Jammin' with Sam "Jammin' with Sam" is in the jazz fusion/funk/smooth jazz sorta vein and is also a sort of 'yesteryear & today' kinda thing as far as its general motif. Featured are a few cuts from '84 and '86, both studio(i.e. w/other folks)and home recorded(i.e. just me), and an assortment of newer things. One of the 'other folks' featured is trumpet player/composer David Hoffman, who was a longtime member of the Ray Charles Orchestra, and a longtime friend of mine. Dave also has CDs of his own, which can be found at http://www.davidhoffmanjazz.com/ . I'm happy to announce that this CD has sold in Spain, Hong Kong and Japan as well as here in the US. LAST CD SOLD:03/16/13 Personnel: Sam Crain-guitars, bass, keyboards on all selections except "A Ballad" David Hoffman-trumpet, flugelhorn,piano, synthesizer, trombone(2,3,12). All instruments on "A Ballad" Ken White-alto saxophone(12) Frank Vanes-piano(2) Jeff Davis-bass(2) Art Carey-drums(2) Mark Janas-drums(12) Jaigh Lowder-recording engineer(2) Selections: Intro Grande was written & recorded back in '84 or so. Definitely bombastic,movie-type intro. llA ratS- The name is of course, 'all star'back- wards, and was conceived by our bass player, Jeff Davis. Had to do with a trend of a few musicians always calling their bands 'all star': the small town tendency toward being a bit smug and self-congratulatory.. A Ballad- all parts arranged and played by David Hoffman(piano & 2 flugel tracks). Sometimes Dave adopts my tunes and turns them into something like this. Beautiful. Fun(k)for Fido- a homegrown funk tune. Kind of a misterioso vibe to it. Winter Still- a down n' dirty sorta groove. I wrote this in the dead of Winter, with no relief in sight.. Too Much Maya- funky and soulful. oh wow- another slower groove. you'll hear it. Tower of Dour was written back sometime'84-'86, while on the road, on behalf of our keyboardist Ed Greig, whose stage persona was"Mr Excitement" and was one evening introduced as 'our own tower of dour'(he's 6'3"). Juliette- also written while on the road, for a girl who answered to that name. Disco Biscuits-this is an oldie('84 or perhaps even earlier)but a goodie. Bodacious Cha Cha's- you'll hear it.. Bubba-City-- this is a David Hoffman arrangement, and dates back to '84 I think. The 2 gtr solos are mine, and the trumpet, synth & trombone solos are Dave's. The title I got from a friend of my brother's and his then-girlfriend, who'd refer to an out-to-lunch person or situation as 'bubba-city'... The Earl of Øl is a newer one, a peppy latin/funk sort of affair, an energetic little riff basically, with a couple nice guitar solos. You can listen to it in entirety on my website(the Music page). Oh yeah- Øl, pronounced 'url', is what Nordic folks(Swedes and Danes and Norwegians)call beer. The Earl of beer, as it were. "Girl in the Red Leather Pants" dates back to '86 and is a sort of homage to a girl I knew-or at least an homage to how she looked in those pants. I recorded it back then too, a sorta driving rock thing with 'hot' guitar solos. This is a mellower version, a more sedate girl, who probably wouldn't be able to get into the original red leather pants... "Ubangi Mi Bangi" is a jaunty, funky thing. The melody is my tune 'Kimber Lee'(see CD 'Spring into Swing'), which is itself based on "Donna Lee" and 'There will never be another you". "Linda's got a Mellow Door" is also jaunty and funky. The title is from a story told by our bandleader while on the road('84-86), as to why he didn't or doesn't smoke pot: "I was at this party(where apparently much pot had been smoked)and this guy was leaving, and as he was leaving he smacked his head a pretty good one on the doorway, being very tall. So I asked him, 'hey are you okay'?'It's cool, man', he said. Linda's got a mellow door.' " So there you have it. More than you probably wanted to know about all these tunes. Hope you enjoy the CD. Sam Crain