Album Notes

After the success of "Subtlety & Passion", I was thinking about what to do next. There were a couple of tracks on that CD, where producer/guitarist Hank Linderman had played acoustic guitar in the manner of Joao Gilbertro. Mark Fried, head of Spirit Music group, a publishing firm, heard these tracks and thought he'd like to hear what a complete project of Bossa Nova flavored music would sound like. He approached NYC producer John Van Eps, who called me and asked if I was interested ... and I was! Very! I was living in New York City, when not touring with my group, Chicago, and by late 2005, John and I began writing and choosing jazz standard songs I have always loved. Mark also was very creative in submitting some songs ideas. We couldn't decide if this was going to be Bossa Electronic, or Organic/Acoustic, both approaches were sounding good in the early going. We decided to show both sides with John's great 're-mixing' skills, on 3 tracks: Girl Talk, Samba in Your Life, and Nice 'n' Easy. This project was a labor of love, truly, I could have kept recording for another year, but we were out of time and financing. I really loved exploring the lower ranges of my vocals, and lower volume and velocity of the Bossa Nova style. I have always had the greatest respect for the Brasilian artists who emerged in the 60's and 70's. This album is my bow of acknowledgment.