The recording sessions are over, and now the work of selecting the best tune takes and editing begins. It's keeping me busy, as there is so much great material to go through. I wanted to let you know about the songs that we did. First, there is a vocal tribute by me to Lee "Westy" Westenhofer, my bassist and friend. It is I Believe In Miracles, a wonderful tune from the 1930's that Westy used to sing with us. I hope that it brings you pleasant memories of him and his great talent. I have always tried to include a few Classic Jazz/Dixieland numbers on my recordings, and so you will hear Walkin'The Dog ( from 1917 ) and Jelly Roll Blues, a Jelly Roll Morton altered blues from 1915. There are some great harmonized vocal numbers, paying tribute to the great jazz based novelty/vocal groups of the 1930's - Rhythm, by the Spirits Of Rhythm, and I Like Bananas (Because They Have No Bones ), by the Hoosier Hot Shots. These tunes are in three part harmony, adding Phil Krawzak on clarinet. They're a lot of fun! I have two originals on the record - Jivin' Around, a nice medium swing number, and Minor Blues For Django, which titles speaks for itself and continues our tradition of presenting tunes associated with or written by Django Reinhardt. There are also two instrumental features. I wanted to feature Phil on tenor, as I've admired his playing for years. You will hear him on It's The Talk Of The Town, based on the 1933 recording by Fletcher Henderson that featured Coleman Hawkins. I have a feature on Time On My Hands, a lovely tune from 1930. The verse to the tune is also included, which is pretty as well. Well, this is an overview of some of the tunes. I'll return later to talk about the other ones. I look forward to getting this fine music out to you soon!
