a group of wonderfully talented players. Then in 2006, I had the incredible experience of meeting Dawn, who my girlfriend and I had given up for adoption when she was born. And I was blown away to discover that Dawn is a very talented cellist! Now I knew who I wanted on the CD, and what material I wanted to include.

The title track Sometimes Things Work Out is a song I wrote several years ago, when I was contemplating how life sometimes allows things work out for the best. I was wondering about Dawn (although I had not met her and did not know her name), and whether we would ever meet. I thought that meeting her would feel like putting the last piece into a puzzle. When we did finally meet in the fall of 2006, she gave me the beautiful hand-made collage you see on the album cover, which has a puzzle piece in the center and a beautiful inscription on the back. She, too had envisioned our meeting as putting the last piece into a puzzle! I happened to have a demo recording of this song with me, and I played it for her right then. It was such a perfect moment.

Dawn came back to Portland in 2007 for the first recording sessions for this album, and later we did a few overdubs at my friend Tom Ptacek's studio in Kansas City. I think you'll agree that her cello work elevates the whole project.

The other musicians on the album are highly talented musicians whom I have played with many times at jam sessions. These cats can take a very sketchy leadsheet and turn it into a polished performance on the spot. Sometimes, they took my tunes in a very different direction than I had imagined, but it was always to an even better place.

Featured on this CD are:
Milledge Bennett - Percussion
Dawn Blair - Cello
Christian Botto - Guitar
Ted Clifford - Keyboards
Jack McCreary - Alto sax and Flute
Michael Kora - Drums
Steve Pinkston - Bass and Guitar