Saturday Morning (feat. David D.R. Robbins)

#116 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Saturday Morning, features a great musician and very dear friend, David D.R. Robbins. D.R. and I go way back, he was the Baritone Sax player in the instrumental funk groups Junk and post junk trio. D.R. grew up on the East Coast, playing in big bands with a lot of the present-day jazz notables which opened up his ears and eyes to what good musicianship was all about. Searching for funkier and warmer surroundings brought him to Oakland, where he toured, recorded, and played extensively on the West Coast Acid Jazz scene, sharing stages with The P-Funk Allstars, George Porter & Zigaboo Modeliste, Charlie Hunter, Ledisi, The Broun Fellinis, etc...Since moving back East more than 15 years ago, he's been woodshedding and playing in NYC with all the usual suspects. D.R. literally phoned in his performances on flute and bari on this track! That's to say that despite not being able to access any "professional" recording gear, he found a way to record his parts in his apartment using only his cellphone! It's been over fifteen years since the last time D.R. and I played music together. It was definitely worth the wait, and I sincerely hope you enjoy the results.

The backing band on this track is Oakland Born/Nashville residing, funky MF, Derrek Phillips, (Gloria Gaynor, Robben Ford, Charlie Hunter) on drums, and myself on rhythm guitar and bass. The track was recorded at NTA, San Bruno, CA, The Phamily Room, Nashville TN, and D.R.'s pad in Brooklyn NY . Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb.

Next Stop Everywhere (feat. Howard Levy)

#115 in The Need To Know Badass Blues Instrumentals Series, Next Stop Everywhere, features the mind-boggling, virtuosic, harmonica playing of Howard Levy. Born and raised in Brooklyn NY, Howard attended the Manhattan School of Music where his musical giftedness was apparent from a very young age. Howard's first instruments were the piano and pipe organ. While attending college, Howard developed a new approach to the diatonic harmonica enabling him to play it chromatically. For the non-musicians out there, this means he was able to play notes that were previously believed to be unavailable on the instrument. In 1995, Howard composed and performed the Harmonia Mundi, Suite for Harmonica and Chamber Ensemble with the Chicago Sinfonietta. A few years later Howard co-founded the now legendary (and multiple Grammy-winning) Bela Fleck and the Flecktones. Howard has also toured and/or recorded with John Prine, Bobby McFerrin, Kenny Loggins, Chuck Mangione, David Bromberg, Dolly Parton, Donald Fagen, Jerry Butler, Chris Siebold, Trio Globo, and Pete Seeger to name just a few. It was an absolute pleasure working with Howard and as you will hear he may have telecommuted from his home in Chicago but he definitely ain't phoning it in. Enjoy!

The backing band on this track is Oakland Born/Nashville residing, funky MF, Derrek Phillips, (Gloria Gaynor, Robben Ford, Charlie Hunter) on drums, and myself on rhythm guitar and bass. The track was recorded at NTA, San Bruno, CA, The Phamily Room, Nashville TN, and the House of Howard in Chicago, IL. Mellifluously mixed and mastered by the infamous F-Bomb.