360 | blue


1. It's Going To Be Alright
This is a grinding and groovy track that features Marion Meadows on soprano sax. I met Marion while performing on Warren Hill's Smooth Jazz Cruise in January 06. I was planning on adding sax to this track so when I had a chance to meet and talk with Marion it was a no brainer to have him on the track. He did a fabulous job! Rico called this track "greasy" which I thought fit quite well.

2. 360 Blue
This was one of the toughest tracks to complete. I had a hard time getting it to sound the way I imagined and tried numerous experiments with different guitar and instrumentation. Most of the attempts failed and the tune ended up being pretty close to the original demo. What put it over the top was Gary's drum track. He mixed up the beats in such a tasteful way. I really love the hi-hat and cymbal work on the middle section. There are so many subtle things happening on this track that I hope listeners pick up on after a few times playing it. The title, 360 Blue was inspired while standing on the back of the cruise ship and seeing nothing but ocean in every direction for the first time. I thought that was pretty cool!

3. City Vibe
My friend Dr. Troy Gifford composed an intro to this track entitled, "Muse 1". I really liked the piece a lot but in the end I decided not to use it as an intro because it slowed the momentum of the CD and I didn't want to have this track lower in the list. However, you can take a listen to the intro HERE. I had fun recording the bass on this track and I like the guitar solo in the outro.

4. Wes
Inspired by the music of Wes Montgomery. Wes is known for playing melodies in octaves which I emulated here in the "A" sections of the track. This was also the first track Gary recorded his drums on. After that moment I knew all the tracks were going to be elevated to a new level. Gary's performance on this track is awesome! Alan filled in the gap with the Rhodes sound on keyboard while Rico layed down super solid conga track with some cool shakers and effects.

5. Big Slick
I was originally going to name the CD "All In". A term used in poker when a player puts all his chips into the pot. This track was going to be called by the same name. However, after doing some design concepts for the CD packaging I realized the poker concept did not fit the music well. That is when the title was changed to 360 Blue and I renamed this track to Big Slick. Big Slick is another poker term representing and Ace and King as your starting hand in Texas Hold'em but fits the groove of the track nicely Marion Meadows is featured here again but this time he brought along his friend Dominic Amato to add a tenor track. The horns gave this track a sparkle and excitement that makes it one of my favorite. Also, it's one the rare times I recorded a steel string guitar. The results were great and I definitely want to do a lot more writing with a steel string in the future.

6. Point of No Return
This was a fun track for everyone to record on. Gary did some amazing drum takes on this track and the final take shows how well Gary's playing compliments the melodies and rhythms perfectly. When we recorded Rico's congas I made a mistake and forgot to engage the record button while he played. His first take was on fire and I was sitting there in amazement not noticing the record button was off. At the end of the take I had to break the bad news and I felt terrible. Rico said no problem let's do it again and he nailed it in the second take!

7. Solace
Every project needs to have a ballad right? So here it is. I continued with my new found appreciation for the steel string guitar and composed this track with that in mind. I used a nylon string guitar to compliment the steel in the "B" section and mixed them together at the end for a sweet blend of silk and steel. I was tempted to add bass and percussion effects to this track but in the end I liked the simplicity and clarity of just the guitars.

8. Brand New Day
This was another fun track for everyone to work on. Originally this track was one minute longer than it needed up being. It felt to repetitive and from Gary's advice I decided to cut the last "B" section out. It allowed the track to say what it had to without overstating any one section. The bridge is played with a Flamenco guitar technique called, "Alzapua" which involves using the thumb in up and down strokes and makes for some cool chordal passages leading into the solo section.

9. Atlantic Breeze
This track goes back to my Latin influences. Since my first three projects were so heavily influenced by Latin music I figured it would be cool to have a couple of tracks on the CD that contrast with the jazzier ones.

10. La Alhambra
This was the last track I composed for the project and again I was dipping back into my earlier influences for this one. It's a little Strunz and Farah like at times but the Rock like groove and Classical sounding melodies in the "A" section sets it apart. The Alhambra is a beautiful palace in Spain and has inspired one the most well known classical guitar pieces ever, "Recuerdos de la Almabhra" by Francisco Tarrega.

Please email me if any of these links don't work.

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